This year’s recipient of the Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Outstanding Leadership in Administration (LMJH Award) is Rebecca Burton. This is an annual award that honours the important contribution of all who work in theatre, dance and opera administration, and who have devoted a minimum of ten years to the performing arts, in addition to impacting the industry in Toronto.
Ms.Burton is a tireless champion of Canadian playwrights through her work as the Membership and Professional Contracts Manager with the Playwrights Guild of Canada and through past projects like Equity in Theatre (2014–2017), PLEDGE, SureFire, and more. Ms. Burton also works as an educator, feminist theatre practitioner, and researcher. She authored the benchmark report, Adding It Up: The Status of Women in Canadian Theatre (2006), which was published in various industry journals. With an established track record for championing women in the arts and equality practices, Ms. Burton has been an integral part of advancing Canadian Theatre.
The Victor C. Polley Protégé Award 2022 recipient is Idil Djafer. The award recognizes the work of emerging arts administrators with a minimum of two years of arts work experience, selected by the LMJH Award laureate. With over four years of arts administration experience, Ms. Djafer worked closely with Ms. Burton at the Playwrights Guild of Canada and currently is the Executive Assistant to Weyni Mengesha, Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company. In addition to her administrative role, Ms. Djafer is a multidisciplinary conceptual artist focusing on racial, religious and feminist issues.