Toronto, May 19, 2000 — Theatre director Darren O’Donnell is the 2000 winner of the Pauline McGibbon Award. The award was presented this morning at a news conference announcing the nominations for the 2000 Dora Mavor Moore Awards.
In selecting Darren O’Donnell as the winner of this year’s Pauline McGibbon Award, the jury commented on his “creativity and his intelligence as a director” and his ability to “take difficult issues and bring the audience along” through his work.
Each year, the Pauline McGibbon award is given to a member of Ontario’s 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, honouring a director, a production craftsperson and a designer in a three-year cycle. This year’s award was given in the director category. Mr. O’Donnell was selected by a jury of theatre professionals including actor David Fox, director Sarah Stanley, and artistic director Soheil Parsa.
The Pauline McGibbon Award was established in 1981 in honour of the former Lieutenant-Governor’s support and patronage of the arts. Administered by the Ontario Arts Council, the award consists of $7,000 from the Province of Ontario and a medal designed by Dora de Pedery Hunt, from the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.
Darren O’Donnell - A Selected Biography
Darren O’Donnell began his career in theatre after graduating from the University of Alberta with a BFA in 1988. Initially he concentrated strictly on performance, working with directors such as Bill Glassco, Richard Monette, Sky Gilbert, Jeanette Lambermont and Thom Sokoloski.
He began to write, direct and perform his own work with his company Pow Pow Unbound in 1990. He directed his early work, Field and Stage/Groove, and wrote Mercy! – all garnering strong critical notice.
In 1993 he began creating work for his new company, Mammalian Diving Reflex. He directed Radio Rooster Says That’s Bad, Who Shot Jacques Lacan? and Over, again to positive reviews.
Darren began to study Chinese medicine and Shiatsu therapy in 1995 in order to better understand the body and mind as it relates to the physical nature of performance. In a 1998 workshop entitled A Fluid Bodily Theatre, he began to explore whether the energetic patterns of particular organs had a direct impact on emotions.
His company began work on his play White Mice in 1997 and it premiered at the Theatre Centre in 1998. It was subsequently nominated for six Dora awards including direction and won for set design. Just recently it was remounted at the 2000 World Stage Festival and will be produced at Theatre Passe Muraille in the fall of 2000 and will tour to the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Calgary’s One Yellow Rabbit and Edmonton’s Workshop West in 2001/2002.
This fall, Coach House Books will publish a collection of his plays, including Who Shot Jacques Lacan?, Radio Rooster Says That’s Bad, Over and White Mice
Darren is currently developing two new works: A Suicide-Site Guide to the City which he will both direct and perform and pppeeeaaaccceee which he will direct.
OAC Media Contact: Kirsten Gunter, Manager of Communications
Tel: (416) 969-7403. Toll-free outside of Toronto: 1-800-387-0058, ext. 7403.
E-mail: kgunter@arts.on.ca