For nearly 50 years, the Equity Honours have recognized members and other industry professionals, acknowledging their outstanding contributions to our industry, our Association, and our craft.
The categories for the 2024 Equity Honours include:
Life Membership – Awarded to an Equity member in recognition of their artistic achievements throughout their career.
Emerging Artist Award – Awarded to an Equity member who joined within the last three years, in recognition of their outstanding artistic contributions early in their career.
Changemaker Award – Awarded to an Equity member in recognition of their efforts to further the values of diversity and inclusion in the performing arts.
Larry McCance Award – Awarded to an Equity member or former staff in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the Association and its membership.
Honorary Membership – Awarded to a non-member of Equity who has made an outstanding contribution to the Association and/or its members, or to the performing arts.
To celebrate this year's honorees, a video recording of the awards presentations will be available here and on Equity's social platforms on December 6, 2024.
2024 Honorees
Life Membership
Clare Coulter
Clare is a Dora Mavor Moore award-winning actor who has been moving audiences across Canada with her performances for nearly 60 years. At the age of 70, Clare became one of the relatively few women to portray the title role and ten years later, she continues to inspire audiences and artists alike this summer, starring in Judith Thompson’s new play, Queen Maeve.
Kelley McKinlay
A native of Edmonton, Kelley first joined the Alberta Ballet at the age of 17 and was almost immediately thrust into the spotlight, dancing in principal roles. He would go on to spend his entire twenty-year career at the AB, thrilling audiences here in Canada and touring the world. Beyond his work onstage, Kelley became an esteemed member of the bargaining team for a number of negotiations with the AB, speaking up on behalf of his fellow dancers in the company.
Edward Roy
For more than 40 years Ed has been a director, educator, playwright, dramaturge, actor, and producer working in the industry that has been his life’s passion. In fact, he directed the DORA awards ceremony in Toronto seven times to great acclaim! And throughout his decades long career, he has been a great champion of LGBTQ2+ artists in this country.
David Warrack
There isn’t much David hasn’t done in his nearly forty-year career in musical theatre. He is a composer, conductor, pianist, vocalist, lyricist, librettist, arranger, orchestrator, music director, director, satirist, comedian, actor, poet, producer, impresario, and bon vivant. He has created or collaborated on 63 professionally produced musicals, including some of the longest running productions in Canadian theatrical history.
Emerging Artist Award
Lior Maharjan
Since graduating theatre school in 2017, Lior has been nominated for the Montreal English Theatre Awards (META) as both a performer and playwright. What’s more, she has quickly become an authentic leader in the Montreal theatre scene as a voice of trans identity and the trans community.
Changemaker Award
David Connolly
During his thirty-plus year career, David has been a true artist and advocate. A double below-knee amputee, he is a performer, director, choreographer, associate artistic director, educator, and an inspiration and initiator of actionable steps to improve disabled representation in the arts.
Larry McCance Award
Lynn McQueen
Lynn began her career as an Equity stage manager in 1988 and was an active member of the Equity Stage Management Committee before joining Equity's staff in 1998 – fiercely advocating for the rights of Equity members throughout her career.
Honorary Membership
Zelda Dean
A great many artists can say, Zelda Dean helped get them their start. For decades, Zelda ran the Glenmore Dinner Theatre in Calgary, providing opportunities to scores of actors, designers, and stage managers just starting out in their careers. As a patron of the arts, Zelda sponsored a number of scholarships at Mount Royal College (now Mount Royal University) for young and emerging theatre practitioners. And she would go on to become the founder and Managing Artistic Director of Bema Productions, a theatre group in Victoria – continuing her mission to foster and encourage the development of new artists.