Nina Lee Aquino

With a string of firsts in Asian Canadian theatre, Nina Lee Aquino was the founding Artistic Director of fu-GEN Asian Canadian theatre company. She organized the first Asian Canadian theatre conference, edited the first (two-volume) Asian Canadian play anthology, and co-edited the first (award-winning) book on Asian Canadian theatre. She served as Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre from 2009–12, before becoming Artistic Director at Factory Theatre, a position she held from 2012–2022. She delivered Canada’s World Theatre Day message in 2018 and is now the youngest President of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). She has directed world premieres and revivals at theatres across the country and has won the Ken McDougall Award, the John Hirsch Prize, the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Director and three Dora Awards for Outstanding Direction. Nina has also been awarded the Filipino of Distinction Award in Theatrical Arts and Entertainment and is an honorary member of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research.