Langara graduate ushers in Black and queer representation with new web series

By OKSANA SHTOHRYN

Ivy Charles hopes Vancouver’s first Black queer web series will inspire work that spotlights Black queer joy, struggle and existence.

Charles, who graduated from Studio 58 in 2020, stars in the series Novelette is Trying, which premiered Feb. 10 on OUTtv, a streaming service that focuses on LGBTQ2+ programming.

“It meant so much to be portraying a queer character. Most people that worked on this project are queer people. And it was Black-led, I’ve quite literally never experienced that in my life,” Charles said.

Charles moved to Vancouver from Winnipeg in 2017 to study acting at Langara’s Studio 58. The college’s professional theatre program houses acting and production programs.

Lessons learned from Studio 58

Charles credits Studio 58 for helping show her “what a team effort theatre is.” She has remained closely connected to the program, working this month as an assistant director for Studio 58’s Heathers: The Musical.

Raes Calvert, Studio 58’s interim co-artistic director, said that Vancouver’s diversity is reflected amongst its acting and production students.

Calvert said Studio 58 tries to incorporate that diversity in its show selection. “We are absolutely going to try and accommodate cultural specificity, identity, of our student body when we consider what shows that we’re going to be doing,” he said.

A Work in Progress

Giselle Miller, creator of Novelette is Trying, said the idea for the series came from bringing Black queer women to the forefront in Vancouver, across Canada and globally.

She said that times are changing, but there is still a long way to go when it comes to representing the diversity of experiences within queer and Black communities.

“The queer community is not just one identity. There’s so many different experiences within queer communities and Black communities,” Miller said.