Freelance: Intro

Here are selected productions since my leaving Northern Light Theatre in 1993. I directed existing texts but worked principally with new writers. I did dramaturgy in a row-boat and up a mountain: par for the course on the east coast. In 1997 I worked the Maritime summer Busker Festival circuit with the street puppeteers Blah Blah Troupe and directed for the first two On the Waterfront Festivals with brilliant Mary Vingoe's Eastern Front Theatre.

I was the Co Chair of Playwrights' Atlantic Resource Centre until 1997; the last Canada Council grant I did there finally procured funding for Jenny Mundy to take over.

After that, I was lucky to find a welcome in Cincinnati from the team builder Cathy Springfield at Xavier University.
I struck a chord with Lynne D. Myers, the wonderful artistic director of Ensemble Theatre and with Ed Sterne at Playhouse in the Park while border hopping for some projects at George Brown Theatre, Lorraine Kimsa YPT and The Shaw Festival where I worked for two seasons.

In 2000 I was offered a multi-year contract at Queen's University. I had such a good time there that I decided to teach on faculty at Brock University, an exciting department with a growth curve which has absorbed and re-directed some of my freelance energy.

Productions

Director, Adaptor. The Little Prince, by Antoine de St. Exupéry. Playhouse in the Park, Studio Theatre and Youth/School Theatre Tour (Jan-Mar 1998).

Director, Dramaturge. Fingers and Toes: a jazz-tap musical.
Ontario tour of ten theatres in two seasons; selected for Canadian Series by Community Cultural Impresarios of Ontario, 2004, 2005:
Blue Water Playhouse, Kincardine; Port Stanley Festival Theatre; Theatre Orangeville Opera Playhouse; Lighthouse Theatre, Port Dover; Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton; Circle in the Square Theatre, Kitchener; Markham Theatre; Heritage Theatre, Peterborough; Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, Brock Centre for the Arts.

Fingers and Toes Workshop at Stratford Festival supported by Stratford Company workshop program and Stratford Ensemble actors. Tanya Moisevitch Rehearsal Studio. (Oct.29, 2003).
Workshop/Public Presentation in New Script Series, Theatre Orangeville. The Opera House, Orangeville. (Oct. 28 2002).
First act workshopped courtesy of Debbie Slade and CCI conference Jun 05, 2002.

Director, Dramaturge. Quarry, by Mo Bock. Collage. Thousand Islands Playhouse, Gananoque. (Aug 30-Oct.16, 2001).

Dramaturge. Workshop for Quarry, by Mo Bock. Toronto Theatre Alliance Studio (Jul 06-Jul 13, 2001).

Director, Adaptor, Videographer. The Trojan Women, Seneca, trans. Fred Ahl. Showcase for International Symposium Seneca in Performance, Xavier University, Cincinnati (March 1998). Paper.
Composer James Hart wrote swooningly gorgeous music for the show, which he played and mixed live on stage. Dave Edwards was the videographer for our production which was sophistocated for its time. It was made possible by collaborative investment by Xavier's TV Studio and Nigel Scott's brilliantly integrated set and media design. We had 3 fixed on stage camera and a live camera dolly, as well as extensive pre-recorded imagery, so we used a 5 way switcher; I wrote a "visual score script" to accompany the scenes. The operators were very sensitive to the needs of the show and the live/pre-recorded half dissolves provided an artistic narrative that enhanced and supported the on stage action without over-whelming it.
More details are in the paper I wrote for the conference.

Director. Passion, Poison and Petrifaction, by Bernard Shaw. The Shaw Festival Royal George Theatre, Niagara on the Lake (Jun-Oct 1998).

Director. Sabina’s Splendid Brain, by Carol Sinclair. Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (Apr 1998).

Director, Adaptor. An Interview with Mr. Shaw: a compendium of Bernard Shaw’s lesser known writings. Script. The Shaw Festival Royal George Theatre, Niagara on the Lake (Aug 22 1998).

Director. Dramaturge. Skirmishes, by Elizabeth Logan Harris. Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati (Jun 08,2000).
Dramaturge. Workshop for Skirmishes, by Elizabeth Logan Harris. Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati (Jan 08, 2000).

Director. Don Juan Comes Back from the War, by Odon von Horvath. George Brown Theatre Production, King Street Performance Centre, Toronto (Mar 16-30 1999).

Director, Dramaturge. Beyond Zebra, by Torquil Colbo. Eastern Front Theatre, Dartmouth Nova Scotia (Oct 1996).
Dramaturge. Beyond Zebra, by Torquil Colbo. RCA Theatre, St. John’s Newfoundland (Jul 16-20, 1996).

Director. Moliere, by Sabina Berman, trans. Shelly Tepperman. National Theatre Centre, On The Verge Festival (May, 2000).

Director, Dramaturge. Alice, by Maristella Roca. Young Peoples Theatre,Toronto (Mar-Aug 2000).
Director, Dramaturge. Workshop for Alice, by Maristella Roca. Young Peoples Theatre,Toronto (Aug 1999).

Assistant Director to Neil Munroe at The Shaw Festival, 1997. The Secret Life, by Harley Granville Barker

Director, Albertine in 5 Times, by Michel Tremblay. David McMurray Theatre, Dalhousie University, (Oct 16-26 1996). Showcase for “Quebec and Literary Canada” Conference, Dalhousie University, (Nov 10, 1996).

Director, Dramaturge. The Emperor’s New Clothes, from Hans Christian Anderson. Blah Blah Troupe Street Puppet Theatre. Atlantic Summer Festival Tour to St. Jon New Brunswick, Sidney, Sackville, Antigonish, Halifax (Jul-Aug 1993).

Playwright, Director. Music to Wreck Autos By. Eastern Front Theatre “On the Waterfront Festival” (May 1993).