Congratulations to 2011 Shaw Intern Directors

Congratulations to Craig Hall and Johnna Wright, chosen as the two intern directors for the 2011 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.  Each year, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors for a period of about six months.  They look for promising professional directors near the beginning of their careers.  Applicants should have a fair bit of professional experience, but probably not in a company as large as the Shaw Festival.  The contracts run approximately from mid-March to September, depending on the production schedule for the particular season.  Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.

Craig Hall has been working as a professional theatre artist since 1997. He is the Artistic Producer of Vancouver’s Rumble Productions and is a member of the critically acclaimed Theatre Melee ensemble. In addition to his work with these companies, he has had the pleasure of directing and designing for a number of other companies including Green Thumb Theatre, nightswimming, Radix Theatre, Section 8 Productions, Studio 58, The Electric Company, The Virtual Stage, Theatre Replacement, The Firehall Arts Centre, Pi Theatre, Douglas College and Theatre Skam. Craig has also worked extensively as a Technical Director, Stage Manager and Dramaturg. He is the recipient of the 2003 Ray Michal award for outstanding body of work by an emerging director and is a graduate of Studio 58.

Johnna Wright spent nine years as Co-Artistic and Managing Director of Vancouver’s Solo Collective Theatre, a company that commissions, develops and premieres work by Western Canadian playwrights.  There she provided dramaturgical support to over 20 new scripts and directed a number of premieres.  Other credits include the premiere of Ian Weir's The Man Who Shot Chance Delaney for Western Canada Theatre, The Leading Ladies for the Gateway Theatre, Little Women for Persephone Theatre, and The Rez Sisters for Theatre @ UBC.  In Vancouver, Johnna received the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award as Outstanding Director for The Triumph of Love (Blackbird Theatre), which was also named Outstanding Production. She is a recipient of the Ray Michal Award for Outstanding Body of Work by an Emerging Director, and was recently nominated for a Saskatoon and Area Theatre Award as Outstanding Director for Little Women.  Johnna holds an MFA in Drama (Directing) from the University of Alberta, where her thesis production, Maureen Hunter's Transit of Venus, was co-produced by Workshop West.  She is also a graduate of UBC Theatre.  Johnna is currently a Literary Manager for Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon, from where she manages a freelance career.

For more information, please visit the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on the Theatre Ontario website.