TORONTO,
October 27, 2008 – BMO Financial Group has selected
Montreal-based translator and dramaturge, Maureen Labonté will
be the next Jury Chair of the Elinore & Lou Siminovitch Prize
in Theatre. The appointment will be officially revealed at a ceremony
this evening announcing the 2008 Siminovitch Prize winner.
Earlier this
year, Leonard McHardy, co-owner and co-founder of TheatreBooks
in Toronto who has been Jury Chair since 2003
announced that the
2008 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre would be his last.
“We are
proud to announce that Maureen Labonté to
be the next Chair of the Siminovitch Prize jury,” said Susan
Payne, Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer, BMO Financial Group. “Maureen
was an invaluable member of the jury in 2005 and we are confident she
will fulfill her duties as jury chair whole-heartedly. Our deepest appreciation
goes out to Leonard, who has led and guided the jury for six years.”
Labonté was chosen
for her extensive experience working in both the French and English
theatre communities across Canada, especially
with emerging and leading theatre artists.
“I'm thrilled to have been asked to head up the Siminovitch jury,” said
Labonté. “It's Canada's most important prize in theatre
and is unique in its recognition of both the contribution and the needs
of the theatre artist in Canadian society. It is a great, great honour
for me to be able to accompany it for a few years.”
The 2008 short-listed nominees, selected from 26 nominated Canadian playwrights
include:
- Morwyn Brebner, Toronto, Ontario;
- Daniel Danis, St-David de Falardeau, Quebec;
- Daniel MacIvor, Toronto, Ontario;
- Colleen Murphy, Toronto, Ontario; and
- Larry Tremblay, Montreal, Quebec.
The 2008 Siminovitch Prize Jury
The 2008 Siminovitch
Prize jury was chaired by Leonard McHardy and included:
- Patricia Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario, a Canadian actress with more than
45 years on the stage;
- Paul Lefebvre, Ottawa, Ontario, a translator, stage director, dramaturge
and theatre scholar;
-
Vicki Stroich, Calgary, Alberta, a dramaturge, programmer and producer
with Calgary’s Alberta Theatre Projects;
and
-
John Van Burek, Toronto, Ontario, a director, teacher, translator, and
Founding Artistic Director of Toronto’s Pleiades
Theatre.
About the Siminovitch
Prize in Theatre
The Siminovitch Prize
in Theatre was introduced in 2001
and dedicated to renowned scientist
Lou Siminovitch
and his late
wife Elinore,
a playwright. Sponsored
by BMO
Financial Group, Canada’s
largest annual theatre
arts award recognizes direction,
playwriting and design
in three-year cycles. Previous
recipients include:
- Toronto director
Daniel Brooks in 2001;
-
Montreal playwright Carole Fréchette in 2002;
- Montreal designer Louise Campeau in 2003;
-
St. John’s director Jillian Keiley in 2004;
- Toronto playwright John Mighton in 2005;
- Toronto set and costume designer Dany Lyne in 2006; and
-
Montréal director Brigitte Haentjens in 2007.
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