Nightwood Theatre’s Directors Summit is coming up from November 13-20 and we wanted to inform you that CAEA has approved Professional Development subsidies of $40 discount to Equity members for two of the Master Classes we have on offer: Kalideography and The Director’s Toolkit.
The Directors Summit is open to both women and men! There are also 2 other Master Classes that you may be interested in (registration is limited and the classes are filling up, so email denyse@nightwoodtheatre.net to sign up):
- Kalideography: Jillian Keiley of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland leads this crash course in Kalideography, a system of synchronized movement harmonics, which make possible the creation of layered and complex stage landscapes. November 14, 2-5pm and November 15, 10-1pm, $45 Equity $85 Non- Equity
- The Director’s Toolkit: Liesl Tommy, renowned director and instructor at Juilliard and Brown University leads participants in an exploration of the tools of collaboration. November 16 and 17, 10-1pm, $45 Equity $85 Non- Equity
- POV: Playwriting from the Directors Chair: Sabina Berman, multi-award-winning Mexican playwright and director, leads this master class exploring how image inspires narrative when writing from a directorial POV. November 16 and 17, 2-5pm, $85
- The Business of Art: What an Aspiring Artistic Director Needs To Know: Art is a serious business. Participants will receive the 101 on fiscal and strategic planning, revenue diversification, stewardship and more from some of the leading arts professionals in Toronto. November 18, 10-1pm, $25
Please click here for a full list of all Masterclasses events and scheduling details.
Available NOW! The $44 Industry Pass which lets you enjoy every event and panel in the 4×4 Director Summit at a 33% discount, as well as receiving 15% off all Master Classes.
IN CONVERSATION: The Panels
The Canadian Vanguard
Two Siminovitch Award-winning directors discuss the creation of brave new theatrical styles from distinct Canadian cultures. Quebec’s most revered directorial matriarch, Brigitte Haentjens and Newfoundland’s favourite daughter, Jillian Keiley come together to discuss their innovative techniques and what it meant to win Canada’s most prestigious award.
Saturday, November 14, 6:30pm, The Hub – Berkeley Street Theatre, $10
The Agony and Ecstasy of Staging New Work
Playwriting is “an art of composing in the medium of the actor”, and so is the art of the director, Susan Letzler Cole observes. What the director “sees” into reality is the end point of a process of exploring the nature of the script by enacting possibilities in rehearsal. How do you maintain fidelity to “what was written” and to “what was meant” while navigating the precarious terrain of an uncharted dramatic landscape.
Panelists: Cahoots AD, Nina Lee-Aquino; Alberta Theatre Projects AD, Vanessa Porteous; Shaw Associate AD, Eda Holmes; and Director Liesl Tommy (South Africa/US).
Monday, November 16, 6:30pm, The Hub – Berkeley Street Theatre, $10
Girls on Top: A special sneak peak screening
An intimate behind-the-scenes film which looks at the lives of eight women as they reunite to remount Soulpepper Theatre Company’s award-winning production of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls. This playful and poetic examination of what it means to be a “top girl”, features Diana Donnelly, Megan Follows, Kelli Fox, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Alisa Palmer, Cara Pifko, Liisa Repo-Martell and Robyn Stevan. Special work-in-progress preview screening followed by a talk back with film director Cassandra Nicolaou and theatre director Alisa Palmer.
Monday, November 16, 8:30pm, The Hub – Berkeley Street Theatre, PWYC
Staging Africa
Renowned South African directors Yael Farber and Liesl Tommy discuss bringing issues of Africa to the world stage. “I strive to create theatre which plunders imagination, burgles our fragile human emotions and stalks truth and beauty with absolute ferocity,” says Tommy. Of her play Molora, Farber posits, “I ha[ve] long been interested in creating work that explores the journey back from the dark heart of unspeakable trauma and pain toward the choice between revenge or redemptive forgiveness.”
Tuesday, November 17, 6:30pm, The Hub – Berkeley Street Theatre, $10
Women Directing in Canadian Theatre
A frank and open discussion of what it is to be a woman directing in Canada today. Renowned directors from across the country talk openly about their practice: the inherent challenges, how regionalism affects style and status, and how/whether their approach to the artistic process is unique.
Wednesday, November 18, 2:00pm, The Hub – Berkeley Street Theatre, Free
Relevance and Irreverence: Context and Cultural Mythologies
Anne Bogart, visionary director, wrote that the artist is engaged in the “violent act of articulation” and that this articulation “begins a new organization of the inherited landscape”. How does cultural context inhabit our work? How do we explore, explode, inform and transform our cultural mythologies?
Panelists: Directors Weyni Mengesha; Yael Farber (South Africa); Sabina Berman (Mexico); Johanna Schall (Germany).
Wednesday, November 18, 6:30pm, The Hub – Berkeley Street Theatre, $10
Broadway Bound
Multi-award winning American actor Brian Dennehy and Canada’s rising star director Jennifer Tarver, disclose the story of an artistic alchemy that culminated in the hit production of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape at The Stratford Festival. As the play goes on to Broadway, Tarver and Dennehy discuss the intimate and often complex relationship between a director and her actor.
Thursday, November 19, 4:30pm, Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs, $10
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Penelopiad Director’s Showcase In Association with The Shaw Festival
In the culmination of this week-long experimental masterclass, ten provocative directors present their distinct vision of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad. Led by renowned world stage director Yael Farber and Josette Bushell-Mingo, director of the acclaimed London and National Arts Centre productions, the presentation of this epic drama features an exciting ensemble of actors courtesy of The Shaw Festival.
November 15, 3pm, Dancemakers Studio Theatre, $15
New Blood Cabaret
The 4×4 Directors Summit is an opportunity to present our brightest young talent! The New Blood Cabaret is an evening of theatre from the minds of the next wave of directors. Nightwood provides a stage for ten fresh emerging directors to show their wares. Join us for this rare and raw event, and stay for a late night party.
November 19, 8pm, The Hub, Admission Free
