Directors Day at the Shaw Festival

By Mairin Smit, Program Coordinator

A highlight of our year at Theatre Ontario is travelling to Niagara-on-the-Lake to see the Directors Day performances of the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival. Each year in September, two emerging professional directors are chosen to join the Shaw Festival for a season, assistant directing at least two productions, and then working to develop their own one-act play to be presented at the end of their tenure. The 2013 intern directors, Rose Plotek and Paul Van Dyck, are a dynamic pair with careful insight and attention-to-detail that brought their productions to life.

Andrew Bunker and Sanjay Talwar in The Bear
Directed by Rose Plotek. Photo by Mark Callan.

Rose's version of Chekhov's The Bear was a fast-paced, high-energy comedy that had everyone in the audience cracking up with the antics of the actors. Her direction showed an excellent sense of comedic timing and a developed skill at walking that fine line of grandiose. Paul's production of Gwen Pharis Ringwood’s Still Stands the House was quiet drama that built to an unexpectedly dark and macabre climax. This piece was new to me and many of my fellow audience members, but Paul quickly brought us into the world of the stormy winter's night on the Canadian prairies with a strong command of how to create tension on the stage. As the play unfolded, Paul's guidance of the actors painted a clear portrait of real people struggling with loss and desperate isolation. It made for lively discussion following the performance. As they leave the Shaw Festival, we will all be watching closely to see where Rose and Paul's careers take them next.

Melanie Phillipson in Still Stands The House
Directed by Paul Van Dyck. Photo by Mark Callan.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Shaw Directors Project though, is the incredible learning opportunity it provides for the interns. Directing is a challenging profession to start out in as there is no one path to take to a successful career. The best way to get a sense of the possibilities is often working with or being mentored by professionals in the field. The experience at the Shaw Festival allows the interns to work in large-scale theatre on productions of high calibre; a rare opportunity for many at this stage in their career. The outstanding guidance and care they receive under Jackie Maxwell and Eda Holmes also ensures that they are set up for the best possible success after their time at the Shaw Festival. Many past intern directors have gone on to very successful professional careers, even right at The Shaw itself! In fact, this year saw past intern director Craig Hall directing a highly successful production of Faith Healer by Brian Friel at the Royal George Theatre. We can only be very excited at what's in store for our incoming 2014 intern directors, Alistair Newton and Rachel Peake.

As always, we offer many thanks to the Shaw Festival and Sun Life Financial for making this program possible. Congratulations to Rose and Paul and we are grateful for another excellent year at the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.