Expect Innovation and Diversity from new Artistic Director
Daryl Cloran is quick to recognize he needs to learn more about the theatre community in Alberta, particularly in Edmonton. His previous work experience has taken him across Canada and around the world but, interestingly, not to an Edmonton stage. Appointed Artistic Director of the Citadel Theatre in May, Cloran is excited to meet Albertan theatre creators, and to learn about their work.
Mash-up is how Cloran describes his favourite type of projects. Educated in drama, new media, and film directing, and experienced in live theatre, interactive digital entertainment, and new play creation within an international context, Cloran confesses to a passion for pushing the traditional boundaries of theatre. Within the Citadel, expect all of this to show itself in the innovative use of performance space, and collaborative partnerships with diverse local artists.
Cloran sums up his vision for the Citadel in two words “Innovation and Diversity” but what, exactly, will that look like in practice?
- New Play Development: Alberta playwrights will be given the opportunity to write for a major stage, to speak to a larger audience. The Citadel is a place for big ideas and playwrights will see their vision realized on a large scale with all the support necessary to get them to that point.
- Storytelling: Storytellers, of diverse cultural backgrounds and gender identities, will be invited to collaborate, to experiment, to tell their stories in non-traditional ways to diverse audiences. The goal is for the Citadel to become recognized as a safe place to tell stories, and to see stories told.
- Experimental Space: The Citadel is home to five recognized venues including The Club (formerly the Rice Theatre), which Cloran sees as the perfect experimental space. No longer a black box theatre, The Club has evolved into an immersive opportunity, a space without a fourth wall, which will challenge the actor/audience relationship. In Cloran’s opinion, all of the space in the Citadel complex, outside of the traditional venues, has the potential to showcase theatrical innovation.
Cloran has scheduled two days of General Auditions at the end of October to meet the region’s actors. Playwrights working on a script or a project that might be a good fit for the Citadel are invited to email him. Theatre companies are welcome to send him an invite to see their work. He likes to collaborate, to build partnerships, to have conversations about ideas and possibilities. His door is open. (dcloran@citadeltheatre.com)
The Citadel Theatre celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Daryl Cloran is acutely aware of the responsibilities that come along with the position of Artistic Director and is honoured to be a part of such an important institution in Canadian theatre. He likes to remind people that, as cool and exciting as technology can be, theatre is about bodies in space, about the human connection, the personal and the ephemeral that only happen on the stage.
Daryl Cloran spoke with Debbie MacLeod, Theatre Alberta’s Communications and Marketing Coordinator, on September 28, 2016.
