Stage Door News
Stage Door News
TORONTO, ON… Factory Theatre is pleased to announce that the company’s national search for a new Artistic Director is now complete and that Nina Lee Aquino and Nigel Shawn Williams have been hired as the new Co-Artistic Directors of the 43 year old company.
A four-person Committee led by Elyse Parker of the Board of Directors included Brian Drader (playwright and Director of Playwriting at the National Theatre School of Canada), ahdri zhina mandiela (poet, playwright and director, artistic director, b-current) and Brian Quirt (dramaturg, director and playwright – Nightswimming and the Banff Centre) undertook the national search and review of applicants.
“The Committee reviewed numerous submissions from eminently qualified and experienced candidates from across the country and the process was marked by rigour and thoughtfulness,” notes Ron Struys, Factory Board President. “The committee’s recommendation and the Board’s decision to confirm Nina and Nigel in the joint role of Co-Artistic Director were based on their thoughtfully prepared proposal and their dedication to both honouring and reinvigorating Factory Theatre’s mission and programming.
“We are excited at this opportunity to be at the helm,” say Aquino and Williams, “Charged with the task of dreaming and visioning the future of Factory while building upon the company’s rich history. We both share a deeply personal connection to Factory Theatre, having had a long and extensive history with it and benefited directly from its programming over the past years.
Being a part of Factory's storied history has deepened our personal commitment to championing diverse stories and reaffirmed our belief in the importance of growing new Canadian works. It is our mission to take these bold stories to the stage and keep them growing, vital and visible. We want innovation to be our artistic policy and we want our space to be an incubator for artists and audiences alike. We hope to be able to share this dream with our artists in the community and with our audiences – familiar and new. We are pleased to be working with Managing Director, Sara Meurling and the dedicated Board of Directors in moving Factory Theatre into the next stage of its existence”
The new Co-Artistic Directors will be announcing Factory Theatre’s 2013/14 season shortly.
Backgrounder – Factory Theatre
More than 40 years ago, Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would produce and host exclusively Canadian plays. For the first time, an industry dominated by British and American playwrights saw the emergence of groundbreaking original Canadian theatre. This bold commitment to exclusively Canadian theatre has translated into the production of hundreds of new Canadian plays, extensive awards, and launched the careers of some of Canada’s premier playwrights and theatre artists. In addition to its commitment to original Canadian theatre, Factory has led the way in promoting diversity in theatre, reflecting the Canadian experience from many perspectives.
Over the years, Factory has been helmed by some of the most illustrious members of Canadian theatre including founding artistic director Ken Gass (1970-1977 and 1996-2012), Bob White (1977-87), Jackie Maxwell (1987-1995) and Michael Springate (1995-96). Factory Theatre’s artistic directors have also occupied leadership roles in theatre across Canada – including the Shaw Festival, National Arts Centre, Banff Playwrights Colony, Alberta Theatre Projects, Playwrights Workshop of Montreal, the Charlottetown Festival, the National Theatre School, University of Toronto and more.
In any given year, more than 50,000 patrons come to Factory’s historic Victorian mansion at the corner of Bathurst and Adelaide Streets (in the heart of Toronto’s cultural west-end district) – an inviting, inclusive environment where ideas and imagination intersect. The Factory Theatre play development program, led by Company Dramaturge Iris Turcott, is committed to the long-term investment of playwrights and creators and Canadian work that celebrates our diversity by engaging, provoking, entertaining, and inspiring our artists, audience and the community at large. Factory is dedicated to serving our community by building a strong neighbourhood identity in our role as a cultural hub via partnerships with local schools and businesses. Initiatives such as our Neighbours Nights and Curtain Raiser events are what ground us as a remarkable artistic resource and cultural institution.
Now playing in Factory Theatre’s revitalized 2012/13 season are Every Letter Counts, by Nina Lee Aquino and directed by Nigel Shawn Williams, January 26 – February 24 in Factory’s Mainspace Theatre, and Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata, by Veda Hille and Bill Richardson, directed by Amiel Gladstone, January 30 – March 3 in Factory’s Studio Theatre. Upcoming is Iceland, by Nicolas Billon and directed by Ravi Jain, March 2 - 24 in Factory’s Mainspace Theatre. Factory’s 2012/13 season concludes with the world premiere of Amy Lee Lavoie’s Stopheart, directed by Edmonton-based director Ron Jenkins, May 4 – 26.
Photo: Nigel Shawn Williams and Nina Lee Aquino. ©2013 Factory Theatre.
2013-02-20
Toronto: Factory Theatre appoints Nina Lee Aquino and Nigel Shawn Williams as Co-Artistic Directors