Among the Theatre's legacies are Delroy Lindo, Arlene Duncan, Leon Bibb, Jackie Richardson, Joe Sealy, Tom Butler, Philip Akin, and Ahdri Zhina Mandiela.
Under her leadership, BTC produced well-received and well-attended works, including the first Canadian production of A Raisin in the Sun (1978) and the Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning A Caribbean Midsummer Night's Dream (1983).
For her contributions, Cudjoe received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and the African-Canadian Achievement Award in Arts and Entertainment.
[2] Cudjoe received one such scholarship which took her to England to train in midwifery and nursing, among the only options open to racialised women at the time.
[1] The expectation for scholarship recipients was that British-trained young women would return to their respective colonies and assume leadership roles as matrons and ward sisters.
[4] She nonetheless "began to feel very restless" and searched for opportunities in the United States, since she was excited by the idea of working in the U.S. and had a sister in New York City.
[1][6][a] In her adjustment to the Canadian practice of nursing, Cudjoe found the culture to emphasise administrative duties and rules over patient care, and became disappointed with the field as a result.
Among her formative experiences from this time was Schwarz's production of Threepenny Opera at the University of Sudbury, in which Cudjoe was cast for the role of Jenny Diver.
The work was presented for a single night at the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto to a full audience, and Cudjoe was encouraged to pursue the theatre group.
[10][11] Under Cudjoe's leadership, BTC went onto produce numerous well-received and well-attended works, including the first Canadian production of A Raisin in the Sun (1978) and the Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning A Caribbean Midsummer Night's Dream (1983).
In addition to performance training, BTC encouraged people to write plays, and held playwright competitions—one of which culminated in an umbrella group behind the Arts Against Apartheid Festival at Expo 86.
[10] For her contributions, Cudjoe received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and the African-Canadian Achievement Award in Arts and Entertainment.
Through Black Theatre Canada, Vera Cudjoe cultivated a deep legacy of artists, among them Delroy Lindo, Arlene Duncan, Leon Bibb, Jackie Richardson, Joe Sealy, Tom Butler, Philip Akin, Denis Simpson, Diana Braithwaite, and Jeff Jones.
[8][12] Critically acclaimed dub artist ahdri zhina mandiela has commented:[21][b]myself, along with folks like djanet sears, luther hansraj, emerita emerencia, donald carr & others participated in btc as an informal ensemble for a few seasons.