From press release
Factory Theatre is pleased to announce that the company’s national search for a new Artistic Director is now complete and that Nina Lee Aquino and Nigel Shawn Williams have been hired as the new Co-Artistic Directors of the 43 year old company.
A four-person Committee led by Elyse Parker of the Board of Directors included Brian Drader (playwright and Director of Playwriting at the National Theatre School of Canada), ahdri zhina mandiela (poet, playwright and director, artistic director, b-current) and Brian Quirt (dramaturg, director and playwright – Nightswimming and the Banff Centre) undertook the national search and review of applicants. “The Committee reviewed numerous submissions from eminently qualified and experienced candidates from across the country and the process was marked by rigour and thoughtfulness,” notes Ron Struys, Factory Board President. “The committee’s recommendation and the Board’s decision to confirm Nina and Nigel in the joint role of Co-Artistic Director were based on their thoughtfully prepared proposal and their dedication to both honouring and reinvigorating Factory Theatre’s mission and programming.”
“We are excited at this opportunity to be at the helm,” say Aquino and Williams, “Charged with the task of dreaming and visioning the future of Factory while building upon the company’s rich history. We both share a deeply personal connection to Factory Theatre, having had a long and extensive history with it and benefited directly from its programming over the past years.
Being a part of Factory’s storied history has deepened our personal commitment to championing diverse stories and reaffirmed our belief in the importance of growing new Canadian works. It is our mission to take these bold stories to the stage and keep them growing, vital and visible. We want innovation to be our artistic policy and we want our space to be an incubator for artists and audiences alike. We hope to be able to share this dream with our artists in the community and with our audiences – familiar and new. We are pleased to be working with Managing Director, Sara Meurling and the dedicated Board of Directors in moving Factory Theatre into the next stage of its existence”
The new Co-Artistic Directors will be announcing Factory Theatre’s 2013/14 season shortly.