ABOUT
ANNE-MARIE WOODS
AKA Amani
Anne-Marie Woods aka Amani is a Multi-disciplinary Award-Winning, Columnist, Poet, Arts Practitioner, Youth Advocate, Playwright, Producer, Director, Professional Artist, Acting Coach and Creative Consultant.
With a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre from Dalhousie University and a Small Business Certificate from the HRDC Self Employment Business Program, she has over 25 years of professional experience developing, planning, implementing and evaluating arts projects as well as performing on the professional stage. She is the 2013 recipient of the coveted national Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in Entertainment and has also received the City of Toronto, Bob Marley Day Award,for her Youth and Community Outreach Work and she she is also the recipient of several East Coast Music Awards and a multi recipient of Awards from Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
Bio
Biography
The name Amani is a derivative of her company name (Imani Enterprises) and her birth name (Anne-Marie). Amani means peace in Swahili.
Describing herself as a “British Born Trini with “Scotian Overtones”, her life and career has always challenged boundaries and blended multiple genres or styles.
Born in London, England and baptized in Trinidad… Her family moved to Nova Scotia where she laid down her foundation as a professional multi-disciplinary artist, and where she sang for 12 and a ½ years with Acapella Sensation Four The Moment. In the year 2000 she arrived in Toronto as a Playwright in Residence at Young People’s Theatre, funded by Canada Council, and by the years 2001-2002, she was a voice on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. Anne-Marie’s extensive artistic background stems from her love for Youth Arts and Culture. In 1997 she underwent a residency at Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia PA, one of the oldest Black Theatres in Pennsylvania. Also in the late 90’s she ran her own young company called The Imani Women’s Artistic Project, and she was the director of countless youth and arts and culture – oriented projects. One such venture was her stint as the Project Coordinator for the Cultural Awareness Youth Group of Nova Scotia, an organization founded by her brother, David Woods in the 1980’s.
She has been in such theatre productions as: ‘Whylah Falls’, ‘Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God’, ‘Afrika Solo’, ‘Consecrated Ground’, and ‘The Vagina Monologues’. She was the first African Canadian to perform at the prestigious National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina in 2001 with her one woman show ‘Waiting To Explode’ and this performance earned her a mention in the New York Arts Paper, Backstage. As a Spoken Word artist she has headlined at the world Famous Nuyorican Café in New York City, performed at the Drum in Birmingham, England, and at the Word Power International Festival in London, England, and she was the international headliner at the Rapso Festival in Trinidad for two years in a row. And let’s not forget her performances in Dwayne Morgan’s “When Sisters Speak,” and in the inaugural Spoken Soulfest in 2019. In 2010 she received a Canada Council Grant and an OAC grant to do an artist in residence placement at the University of the West Indies Department of Creative and Festival Arts in Trinidad. During her residency she used theatre improv and movement as a tool to facilitate workshops with the “Wordsmiths” outreach program held at UWI. She also produced and starred in a showcase called “Jazzetry” featuring Trinidad based Jazz artists and rhythm makers.
Woods also worked for the City of Toronto; first as a Cultural Outreach Officer with Arts Services, Economic Development and Culture, Arts and Culture and then at the City of Toronto Archives, City Clerk’s Division as an Educator for Outreach and Public Programming. While at the Archives, she created an educational curriculum based on letters written by a young maid in the 1920’s and 30’s. She was also the lead on the Black History Corner Exhibit as well as other Equity Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.
Woods is well known for being able to not only teach and coach theatre arts but also for her work of fusing Spoken Word, Movement and Theatre, and using this to reach varied audiences. In 2013 and 2015 she wrote the adaptation for Mitchell Cohen’s play ‘The Journey-The Living History of the Regent Park Revitalization’, where she was also Production Coordinator and Creative Director. Her play ‘She Said/He Said’, had its World Premiere as part of Black Theatre Workshop’s 45th season, April 13th – May 1st, 2016. ‘She Said/He Said’ was directed by then, Artistic Director Quincy Armorer. That same year She Said/He Said went on to be one of the featured main stage plays at the STAGES Theatre Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia June 15th – 19th at the Sir James Dunn Theatre.
And then had its Toronto Premiere produced by Imani Enterprises and directed by Woods at Native Earth Performing Arts, AKI Studio Theatre. In 2019 her youth production, ‘Scotian Journey’, a musical and poetic interpretation on the history of African Nova Scotians had its World Premiere as a Black History School tour in Montreal. Also produced by Black Theatre Workshop and directed by Jamie Robinson. And also in 2019 her youth play The Three Friends, which was originally written for Black History Month in the City of Barrie in 2017 was produced as a co-production between Imani Enterprises and the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.The ‘Three Friends’ takes a look at African Canadian and African American history through the eyes of three friends of different cultural backgrounds at the fictitious Jean Augustine University.
Mentorship and working with the next generation has always been a part of her life’s work. She served as a mentor and dramaturg for Paulina O’Kieffe – Anthony and Natassia Parson – Morris with their new play ‘How Jab Jab Saved the Pretty Mas’. Then in 2021 she continued her Mentoring by working with Jonsaba Jabbi on her new manuscript. As part of this mentorship funded by Nia Centre For The Arts, Woods developed course work and sessions meant to challenge Jonsaba’s creativity. Since their time together Jonsaba has remained committed to her personal work as a writer and has served as a mentor for other writing projects in the GTA.
Latest Project
Why Black Women Whisper
Woods’ latest passion project is a script in development called ‘Why Black Women Whisper’ a poetic play originally inspired by Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls and her own painful experiences as a Black woman in today’s society. Though not yet a complete script it was selected for an excerpted 20-minute presentation in Piece of Mine Arts Theatre Festival in 2020, had a virtual public reading in 2022 and it will be part of Kuumba 2024 at Harbourfront Centre.
As a storyteller she will draw you in, as a poet, she will spit out fiery lyrics one minute and then woo you with a jazzy melodic poem the next, as a playwright, she will get you to listen to diverse stories that fuse creative genres, and as a singer her smooth vocals are not usually genre specific.
Known as Amani in the poetry world and Anne-Marie by family and close friends… this Sistah is a Creative Renaissance Woman who continues to experience life through her writing and artistic expression.