Toronto, February 5th, 2008 – The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 2008 Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, March 26, 2008.
This $5000 Award was initiated in celebration of PACT’s 30th anniversary in 2006-2007 and named in honour of Mallory Gilbert, who was Tarragon Theatre’s General Manager for 34 years and one of the founders and Past President of PACT. Supported by the PACT Communications Centre (PCC) and by Tarragon Theatre, the annual Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award celebrates and recognizes outstanding leadership within the Canadian Theatre community.
The Award includes a $1000 portion presented to a protégé chosen by the Award winner, underlining the importance of skills and knowledge transmission in leadership building. Mallory Gilbert, the Award’s namesake, is one of Canada’s most respected arts managers. In addition to her successful 34-year tenure at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, she has served on numerous local and national boards of directors and advisory boards. Ms. Gilbert served on PACT’s Board for 20 years (as PACT President 1989-1993), and she was the recipient of PACT Honourary Life Membership in 2005. By mentoring countless aspiring arts administrators during the course of her career, she has shaped the careers of many of Canada’s theatre leaders and encouraged the creation of exciting new theatre ventures.
The Panel
The 2008 Selection Panel for the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award is currently composed of Mallory Gilbert (Toronto, ON), David Ross (Kamloops, BC), with further panelists to be announced. The Selection Panel will review all nominations and select one winner, judging nominations against the eligibility requirements. At its discretion, the Selection Panel may choose to grant no award or multiple awards in one year. All Selection Panel deliberations are strictly confidential. The award recipient will be named at the 2008 PACT Conference in Vancouver.
Background
In an exceptional collaboration based on their deep appreciation for Mallory’s contribution to both organizations and their shared commitment to leadership in the theatre community, Tarragon Theatre and PACT Communications Centre have initiated the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award. Tarragon Theatre is sponsoring and helping to promote the award; PACT Communications Centre will administer the award and its selection process, and host the presentation ceremony at the PACT Conference each year.
The first Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award was presented in 2007 to Jenny Munday, Artistic Director of the Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre in Goshen, Nova Scotia. A playwright, dramaturge, arts administrator, actor and director, Jenny has been based in Dorts Cove, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia since 1997. Her 25-year career has been dedicated to the development of new Canadian work for the stage.
The protégé selected by Jenny was Natasha MacLellan, an active playwright, actor and youth theatre educator operating in Nova Scotia.
Download the nomination form and more information for the Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award from the PACT website.
Deadline for submissions is March 26, 2008
