The first Black Canadian woman to have her own prime-time show on a Canadian television network, comedian, playwright, screenwriter and producer Trey Anthony is best known for her play-turned-series, ‘Da Kink in My Hair. The play debuted at the 2001 Fringe Festival in Toronto, becoming a theatrical phenomenon and the first Canadian play to perform at (and sell out) Canada’s largest commercial theatre, Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre. It was adapted into a TV series from 2007 to 2009 and was the first prime-time Canadian network TV series to feature an entirely Black Canadian cast. ‘Da Kink won four National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Theatre awards and was nominated for four Dora Awards. Her other theatrical productions include I Am Not a Dinner Mint: The Crap Women Swallow to Stay in a Relationship! and How Black Mothers Say I Love You.
Anthony was a production intern on The Chris Rock Show, a writer for After Hours with Kenny Robinson and a producer at W, the Women’s Television Network. She’s won the Queering Black History Award and a Harry Jerome Award in the Arts, Media and Entertainment category. She founded Trey Anthony Studios and co-founded Kinky Dinner Productions, which has showcased works by numerous artists of colour, including Indian-American comic Vijai Nathan’s one-woman show, Good Girls Don’t, But Indian Girls Do. She founded The Trey Anthony @ One Centre in Toronto, a women-centered facility that offers classes on creative writing, health and spirituality. In 2017, Anthony launched her one-of-a-kind brand, Black Girl in Love, which includes merchandise, workshops and retreats. An outspoken activist, she volunteers with the Black Queer Youth Group and speaks passionately about matters dear to her, like access to the arts, women’s wellness, queer rights and diversity.
