Call Number: Mss 250, Pc 215, Tc 123, Mc 19 (A.04-108)

Title: Ian Ross fonds.

Dates: 1994-2003.

Extent: 0.62 m of textual records. -- 52 photographs, 5 contact sheets, 1 slide & 2 cassette tapes.

Biographical sketch: Ian Ross was born in McCreary, Manitoba in 1968 and currently resides in Winnipeg. Ross attended the University of Manitoba where he studied film and theatre and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992.

Ross's directing experience includes short films and plays for student productions as well as for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and the Red Roots Theatre. His writing and performing have been described as provocative offering a distinct and accurate perspective on the experiences of Aboriginal people. In 1996 Ross received the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer and in 1997 Ross's play "fareWel" won the Governor General's Award for English Drama and was published by Scirocco Drama Publishing the same year.

Ross's plays include the award winning "fareWel", "The Gap", "Heart of a Distant Tribe", "Baloney!", "Bic Off!", "Bereav'd of Light", and "An Illustrated History of the Anishnabe." Ross's plays have been produced by the Manitoba Association of Playwrights-Short Shots, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, the Black Hole Theatre, the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ross has also conducted numerous workshops and classes with various Winnipeg schools on playwriting.

Beginning in 1997, Ross wrote and performed "Joe from Winnipeg" on CBC Radio and Television. The popular "Joe from Winnipeg" episodes were subsequently published in two books, The Book of Joe and Joe from Winnipeg.

Custodial history: The fonds was donated by Ian Ross to the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections in 2004.

Scope and content: The fonds is separated into twelve series. They are: biographical material, correspondence, Ross's research, notes and grant applications, "Joe from Winnipeg" episodes, screenplays, scripts and articles, contracts and agreements, reviews, playbills and posters, miscellaneous screenplays given to Ross, a photograph collection (Pc 215), audio recordings (Tc 123), and a pencil drawing by Leonard Bighetty (Mc 19). The photograph collection includes 52 photographs, 5 contact sheets and 1 slide. The audio recordings include 2 cassette tapes - one of "Joe from Winnipeg" episodes and the other an interview with CBC Radio host Terry MacLeod.

Source of supplied title: Title based on provenance of fonds.

Restrictions: Some files have been labeled confidential and are restricted.

Accruals: Further accruals to this fonds may be expected.

Finding aid: A printed finding aid is available in the Archives reading room and an on-line finding aid is available at the link below.

MSS 250, PC 215, TC 123, MC 19 (A.04-108)