Ruth Howard (artist)

Ruth Howard is a Canadian artist who creates large-scale arts and theatre projects with urban communities [1] and has been called "a key figure in the Canadian Community Play movement".[2] She is currently the artistic director of Jumblies Theatre, a company she founded in 2001.

Early life and education

Her father was the renowned researcher into visual perception, Ian P. Howard.

Howard studied at the Eastbourne College of Art and Design, at University of Toronto where she obtained a BA Honours, and at the National Theatre School of Canada (Design).

Early work

Howard worked for many years as a professional theatre designer, as well as with various forms of popular and participatory arts and theatre. Her family is integral to the work she does for Jumblies. She lives on Wards Island with her partner of thirty years, Steve Cooper, with whom she has three children: Shifra, Helah, and Eli.

In 1991, Ruth was invited by Dale Hamilton to be a designer for the Spirit of Shivaree in Rockwood, Ontario. This introduction to the community play form, which combines high-calibre art making on an epic scale with a philosophy of wholehearted social inclusion and an astonishing capacity for social change, was a life-changing experience that has inspired the course and nature of her work ever since.

Ruth went on to design community plays in Canada and the U.K., in locations such as Blyth, Ontario; Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan; Enderby, British Columbia; and Torbay, England and Manchester, England and to create interdisciplinary projects that adapted the form to reflect her evolving artistic interests and Toronto’s realities. At the same time Howard began to produce and create her own theatre events: initially in school communities, but growing in size and complexity. In 2000, she produced a multi-lingual performance piece in South Riverdale’s Twisted Metal and Mermaids Tears, which had a strong impact on Canada’s community arts scene and prompted Ruth to found Jumblies Theatre in 2001.

Jumblies Theatre

Following the success of these projects, Howard founded Jumblies Theatre in 2001 to support what had evolved as an approach of establishing multi-year residencies in urban communities leading to large-scale, participatory, performance pieces. These pieces were adapted from, but retaining many of the guiding principles of the Community Play model.

Jumblies has since undertaken residencies in five communities and created several highly acclaimed productions in including "Once A Shoreline:" in Davenport West (2004); "Bridge of One Hair" in Central Etobicoke (2007); the "Twelfth Jewish Children’s Work Commune Re-enactment" at Camp Naivelt (2008); and "Oy di velt vet vern yinger (Oh the world will grow younger)" at the Mayworks Festival in 2009. Jumblies’ most recent large-scale production, a Scarborough telling of Shakespeare's Winter's Tale, "Like An Old Tale", took take place in Scarborough in December 2011, with hundreds of community participants, and dozens of professional artists.

Jumblies Theatre has had projects such as:

Publications

Professional affiliations

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 Claire Dimond-Gibson (2005–2006). "Building the power of community: Jumblies Theatre's Once a Shoreline community play". Creative City Network of Canada. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  2. ↑ artsnetwork
  3. ↑ Jumblies Theatre
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