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<TITLE>Nightswimming's Brian Quirt receives Elliott Hayes Award...</TITLE>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><I>Apologies if this is a duplicate message.<BR>
</I></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><H2><U><BR>
</U></H2><U><FONT SIZE="5"><B>NIGHTSWIMMING</B></FONT></U><B> <BR>
</B></FONT>For immediate release: July 9/03<BR>
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<H2>Artistic Director Brian Quirt<BR>
honoured with Elliott Hayes Award<BR>
</H2>Board President Kathy St. John is proud to announce that Nightswimming's Artistic Director<B> Brian Quirt</B> was presented with the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Prize in Dramaturgy -<B> The Elliott Hayes Award</B> - at the LMDA's recent conference in Chicago. The award is presented annually honour exemplary work by dramaturgs in the USA and Canada.<BR>
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Brian was recognized by LMDA Vice President Liz Engelman for his longstanding, distinctive and significant contribution to the field of dramaturgy. In her presentation, Engelman commented:<BR>
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<I>"As the Director of his dramaturgical company Nightswimming (a 'dramaturgical company!' - that alone deserved recognition) whose declared mission is to be dedicated to advancing the field of dramaturgy and play development in Canada, Brian has, since 1994, invested purely and fully in the development of numerous pieces of work. He has done so much for the initiation, generation and development of new plays, performance works and dance pieces that, in a sense, I feel as if I am presenting a lifetime achievement award. Through Nightswimming, Brian has created a system of development that evolves the notion of dramaturgy, that expands the role of the dramaturg, and that has the potential of being the new norm. His artist-based collaborative process opens up not only who is in the rehearsal room, but gives artists a chance to dream, and allows for these dreams to come true."<BR>
</I>Nightswimming is delighted that Brian's work has been acknowledged by his peers in the dramaturgical community and would like to extend its congratulations to the long list of artists commissioned by or working with Nightswimming: Julia Sasso, Don Druick, Claudia Dey, Jason Sherman, Michael Redhill, Jane Urquhart, Jane Miller, Ned Dickens, Richard Sanger, Anoshi Irani and Andy Massingham.<BR>
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In addition to his work with Nightswimming, Brian is the company dramaturg at Factory Theatre and Chair of LMDA Canada. His recent credits include a Dora Award nomination for directing Don Druick's<I> THROUGH THE EYES</I> at Factory Theatre, which is reviving the production in May 2004; dramaturging Julia Sasso's<I> BEAUTY</I>, produced by<FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial"> julia sasso dances</FONT></FONT> at Harbourfront Centre; and directing Jason Sherman's Governor General's Award nominee<I> AN ACRE OF TIME</I> at the Tarragon Theatre. All three projects were commissioned and developed by Nightswimming.<BR>
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<B>LMDA</B> serves the professions of literary managers and dramaturgs across North America and created the Elliott Hayes Award to honour the memory of the late Stratford Festival Literary Manager Elliott Hayes. It is awarded annually to celebrate the contribution of dramaturgs to the conception, development and production of theatre in the Americas. New York-based dramaturg<B> Mallory Catlett</B> was also honoured for her work on<B> The First 100 Years Project</B>. For more information, please visit<B><U> www.lmda.org</U></B>.<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><H2><U>NIGHTSWIMMING<BR>
</U></H2></FONT><B>commissioning and developing new works of theatre, dance, music<BR>
<FONT FACE="Helvetica">Brian Quirt,<FONT COLOR="#0033CC"> Artistic Director </FONT>*<FONT COLOR="#0033CC"> </FONT>Naomi Campbell,<FONT COLOR="#0033CC"> Producer<BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><U>http://www.nightswimmingtheatre.ca<BR>
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<FONT SIZE="2"><B>Board of Directors</B>: Malcolm Burrows, Linda Keyworth, Kathy St. John.<BR>
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Nightswimming is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the Laidlaw Foundation and many patrons.<BR>
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