Ruth Howard

Ruth Howard is the founding Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre. She and Jumblies have created multi-year residencies resulting in large scale performances, in a series of Toronto neighbourhoods, resulting in large-scale productions and lasting Offshoot organizations. She has worked across Canada and in England as a theatre designer, has taught at many universities, colleges and schools, amentored many emerging artists and organizations, and won many awards for her work. In 2015 Ruth and Jumblies produced the west-to-east-coast Train of Thought tour with partners across the country. Her most recent projects with Jumblies include the May/June 2017 Touching Ground Festival of new works in Toronto and the Four Lands tour.

Adrienne Marcus Raja

Adrienne explores a range of practices which blends in painting, puppetry, audio, installation, moving images, and photography. As a Malaysian with a Kelabit and Hainan ancestory, she is a multi-disciplinary artist currently living in Toronto. Her works has been presented nationally and internationally. She is an MFA graduate of Ryerson University in Documentary Media. She also holds a BA degree in Mass Communication and Television Production from Curtin University. She is the first recipient of Jumblies’ Al Levitt Memorial Award. She enjoys travelling as well as learning alongside people from different backgrounds and communities. She is currently the Tour Coordinator for Jumblies’ most recent collaborative touring project, The Four Lands. She is also Jumblies’ Arts Management Intern (thanks to an Ontario Arts Council Compass grant). 

Karis Jones-Pard

MARTIN VAN DE VEN

MARTIN VAN DE VEN IS A COMPOSER, CLARINETTIST AND MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND EDUCATOR. A MAINSTAY OF THE CANADIAN KLEZMER SCENE, HE PERFORMS WITH CANADA’S HOTTEST KLEZMER BAND, BEYOND THE PALE, RECENTLY RETURNED FROM TOUR OF THE SOUTHERN U.S. HE HAS PUBLISHED TWO INSTRUCTIONAL VOLUMES OF KLEZMER TRANSCRIPTIONS AND HAS COMPOSED AND PERFORMED MUSIC FOR FILM, TELEVISION, THEATRE, AND DANCE PRODUCTIONS. IN 2017 WITH JUMBLIES HE COMPLETED THE MULTI MOVEMENT CANTATA, UNDER THE CONCRETE, PREMIERED AT HISTORIC FORT YORK, ALONGSIDE THE TALKING TREATIES SPECTACLE. HE IS CURRENTLY A FULL-TIME MATH INSTRUCTOR AT FOR THE TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD, AND A FIRM BELIEVER IN ARTS EDUCATION –FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE– AS A WAY TO A HEALTHY, WELL ROUNDED AND FULFILLING LIFE. 

Arie Verhuel-van de Ven

Arie Verhuel-van de Ven is a composer and string player based in southern Ontario. Arie makes music for a variety of contexts, performing as a violist and improvisor in numerous concerts throughout Waterloo and the GTA. His compositions have been performed by the likes of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and The Ton Beau String Quartet. He is also in frequent collaboration with Toronto’s young filmmaking community, having scored a number of award-winning shorts. Arie’s music tends to exist between conventional styles, informed by his interest in contemporary folk, klezmer and balkan music, as well as new music. He is currently working as a summer intern with Jumblies Theatre. Arie studies composition with Glenn Buhr and viola performance with Christine Vlajk at Wilfrid Laurier University.