Image caption: Chiamaka Glory (left) and Jasmine Case (BA ’20) in Young People’s Theatre production of Truth by Kanika Ambrose.
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2024 | by Gillian Minaker
Brock graduate Jasmine Case (BA ’20) is making waves in the Canadian theatre scene by bringing stories of diversity to life for audiences, garnering the attention of national arts and culture media and earning a highly esteemed acting award in the process.
Case was recently honoured at the 2024 annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards winning the award for Outstanding Performance by an Individual in the Theatre for Young Audiences Division for her compelling performance in Truth by Kanika Ambrose, a world premiere at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto.
Based on the novel The Gospel Truth by Caroline Pignat and directed by Sabryn Rock, Truth follows the journey of a courageous young Black girl named Phoebe, played by Case, struggling to find freedom while living on a tobacco plantation in Virginia in 1858.
Jasmine Case (BA ’20) recently received the 2024 Dora Mavor Moore Awards in the Theatre for Young Audiences Division for her performance in Truth by Kanika Ambrose.
“The history of the United States and Canada is forever marred by the many Black and Indigenous stories erased and forgotten. Often, our stories don’t get rewritten by us; with Kanika Ambrose writing the play and Sabryn Rock directing, I knew I was in good hands,” Case said.
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Diverse representation has only recently started to improve and, as a Black woman, Case rarely saw people like her on stage when she was growing up.
Thinking of the kids who would be sitting in the audience learning and being fascinated by the world while feeling the emotions of her character sold Case on the role.
“By going through this journey as Phoebe, I hoped people would walk away with a slightly deeper understanding or empathy for those who dealt with similar hardships,” she said.
Case first discovered her love for the stage during Brock’s Dramatic Arts (DART) program when she auditioned for her first mainstage production King Ubu at the University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts .
“It was that production, and how I felt on stage, which made me truly fall in love with acting as a career. I had always wanted to act — I was always the kid up on any stage I could get on — but I just never thought that I would have a successful career in it, or a Dora award for that matter” Case said.
From that point on, Case motivated herself to be the best actor she could be, harnessing the support of DART faculty, students and classmates.
“It was Brock that showed me theatre wasn’t just a pastime or a hobby, it was actually something I could do as a career,” Case said.
After graduation, Case was accepted into the prestigious National Theatre School (NTS) where she studied for three years before deepening her creative practice by participating in workshops with heavy-hitting theatre companies including Tarragon Theatre and Persephone Theatre.
Since then, Case has been in several theatre productions including The Fiancée at Chemainus Festival Theatre, Truth at Young People’s Theatre and most recently the Canadian premiere of seven methods of killing kylie jenner, a Globe and Mail Critic’s Pick, by Jasmine Lee-Jones at Obsidian and Crow’s Theatre.
As Case celebrates the significant accomplishment of receiving a Dora nomination and award — from Canada’s oldest and largest professional theatre awards celebrating excellence on the stage — she has new productions and creative works on the horizon.
Professor David Fancy said the Department of Dramatic Arts is delighted with her success so far.
“Jasmine’s contributions during her time in DART at Brock were marked by generosity, talent, and insight,” he said. “We can’t wait to see what comes next on Jasmine’s impressive career trajectory.”