Paul Templin Honored with 2013 Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award

The Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award (LMJH Award) was inaugurated in 2008 and recognizes the important work of theatre, dance and opera administrators. Recipients of the LMJH Award have at least 10 years of demonstrated commitment to the performing arts, in addition to having made an impact on the industry in Toronto. The award is named after Leonard McHardy and John Harvey, the celebrated owners of Toronto's Theatrebooks, which they co-founded in 1975, and which now stands as one of the longest surviving independent bookstores in the country.

This year's recipient is Paul Templin, Director of Events for Hart House at the University of Toronto. Over the course of more than three decades, Mr. Templin has made a substantial and lasting contribution to the performing arts in Toronto. He launched three festivals that are still going strong today: the University of Toronto Drama Festival, the Festival of Dance and the University of Toronto Film Festival. Together, they have provided opportunities for over five thousand aspiring actors, dancers, choreographers, writers, directors and designers, many of whom continue to work in the performing arts across Canada. In his current position, Mr. Templin applies his deep experience as a leader in the arts sector to position Hart House as a premier cultural destination in the city of Toronto.

Perhaps Mr. Templin's greatest contribution to the theatre community was the revitalization of Hart House Theatre, which was scheduled to close permanently in 2001. Mr. Templin developed a comprehensive business plan and convinced the University to postpone the closure for three years - providing enough time to turn the Theatre into a success and preserving a vital gateway for young people into the performing arts. Indeed, he has worked to secure the future of theatre in Toronto by founding the Canadian Children's Theatre Co. and reaching out to new audiences, including by producing Canada's first "described" theatre production for the visually impaired.

After graduating from the Theatre Production Program at Ryerson University in the late 1970s, Mr. Templin began his career in Los Angeles working at such legendary venues as The Embassy Auditorium, The Aquarius Theatre and The Westwood Playhouse. Upon his return to Toronto in 1981, he assumed the role of Production Stage Manager for the Graduate Drama Program at the University of Toronto, thus beginning his long association with Hart House Theatre. Within five years, Mr. Templin left the Graduate Drama Program to look after all technical aspects of the Theatre, supervising its professional staff, improving its aging infrastructure and playing host to hundreds of productions, including opera, theatre, dance, film and music. His contributions during this time went far beyond the facility itself. Mr. Templin organized the theatre, dance and film communities at the University, bringing together dozens of groups to strengthen the performing arts on campus.

As Managing Director, he turnEd Hart House Theatre from a road house into a successful producing theatre, converted its box office into UofTtix (a successful university-wide ticket agency), launched an eight million dollar fundraising campaign, established contemporary marketing strategies, developed a sponsorship program, created a renovation plan and hired many of Toronto's best young directors and designers to build an exciting theatre for a new generation.

Mr. Templin's list of accomplishments includes winning two UofT Stepping Up Awards, writing the positioning paper for the creation of the UofT Arts Council, and establishing the Creative Classes, a new stream of educational programming taught by theatre and film artists. He conducted a Cultural Mapping of the University of Toronto, wrote and produced six plays for young audiences and served on multiple boards, councils, panels and executives for many cultural organizations across the GTA.

The previous winners of the LMJH Award are Jim Lefrancois, Naomi Campbell, Natasha Parsons, Ghislain Caron and Leslie Lester. The LMJH Award is administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). Candidates for the LMJH Award are nominated by TAPA members and then reviewed by a committee. Chaired by Sandy Tulloch, the LMJH Selection Committee is Ghislain Caron, Derrick Chua, Leonard McHardy and John Harvey. The award winner receives a plaque and a cheque for $1,000 through the generous sponsorship of Elizabeth Comper.

The Dora Mavor Moore Awards are administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). In addition to the Doras, other programs and services provided by TAPA include: T.O. TIX - Toronto's Official One Stop Ticket Shop at Yonge-Dundas Square and online at www.totix.ca; Toronto's Official Theatre Guide; hipTIX, offering $5 tickets to students between the ages of 15 and 29; citySPECIAL; the Commercial Theatre Development Fund; and the Travel Retreat Initiatives Program - TRIP. For more information, visit www.tapa.ca and www.totix.ca.