Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s artistic director Jim Morrow was honoured by his international colleagues in Austin, Texas, last month.
The Port Williams resident received the Mickey Miner Award for outstanding achievement in the field of theatre for young audiences.
Presented by the U.S.-based International Performing Arts for Youth organization at its annual conference, the award is given to distinguished artists who have made exemplary contributions to the lives of the children around the world.
A diverse gathering of presenters, agents and government officers from several countries, who attended the ceremony, were vocal in their praise for Morrow’s innovative productions for Mermaid.
In his introduction, actor/director David Gonzalez spoke of Morrow’s multidisciplinary talent as designer, director, writer and educator.
“His work fuses the visual and the verbal, the grounded and the imaginative,” the citation noted. “His work is simultaneously simple and complex, musical kinetic haiku filled with colour and story, created with love and vigor."
Morrow’s lengthy involvement with Mermaid began in 1978, when he joined the company as a puppeteer following theatre studies at Acadia University. He became artistic director in 1992, and has simultaneously served as director, production designer and principal puppetry instructor. His contributions to Mermaid have played a major role in establishing an unparalleled international touring circuit for the company, now in its 40th season.
In 2004 Morrow was the recipient of $25,000 Nova Scotia's Portia White Prize.
Then culture minister Rodney MacDonald said, "Mr. Morrow is a prime example of a Nova Scotia artist who has excelled in the arts."
