Ruth Lawrence is an actor/writer/director/film and theatre producer based in St. John’s, NL. As a filmmaker, Ruth’s feature films include Little Orphans (Best Canadian Feature, Whistler Film Festival), Hopeless Romantic, and the comedy feature, Party Pirate, set to open the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival in October 2023. Her documentaries A Lot of Love in the Room and Circus by Komatik have been featured on CBC Gem. She has directed and/or produced over 70 short films and webisodes.
She co-founded White Rooster Theatre with Sherry White in 2001 and was its Artistic Director until 2023. She has directed Happy Anniversary (co-produced with TODOS Productions), Remnants, and Other Women Walk for the company. For Persistence Theatre, she directed an acclaimed production of Berni Stapleton’s Offensive to Some. For Opera on the Avalon, she directed Three Decembers and will direct the October 2023 premiere of February, based on Lisa Moore’s remarkable novel.
Ruth’s honours include the Joan Orenstein Best Actress Award, the RBC Michelle Jackson Award for Emerging Filmmaker, the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Artist of the Year, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the YWCA Woman of Distinction, a WIFT-AT WAVE Award, the national Leslie Yeo Award for Volunteerism, and the inaugural Ross Leslie Award for her contributions to film and theatre.
Photo by David Howells.