The annual Jon Kaplan Fund Awards offer support and encouragement to Canadian theatre artists. There is no “best” associated with these Awards, and the adjudicating committees focus on selecting the most appropriate recipients based on merit and need, and the criteria listed below.
Submissions to the 2023 Jon Kaplan Legacy Fund Awards are now closed. Thank you for a record year of applications! Recipients will be announced on May 17, 2023.
Community Grants
The Jon Kaplan Legacy Fund exists to support the work of local theatre artists and companies. If you are an independent Toronto-based theatre company and need help keeping the doors open or bringing a new project to life, please contact us with an ask: info@jonkaplanfund.com.
Deadlines
- This program is currently on pause. Please check back in the fall.
Canadian Stage Performer (Nominated by an Established Canadian Theatre Maker)
Eligibility Criteria:
- This peer-nominated award is to recognize Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are theatre performers with at least five years of industry experience with or without formal training;
- Through their body of work, the nominated candidate demonstrates both artistic excellence and a strong commitment to their art;
- The award will provide a significant boost in recognition/acknowledgement towards furthering the successful candidate’s career, as well as providing some financial support
Award amount
$5,000
Deadlines
- Applications Open January 8, 2023
- Applications Close on Midnight (ET) March 31, 2023
- Recipients Announced on May 17, 2023
Young Canadian Playwright (self-nominated)
Eligibility Criteria
- Open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents between the ages of 20 and 30 (as of January 1, 2023) who write plays and/or books for musicals;
- The successful candidate will have had one or two works produced by a professional company, or work that has been selected to be part of a curated theatre festival (such as, but not limited to, Toronto’s SummerWorks, or Vancouver’s PuSH), or have had more than two works presented at a non-curated theatre festival.
Award amount
$5,000
Deadlines
- Applications Open January 8, 2023
- Applications Close on Midnight (ET) March 31, 2023
- Recipients Announced on May 17, 2023
Graduating Student from a Canadian Theatre School
This year’s partner program for the Graduating Student award is Theatre and Drama Studies at Sheridan College and the University of Toronto at Mississauga.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to a graduating student from a Canadian post-secondary theatre school; theatre schools are selected by the Jon Kaplan Fund Board on a rotating basis. Past honoured theatre school programs have included: Sheridan College, Ryerson University, and George Brown College.
Submission Guidelines
- The recipient of this award must be nominated by the faculty of the school selected for this year’s award;
- Faculty are encouraged to select one student from the current graduating class who shows both merit and commitment to the art.
- This award acknowledges both the recipient’s body of work as a student, as well as their potential for the future;
- To suggest a worthy theatre school or program for future consider, please email your recommendation to info@jonkaplanfund.com.
Award amount
$2,500