title: Ahdri Zhina Mandiela
text: # Ahdri Zhina Mandiela
  
  Ahdri Zhina Mandiela (born May 10, 1953) is a Toronto-based dub poet, theatre producer, and artistic director. She has gained worldwide acclaim for her books, music recordings, film, theatre and dance productions. Mandiela is the founder and artistic director of "b current", a not-for-profit performance arts company in Toronto.
  
  In 2006 she was selected to write and direct a project for Winnie Mandela as part of the 50th anniversary of the South African Women's Liberation Movement.
  
  ## Works
  
  ### Books and music
  
  * Speshal Rikwes [Poems in Dialect] (p. 1985)
  * Dark Diaspora... in Dub (p. 1991)
  * step into my head (1995)
  
  ### Theatre
  
  * A Midsummer Night's Dream with "a contemporary, urban interpretation with a Caribbean twist." (2007)
  * "Who Knew Grannie: A Dub Aria" (2010)
  
  ### Film
  
  * on/black/stage/women a documentary covering 30 years of contributions made by Black women to Toronto's theatre scene.
  
  ## Awards
  
  * 2006 The Silver Ticket Award, for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Canadian Theatre
  * Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award – Theatre (2007)
  