Ravi Jain Honored with Pauline McGibbon Award at 2012 Dora Awards

Ravi Jain is the 2012 recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award. The award presentation took place today at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards at Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Bluma Appel Theatre.

"The breadth of Ravi's work is impressive. From arts activism to directing, producing and acting, his portfolio is extensive and he challenges what theatre can be - with humor and intelligence, and is redefining the role it can play in audiences' lives," noted the 2012 jury.

"Pauline McGibbon was a strong supporter of the arts in Ontario. Like her, Ravi Jain recognizes the impact the performing arts can have on the well-being and cultural improvement of our communities. Congratulations to Ravi on receiving this wonderful award," said Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Michael Chan.

Ravi Jain is a Toronto-based theatre-maker, producer, educator, and arts-activist. Currently, he is Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre, which produces a wide range of acclaimed local and international shows.

A graduate of the two-year program at École Jacques Lecoq (Paris, France), Ravi has trained with various members of Complicité (London, U.K.), Anne Bogart and the Siti Company (New York, USA) as well as Ariane Mnouchkine and Théâtre du Soleil (Paris, France).

Ravi is also on the roster of clown/performers for Cirque du Soleil. Selected acting and directing credits include Civility (workshop with Daniel Brooks), the Dora Award winning SPENT, A Brimful of Asha, The Prince Hamlet (2007), Winter Soldiers (2008), Streetscape: Living Space (2008), Greenland (winner of the top two prizes SummerWorks 2009) and No Entry (2011), among others.

In 2010, Ravi was the Urjo Kareda Resident artist at Tarragon Theatre where he assisted Richard Rose on Michael Healy's Courageous and developed A Brimful of Asha, with his mother.

As a producer, Ravi facilitates master classes locally as well as internationally. Ravi is also engaged in several social and arts-related activities in Toronto and abroad, and is an advocate for youth effecting positive change through the arts. He has taught in various institutions, and sits on several committees and board, including the Regent Park Arts & Culture Centre programming committee, the artist advisory committee for ArtReach Toronto and on the board of the Laidlaw Foundation. He was a member of the DiverseCity Fellows Program, and is currently one of the ten resident artists at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

Established in 1981, the Pauline McGibbon Award honours former Lieutenant Governor Pauline McGibbon for her support and patronage of the arts. The award is given each year by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and includes a $7,000 prize and a medal designed by Dora de Pédery-Hunt.

The award is presented to a member of Ontario's professional theatre community in the Early Stages of his or her career who has displayed a unique talent and a potential for excellence. The award is cyclical in nature and recognizes the unique talents of artists who have contributed to the well-being of Ontario's theatre community. The first year of the three-year cycle, the award goes to a designer, the second year to a director and the third year to a production craftsperson. It is administered by the Ontario Arts Council.

Past recipients of the Pauline McGibbon Award include the following directors: BrenDan Healy (2009); Jennifer Tarver (2006) and Kelly Thornton (2003).

This year's jurors were: Kim Blackwell (Toronto); John Doucet (Ottawa); Sky Gilbert, 1985 McGibbon laureate (Hamilton) and 2003 McGibbon laureate Kelly Thornton (Toronto).

Photo courtesy Why Not Theatre.

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