The Board of Directors of Magnetic North Theatre Festival is delighted to announce that Toronto’s Brendan Healy will take the helm as Artistic Director of the Festival as of November 1, 2016. Between 2009 and 2015, Brendan was the Artistic Director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, during which time the company experienced an unprecedented period of artistic growth and stability, with a string of celebrated productions including PIG, The Gay Heritage Project, Arigato, Tokyo, Obaabermina, Of a Monstrous Child: a gaga musical, The Silicone Diaries and Blasted. The company also embarked on four national tours that brought Buddies’ work to stages across the country, including two stops at the National Arts Centre and an appearance at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Known for his notable work as a director, Brendan has been the recipient of Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the Pauline McGibbon Award and the Ken McDougall Award. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Brendan recently completed a Masters in International Arts Management, which brought him to three of the world’s most prestigious business schools: the Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas), the HEC (Montreal), and SDA Bocconi (Milan, Italy). “I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to be the new Artistic Director of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. Over the years, I have experienced the festival as a guest artist, as an industry participant, and as an audience member. I firmly believe in Magnetic North's importance within Canada's theatre landscape. I am committed to creating opportunities for Canadian artists to share their work, to increasing national and international excitement for contemporary Canadian theatre, and to being a champion for the rich diversity of voices and traditions that comprise our nation's theatre. I look forward to collaborating closely with the dedicated staff and board. I want to acknowledge the extraordinary work of my predecessors: Brenda Leadlay, Ann Connors, Ken Cameron, and Mary Vingoe. It will be an honour to further their legacy and build upon the solid foundation that these visionaries have established." – Brendan Healy The Magnetic North Theatre Festival, established in 2002, is Canada’s national festival of English language theatre. An annual event, the festival alternates between Ottawa and a different Canadian city each year. In addition to its main stage performances, the festival is a national forum for Canadian theatre professionals to market their work to national and international presenters. "We are delighted to welcome Brendan to the Festival, we are confident that he will build upon the amazing work that has been done over the years and move the Festival in an exciting artistic direction." – Don Anderson, Board Chair For 2017, the Festival will be in Ottawa from June 17 to 25. Magnetic North Theatre Festival is produced by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society and co-presented by the National Arts Centre English Theatre. For more information contact: Jennifer Fornelli, Managing Director, jennifer@magneticnorthfestival.ca Tel: 613-947-7000 ext.718
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