Siminovitch Prize in Theatre

The Siminovitch Prize in Theatre (formally, the Elinore & Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre; commonly, the Siminovitch Prize) is given to recognize achievement in Canadian theatre; specifically, professional directors, playwrights and designers in three-year cycles. The prize was launched in 2000 to honour the values and achievements of the distinguished scientist Louis ("Lou") Siminovitch and his late wife Elinore Siminovitch who was a pioneering playwright. A group of Dr. Siminovitch’s friends and colleagues came together on the occasion of his 80th birthday to create this award which is national, bi-lingual, and juried by theatre professionals.[1]

Siminovitch Prize in Theatre
Awarded forBest in Canadian theatre
CountryCanada
Presented byRBC Wealth Management Hart House
First awarded2001
Websitehttps://www.siminovitchprize.com/

In March 2012, organizers announced that the 12th edition of the prize would be its last. No reasons were given for the award's termination.[2] although in an interview one of the prize's founders, Joseph Rotman, stated that the prize was never conceived to run in perpetuity.[3] However, in July 2013, organizers announced a new partnership with the University of Toronto and the RBC Foundation that resulted in the revival of the prize.[4] The prize was reinstated for the 2013 year and had continued ever since.[4]

The prize

Established in 2001 to honour Elinore Siminovitch and her husband Lou Siminovitch,[5][6] the purpose of the prize is to celebrate "the marriage between the arts and the sciences".[7] Twelve individuals and six organizations founded the prize; primary amongst them was the prize's largest financial sponsor, the BMO Financial Group.[5][8]

The prize is awarded annually to a director, playwright, or a designer, rotating through each of these theatre professions in a three-year cycle.[5][6] It is one of the few theatre awards that includes designers.[9] Winners are selected by a jury made up of prominent theatre professionals and awarded CAD$100,000, making it the largest prize of its kind in Canada.[5][7][10] Anyone may nominate a qualified candidate for the prize; the jury may also nominate qualified candidates.[7] Individuals who may be nominated must be a professional director, playwright, or designer who, in the preceding 10 years, has made a significant creative contribution to no fewer than two (in the case of playwrights) or three (in the case of directors and designers) noteworthy theatre projects in Canada.[5]

A condition of the award is that one quarter of the prize (CAD$25,000) must be awarded to a "protégé" selected by the winner.[5][6] The protégé may be an individual or organization (such as a theatre or educational facility) involved in professional direction, playwriting, or design in Canadian theatre.[7] The winner may choose to grant the amount to a single protégé or divide it between two eligible protégés.

Recipients

The recipients of the Siminovitch Prize since its inception are:[5][11]

  • 2001 (director) Daniel Brooks of Toronto
  • 2002 (playwright) Carole Fréchette of Montreal
  • 2003 (designer) Louise Campeau of Montreal
  • 2004 (director) Jillian Keiley of St. John's
  • 2005 (playwright) John Mighton of Toronto
  • 2006 (designer) Dany Lyne of Toronto
  • 2007 (director) Brigitte Haentjens of Montreal
  • 2008 (playwright) Daniel MacIvor of Toronto
  • 2009 (designer) Ronnie Burkett of Calgary and Toronto
  • 2010 (director) Kim Collier of Vancouver
  • 2011 (playwright) Joan MacLeod of Victoria
  • 2012 (designer) Robert Thomson of Montreal
  • 2013 (director) Chris Abraham of Toronto (the only laureate to receive both the protégé and main prize)
  • 2014 (playwright) Olivier Choinière of Montreal
  • 2015 (designer) Anick La Bissonnière of Montreal
  • 2016 (director) Nadia Ross
  • 2017 (playwright) Marcus Youssef of Vancouver
  • 2018 (designer) Stéphanie Jasmin of Montreal[12]
  • 2019 (directors) Maiko Yamamoto and James Long
  • 2020 (playwright) Tara Beagan

The protégé recipients of the Siminovitch prize are:[13]

  • 2001 Chris Abraham of Toronto
  • 2002 Geneviève Billet of Montreal
  • 2003 Magalie Amyot and Michèle Magnon both of Montreal
  • 2004 Danielle Irvine
  • 2005 Anton Piatigorsky of Toronto
  • 2006 Camellia Koo and April Anne Viczko of Calgary
  • 2007 Christian Lapointe
  • 2008 Daniel Arnold and Medina Hahn of Vancouver
  • 2009 Clea Minaker of Vancouver and Montreal
  • 2010 Anita Rochon of Vancouver
  • 2011 Anusree Roy of Toronto
  • 2012 Jason Hand and Raha Javanfar both of Toronto
  • 2013 Mitchell Cushman of Toronto
  • 2014 Annick Lefebvre
  • 2015 Marilène Bastien
  • 2016 Shaista Laif and Sarah Conn
  • 2017 Christine Quintana of Vancouver
  • 2018 Max-Otto Fauteux of Montreal
  • 2019 Conor Wylie
  • 2020 Joelle Peters

References
  1. http://siminovitchprize.com/the-prize/
  2. Adams, James (18 March 2012). "Prestigious Siminovitch theatre prize coming to an end". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 18 March 2012.,
  3. Adams, James (19 March 2012). "Siminovitch Prize was never meant to run forever". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  4. "The Siminovitch Prize in Theatre announces new partnerships with University of Toronto and RBC Foundation". Yahoo! Finance. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  5. "Siminovitch Prize in Theatre". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  6. "Joan MacLeod wins Siminovitch Prize". The Globe and Mail. 2011-11-07.
  7. "Siminovitch Prize". Siminovitch Prize/BMO Financial Group. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  8. "Siminovitch Prize – The People Behind the Award". Siminovitch Prize/BMO Financial Group. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  9. Brockett, Oscar; Hildy, Franklin (2007). History of the Theatre, 10th ed. Westport, CT: Allyn & Bacon. p. 549. ISBN 0-205-51186-4.
  10. King, Kimball (2007). Western Drama Through the Ages: Four great eras of western drama. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 137. ISBN 0-313-32934-6.
  11. "Siminovitch Prize – Celebrating Excellence and Mentorship". Siminovitch Prize/BMO Financial Group. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  12. https://siminovitchprize.com/video-and-set-designer-stephanie-jasmin-wins-2018-siminovitch-prize-in-theatre/
  13. http://siminovitchprize.com/proteges/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.