Theatre Alberta is pleased to announce the 2018/2019 Workshops by Request: Rocky Mountain Series master classes! This series of workshops is presented by Theatre Alberta and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity along with our program partners, The Shakespeare Company, Theatre Calgary, Rosebud School of the Arts, and the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. Registration information for these classes will be announced very soon.

As the Canadian theatre industry begins to move towards more inclusive artistic practices, directors and educators must continually re-examine and re-contextualize approaches to classical work. Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Dawn Monique Williams will lead participants in an exploration of why and how we can stage Shakespeare in 2018.

Dawn Monique Williams is a resident artist at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where she recently directed Merry Wives of Windsor in 2017. OSF has a strong and demonstrable commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in all areas of its work. Dawn is a director, poet, author, and scholar who frequently lectures on contemporary Shakespeare performance and African American Theatre History. She is an alum of the Drama League Directors Project and holds an MA in Dramatic Literature and an MFA in Directing.

In partnership with Rosebud School of the Arts 

November 30 – December 2, 2018

There is a growing and urgent interest in the theatre industry in creating safer, more respectful working environments. The role of Intimacy Director or Intimacy Choreographer is increasingly valued in rehearsal. This program will offer experienced directors and choreographers an intensive introduction to recommended best practices and working conditions for safe on-stage intimacy through discussion and practical exercises.

Siobhan Richardson is an Intimacy Director, co-founder of Intimacy Directors International and the only person in Canada recognized as an Intimacy Director by Tonia Sina, founder of the Intimacy For The Stage method. Siobhan is quickly building an impressive resume in this field, including several directing and teaching credits across Canada, Europe, and the USA.

 

 

In partnership with Alberta Playwrights’ Network

March 1-3, 2019

We are in an golden age for new musical theatre creation, in which creators are exploring increasingly daring new topics and new forms and styles. We’re proud to welcome Bob Martin and Lisa Lambert, creators of the award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone, for a master class in Musical Theatre Creation. Participants will learn about Martin and Lambert’s unique and collaborative style of musical theatre creation, and how to apply elements of it to their own practice.

The main focus of the class will be how to navigate the experience of creating a new work. Topics will include: the relationship between book writer and lyricist; the importance of identifying and embracing one’s own writing process; original works vs. adaptations and the challenges they pose.

Long-time collaborators Martin and Lambert created The Drowsy Chaperone with writer Don McKellar and composer Greg Morrison. The play opened on Broadway in 2006 and went on to receive multiple Tony and Drama Desk honours, including awards for both book and score.