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Shaw Festival Directors ProjectA Guide to Applicants for 2009PLEASE NOTE: The application deadline for the 2009 Shaw Festival Directors Project is June 27, 2008. 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 late August, depending on the production schedule for the particular season. These positions are salaried at an apprentice level, which at The Shaw is around $600 per week. The Intern Directors work under the mentorship of the Directors of the Academy, which is the Shaw Festival's professional development and public education wing. Each intern is assigned to two or three successive shows as an Assistant Director. One of these shows is usually in the Festival Theatre (860 seats) and another in a smaller one (330 seats). For the most part, being an Assistant Director involves observing the senior directors at work in rehearsal, doing research as required, acting as a sounding board as required. (Getting them coffee is not required.) The Interns also assist the company in educating audiences about theatre in general and the Shaw's productions and programmes in particular. The Intern positions usually have free time built into some portions of the season, so that Interns are free to take Academy classes and pursue other theatrical projects that interest them. The "Directors Project" is the culmination of the Intern Directors' season, and has become a very important event to the Shaw company as a whole. It consists of a double-bill of two one-acts directed by the two Intern Directors. In consultation with Neil Munro, the company’s Associate Director, each Intern chooses a play from the period of the Shaw Festival's mandate (1856-1950). These plays are given three performances to invited audiences (artistic directors, sponsors, company members, family and assorted friends of the Festival) in a studio setting. While production resources are limited as to costumes, sets, props, lighting and sound, there are normally apprentice designers, stage managers and other personnel assigned to the project. All casting is done in consultation with Neil Munro, but basically you can use any member of the Shaw Festival ensemble whom you can talk into being in the show. (The project is in excess of the actors' contracted workload, and so they take part in the project on a volunteer basis.) Each one-act has between 50 and 60 hours of rehearsal over 5-6 weeks, scheduled by our Production Stage Manager. Since its inception in 1988, the Directors Projects has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario. Applications for the Intern Director positions are made through Theatre Ontario, with an end of June deadline to begin residency the following March. There is no application form – just submit a resume with a covering letter, explaining why you would like to be an Intern Director at the Shaw Festival. Please do not send supporting material that you wish to have returned. Applicants must be Canadian citizens. Hiring decisions are made exclusively by the Shaw Festival. If you have questions about the application process, please contact Tim Chapman, Professional Theatre Coordinator at Theatre Ontario, 416-408-4556 or email tim@theatreontario.org Submit applications by mail to:
NO SUBMISSIONS via FAX or email will be accepted. Past Intern Directors in the Shaw Festival Directors Project are: Paulina Abarca, Conrad Alexandrowicz, Kathryn Allison, Liza Balkan, Richard Beaune, Mark Cassidy, Kelly Daniels, Katrina Dunn, Hans Engel, David Ferry, Andrew Freund, Dennis Garnhum, Todd Hammond, Sally Han, Ann Hodges, Eda Holmes, Heather Inglis, Lise Anne Johnson, Heather Jones-Barker, Paul Lampert, Michel Lefebvre, Nikki Lundmark, Kate Lynch, James MacDonald, Ruth Madoc-Jones, Randy Maertz, Jon Michaelson, Jean Morpurgo, David Oiye, Ian Prinsloo, Gyllian Raby, Karen Rickers, Paul Rivers, Lindsey Robinson, David Savoy, Sandhano Schultze, Glenda Stirling, Colin Taylor, Susan Turnbull, Lezlie Wade, Craig Walker, Lee Wilson, and Richard Wolfe. Shaw Festival Directors Project 2008Congratulations to Geoffrey Brumlik and Laurel Smith, who were chosen as the two Intern Directors for the 2008 season at the Shaw Festival. Shaw Director's Day 2007by Tim Chapman, Professional Theatre CoordinatorJohn Goddard, Brandon Moore and I traveled to the Shaw Festival on Friday, September 7th for the 19th Shaw Festival Directors Project presentations. The Project's culmination each year is the two one-act performances directed by the intern directors. It was my second time attending, and I was looking forward to another grand day. The whole project is organized with such care and commitment by The Shaw. This season's intern directors, Kate Lynch and Lezlie Wade, spent close to seven months living in Niagara-on-the-Lake. I bumped into Kate in early July when I was delivering the Directors Project 2008 applications. She said it was a dream come true to be able to work with such a company for an extended period; to not have to be continually thinking about next month's employment or lack of employment. Lezlie and Kate spent a lot of time in rehearsal for the first few months, assisting other directors in both a show in the Festival Theatre and a show in either the Court House or the Royal George. This not only allows them to observe the process of acting and directing for different venues, but also to join the company as members of the repertory. The interns also assist with audience education at various events. Then, with the guidance of Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and Associate Artistic Director Neil Munro, both Kate and Lezlie choose the one-act plays -- from the mandate of The Shaw -- that they will direct. Kate chose Noel Coward's Hands Across the Sea from a series of one-act plays that make up Tonight at Eight-Thirty.  Lezlie picked Brian Friel's The Yalta Game, an adaptation of Chekhov's The Lady with the Lapdog. The Coward piece has a cast of nine, Yalta a cast of two. In many other ways, the two projects were very different which is not at all unusual for the Directors Project. Each director casts her show from the Shaw acting company, working on a voluntary basis. Given a limited production budget, each project is given apprentice designers already at The Shaw for the 2007 season. The results on September 7th were splendid. Hands Across the Sea proved to be a hilarious situation comedy poking fun at the British upper classes. Of course, this is quintessential Coward territory and Kate gave us an assured and deft production. The Yalta Game is an intriguing duet played by two lovers. With skill and economy, Lezlie treated us to a fascinating look at an affair and its aftermath. Following the performances at Shaw's Production Centre, we all joined a post-show reception in the Macdonald Heaslip Lounge. I talked with Darlene McGuiness and Sharon Kelly from Sun Life Financial; their colleague, Linda MacKenzie, was in Bermuda and unable to attend. (Life is tough sometimes.) Darlene loved the afternoon, and I was happy to be able to introduce her to Kate, who expressed her gratitude for Sun Life’s generosity. After a lovely barbecue at Jackie Maxwell's home with all the Shaw artists and crew involved in the Project, John, Brandon and I headed back to Toronto, our heads swimming from the many people and pleasures of a successful day.
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