HELLo
I’m Fatuma, a writer based in Toronto, Canada. A long time ago I dropped out of med school to pursue a BA in Fine Arts, and admittedly from then on the road to stability was quite foggy. Now I’m very grateful to say that I’ve found a career in storytelling that is rewarding and, sometimes if I’m lucky, allows me to order UberEats twice in one day; “I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams.”
If the above bio is more personality than you signed up for, the following is the “official” bio where we pretend it’s not weird I’m talking about myself in the third person:
Fatuma Adar is a Somali-Canadian writer based in Toronto. She was long-listed in CBC's Creative Nonfiction Prize and profiled in Up Close: Young Black Women Making Canada Better. In 2017, she joined the third cohort of The Bars Workshop at the Public Theater in New York City. Her work has been featured in the Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, Maclean's and an anthology entitled Black Writers Matter published by the University of Regina Press. She is developing a new musical called Dixon Road with support from the OAC, TAC, Obsidian Theatre and The Musical Stage Company. Fatuma is also creating a one-woman musical comedy show where she melodically explores the pressures of being a “model minority.”
“SHE’S NOT SPECIAL” live - COMING TO TARRAGON THEATRE MAY 24-28TH!
She’s Not Special combines musical theatre and comedic storytelling to explore the pressures of Black Excellence. As a Black Muslim Woman (a triple threat!), creator Fatuma Adar is on a mission to free you from the clutches of exceptionalism and teach you how to relish in the joys of mediocrity. Co-directed by Adar (Playback’s Artist to Watch) and Graham Isador (The Beaverton, VICE). Adar’s music has been described by CBC Arts as “...equal parts Bo Burnham stand-up set and Pharrell Williams club jam.”
“Give this multi-talented artist a Netflix special already. And if you disagree, you’re obviously anti-Black.”
A new Canadian musical with book, music and lyrics by Fatuma Adar. DIXON ROAD tells the story of a Somali family who immigrate to Canada in 1991 as the civil war begins to tear their homeland apart. They settle in Dixon Road, in a neighbourhood near Pearson airport that is still the heart of Toronto’s Somali community today.
Combining R&B, contemporary verse and traditional Somali melodies, DIXON ROAD is an exhilarating journey about dreams, displacement, and finding a new sense of home. Join The Musical Stage Company & Obsidian Theatre Company from June 1 – June 19 at the outdoor High Park Amphitheatre for one of this summer’s hottest musical events! Preview tickets to the first 8 shows (June 1 – June 8), are Pay-What-You-Wish starting at $5!
Visit www.dixonroad.com for tickets and complimentary on-site experiences.
