JUMBLIES THEATRE

Artistic Director: Ruth Howard
Managing Director: Keith McNair Community Engagement Coordinator: Hillari Blumfald

Jumblies Theatre was founded by Ruth Howard in 2001 to root her artist-community collaborative work in her home, Toronto. Her work is largely inspired by the Community Play form, as developed in Britain and imported to Canada in 1990 by Dale Hamilton.

Jumblies makes art for, with and about people and places. We reside for several years in one neighbourhood, with interweaving phases of outreach, research, creation, production and legacy/sustainability, involving hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds, partners from many sectors and dozens of artists from diverse disciplines and traditions. These residencies bring to life both large-scale, highly produced original productions and a multitude of creative activities along the way. We say "Everyone is welcome" and grapple with the social and aesthetic implications of meaning it. Thus, we create transient utopias and lasting ripples.

Jumblies' residencies and productions have taken place in South Riverdale, Lawrence Heights, Davenport Perth, Central Etobicoke, Camp Naivelt (Brampton), and currently in East Scarborough (with a 4-year company and project home-base at Cedar Ridge Creative Centre). The large-scale events stemming from these relationships have included Twisted Metal and Mermaid's Tears (2000), Once A Shoreline (2004), Bridge of One Hair (2007, premiering at Harbourfront Centre's New World Stage) and Oy Di Velt Vet Vern Yinger (2008, remounted for the 2009 Mayworks Festival), with our Scarborough residency heading for a major production in December, 2011.

Jumblies provides ongoing support to our two Offshoots, which have grown out of our past residencies into self-sufficient entities with distinctive artistic leaders and visions: Arts4All at Davenport Perth (in its 10th year, under the current Artistic Direction of Elizabether Rucker) and MABELLEarts, at Mabelle and Dundas (in its 7th year, under the Artistic Direction of Leah Houston).

Jumblies also includes the Jumblies Studio: an integrated, interdisciplinary and itinerant program for mentorship, training and learning in Art that engages with and creates Community. The Jumblies Studio offers seminars, workshops, internships and print and digital resources and other tailor-made activities in response to different needs and requests.

The Lead Artists for our Scarborough project (The Community Arts Guild) are Sean Frey and Beth Helmers (a 2010 Metcalf Foundation Intern). Other contributors over the years include Lisa Marie DiLiberto, Loree Lawrence, Faye Dupras, Noah Kenneally, Varrick Grimes, Martin van de Ven, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Wende Bartley, Chris Clifford, Trevor Schwellnus, Michelle Silagy, Penny Couchie, Lisa Sandlos, Duke Redbird, Hawa Jibril, Sid Bobb, Anthony (Prime) Guerra, Allan Merovitz, Cathy Nosaty, Kim Renders, Erna Van Daele, Diana Tso, Eric Schwindt, Dan Watson, Michael Burtt, Magi Oman, Shadya Yasin, Coleen McPherson, Mindy Stricke, Shelly Hering, Faten Toubasi, Amy Wong, Angela Thomas, Chris Brydon, Renwick Herry, Faduma Nkruma, Zeinab Labadhagax, Katherine Fleitas, Michaela Otto, Abby Callard, Zsuzsa Kelemen, Valerie Bernard, Mary Ruth Logue and many others.

Jumblies' current funders, partners and supporters include the Toronto Arts Council, City of Toronto Cultural Services, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Toronto Community Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, United Way, HRSDC, CIC Multiculturalism, Theatre Ontario, TELUS, Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre, Toronto Community Housing, Fixt Point and many other agencies, foundations and individuals, who have given funds, time, space, encouragement, advice and creativity.

Our hope is that what is nowadays called Community Arts will have an impact on our overall arts world (in Toronto and Canada), with the eventual result that it will become redundant as a term, because "art" and "community" will as a matter of course fit together, as they have in other times, and still do in other places.