Directing

 

It all started when…

in university I auditioned to act. I was never chosen, so I ended up directing. That was a revelation. It turned out I had an aptitude for it. The act of directing was a powerful experience that fully engaged all of my emotional and intellectual self. It was so powerful that it seized hold of me like “a calling”. I never turned back.

I have had a privileged life. I’ve managed to direct (and Artistic Direct) since then. I still love this job and feel very fulfilled by it. Especially when I am directing new work.

I am not an auteur director. I always find my way to a production through the writer’s words and the actor’s strengths. I run an easy going rehearsal environment with a primary focus on getting as strong a foundation for the characters, and context, as possible. I prefer to explore all possibilities in order to discover what we should not do in our performance. With this collective agreement, the actors are free to slightly “improvise” each night, within those agreed parameters. I much prefer establishing the groundwork for a fresh performance each time, rather than reproducing exactly the same performance every time.

I prefer more intimate productions. I'm more inclined towards naturalism than Expressionism. I like to think that I'm very good at finding the deepest emotional dimensions of the characters. I also love drawing out any available humour in a work. I place great value on advocating for the audience at all times. I want to prioritize the ability for any production to make an audience field like they are in good hands- that we will treat them well and even if things are going to be challenging they know that we will do our best to make things comprehensible to them. I take great pride in a production’s clarity. And I'm always looking for the most powerful emotional experience I can give an audience.

 

Here is a mini directing bio:

  • I’ve directed over 50 plays, mostly original productions of new work

    • Best known among them is probably “2 Pianos, 4 Hands”

  • I’ve also directed countless workshop presentations

  • I have 3 Dora Nominations for Direction and 2 Edinburgh Fringe First Awards