Miriam Cusson Honoured with 2017 John Hirsch Director's Award

Sudbury theatre director Miriam Cusson will receive this year's John Hirsch Director's Award on Tuesday, September 12 during the Zones Théâtrales festival at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. The same evening, the festival will feature a workshop presentation of Miriam's newest work, Parmi les éclats, which will premiere in 2018 at the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario.

Miriam is a director, actor, playwright and designer. She has founded or co-founded several local theatre companies, notably le Collectif FFF (2003?05), les Productions Roches brûlées (2009?14) and le Théâtre aux quatre vents (a community/university theatre company dedicated to exploration and emerging artists).

Miriam is known for her inventive, multidisciplinary theatre productions, including many critically praised adaptations. These include Le Corbeau/The Raven (based on the Edgar Allen Poe story), Les aveugles (based on the play by Maurice Maeterlinck), and Quand on sème le vent... (based on Shakespeare's The Tempest).

A number of her works explore Sudbury and northern Ontario as a theme. These include Le Parcours littéraire (a travelling multi-site piece exploring 100 years of Franco-Sudburian literature), Sudbury Blues (presented at Montreal's Festival international de la littérature) and Nowhere du Nord (created while artist-in-residence at the Musagetes Foundation).

Miriam is very active in Sudbury's broader arts community. She serves as a curator for the Up Here - Urban Arts & Music Festival, and as Assistant Artistic Director at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance.

She has been especially involved in the local literary community. From 2006 to 2010, she was Executive and Artistic Director of the Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury, and she is currently an advisor for les Éditions Prise de parole's poetry series.

Miriam currently teaches at Laurentian University, in their francophone Theatre program.

"Miriam is a community builder with an impressive commitment to Sudbury," said the jury. "She both engages and challenges her audiences with her courageous, rebellious directing style. And her multidisciplinary work is very novel and exciting."

About the John Hirsch Director's Award

The John Hirsch Memorial Fund was established in 1989 by a bequest to the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) from the late John Hirsch, one of Canada's most distinguished directors.

The $5,000 award is presented every three years to a promising Ontario-resident theatre director to further the recipient's professional development.

The recipient is chosen through a nomination and adjudication process administered by OAC. The jury for this year's award comprised Ashlie Corcoran (Gananoque), Guy Mignault (Toronto) and Colin Taylor (Toronto).

Previous recipients include Jordan Tannahill (2014), Louise Naubert (2011), Ruth Madoc-Jones (2008) and Joël Beddows (2005). Click here for a full list of past recipients.