Astrid Janson (born June 9, 1947) is a Canadian

set designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

and costume designer. Best known for her work in theatre, she has also designed for television, opera, dance, film and exhibitions. She is the winner of several

Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, ...

, as well as the first Toronto Drama Bench Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Canadian Theatre (now The Herbert Whittaker/CTCA Award).

Life and education

Astrid Dora Janson was born in Cappel, Germany on June 9, 1947. Part of a working-class family, she moved to Toronto as a child. In high school and university, Janson took an interest in politics and then political theatre. "I was a kid of the Sixties and wanted to get in on all that revolting," she later told a reporter. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at

Waterloo Lutheran University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

(1969) and a Master of Arts in Theatre Design at

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(1972). After graduating, she moved to Toronto to find work opportunities. In 2016,

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

presented Janson with an

Honorary Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

Career

1970 to 1990

Janson started her career with the Toronto Dance Theatre as a costume designer for its 1972–1973 season. Soon after, she began work at Toronto Workshop Productions, working as the resident designer until 1977 and then freelance designer for five more years. From 1975 to 1984, she worked at the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

as a costume designer and made her designer debut at Shaw Festival and

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

. Throughout the 1970s, she contributed to small theatre companies like Theatre Compact, Global Village Theatre and Tarragon Theatre. In the 1980s, Janson started designing for large venues such as

Young People's Theatre Young People's Theatre (YPT) is a professional theatre for youth located in Toronto, Ontario. The company produces and presents a full season of theatre and arts education programming, performing to approximately 150,000 patrons annually. Founded ...

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is a performing arts theatre complex located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Situated on Front Street one block east of Yonge Street, it was the City of Toronto's official centennial project, commemorat ...

, Toronto Free Theatre, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Arts Productions and Desrosiers Dance Company. She also worked with newly-formed small companies like

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

and VideoCabaret.

1990 to present

In the 1990s, Janson designed for companies including

Canadian Stage Company Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

, National Arts Centre,

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would ...

, Tarragon Theatre, Citadel + Compagnie, and the Eclectic Theatre. Janson created the design for the Discovery Gallery at

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

in 1998—one of multiple exhibition projects in her career. From 1993 to 2007, Janson taught as an assistant professor at University of Toronto's theatre department. She belongs to the Associated Designers of Canada.

Style

For set designs, projections on unusual surfaces are a trademark of Janson's work. In her words: "I think painting so often solidifies space... I want to get away from that. I love projections, but not on screens. They must be a surprise. I only like to use them on other surfaces."

Awards

Dora Mavor Moore Awards

Outstanding Costume Design

* General Theatre — ''The Great War'' (2016) * Independent Theatre — ''Trudeau and the FLQ'' (2014) * Independent Theatre — ''The War of 1812: The History of the Village of the Small Huts, 1812-15'' (2013) * Independent Theatre — ''The Life and Times of Mackenzie King'' (2012) * Independent Theatre — ''Laurier'' (2008) * General Theatre — ''The Red River Rebellion'' (2005) * General Theatre — ''Confederation'' (2004) * Small Theatre — ''The Global Village Part II: Trudeau and the FLQ'' (1997) * Small Theatre — ''The Cold War'' (1996) * Small Theatre — ''The Great War'' (1993) * Drama / Comedy — ''The Grace of Mary Traverse'' (1987) * Revue / Musical — ''Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' (1984) * Revue / Musical — ''Cabaret'' (1983)

Outstanding Set Design

* General Theatre — ''The Maids'' (2003) * General Theatre — ''La Ronde'' (2002) * Mid-Size Theatre — ''Assassins'' (1995) * Revue / Musical — ''Cabaret'' (1983)

Other

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

for production design — ''Shadow Pleasures'' (2004) * Silver Ticket Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, awarded by

Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) is an arts service organization representing professional theatre, dance and opera companies in the City of Toronto. Amongst their 175 members are the Canadian Opera Company, Luminato, Factory Theatre, ...

(2001) * Toronto Drama Bench Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Canadian Theatre (1980)

References

External links

Personal blogAstrid Janson
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Costume and set designs
on Digital Archive ( Toronto Public Library) {{DEFAULTSORT:Janson, Astrid Canadian costume designers Living people Wilfrid Laurier University alumni University of British Columbia alumni 1947 births Canadian scenic designers Canadian theatre designers Canadian women costume designers Women theatre designers