Director
It has been my privilege to create theatre in many parts of this country. I respectfully acknowledge that I make my home on the unceded traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nations.
I direct plays because I love to tell stories. I love to feel an audience brought together by a well-told story that speaks to their own experiences. I’m interested in plays with intelligence, passion, compassion, humour, humanity, and an opportunity for theatricality — and in stories about people who, despite obstacles, are striving to connect with one another.
Most of my work has been in text-based drama, both classic and contemporary. I also have a strong background in play development. I’m proud to have been a co-founder of three Canadian theatre companies: Bard on the Beach (Shakespeare), Solo Collective (new work) and Blackbird Theatre (the classics).
Collaboration is crucial. If the play on opening night looks exactly the way the director envisioned it, that’s pretty uninspiring. To me the whole purpose of the design and rehearsal process is to see the concept evolve and mature with the input of actors, designers, technicians, stage managers, preview audiences. I’m also keenly aware of the director’s responsibility to the playwright’s vision. It’s our job to tell the story in as compelling a way as we can, to mine the script for all its layers of meaning, all its potential. And in that process, I believe we have to have some humility. These aren’t our words. These words, and the talents of these artists, have been entrusted to us.
Credits include All’s Well That Ends Well for Bard on the Beach, Vancouver (co-directed with Rohit Chokhani); Tomson Highway’s The (Post) Mistress (with himself as Musical Director) for Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre, Saskatoon; Pride and Prejudice and The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble for Persephone Theatre; and Sheridan’s The Rivals for Blackbird Theatre, Vancouver.
A two-time recipient of Vancouver’s Jessie Richardson Awards for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Bard on the Beach; The Triumph of Love, Blackbird Theatre), I have also been honoured to receive the Ray Michal Award for Outstanding Body of Work by an Emerging Director. I hold an MFA in Drama (Directing) from the University of Alberta, and often teach directing workshops for both professional and community groups.
Values
For a long time I knew social justice was important without fully understanding the scope of what that meant, or what my own responsibilities might be. Like a lot of people, I’ve recently been rethinking past assumptions and facing some uncomfortable realities. The goal is to be more aware, and more responsive to the systemic inequities we see every day — and to find new ways forward, in collaborative relationships and in rehearsal halls, that reflect that change.
For me, this means more listening, and less assuming that I already know the answers. It means remembering that my perspective is mine alone. It means taking responsibility for how my power and privilege are used, and seeking to look beyond my own bias toward what others are offering, and what they need from me.