2017 Lab

Directors Lab North’s 2017 Lab was held in Toronto, Ontario from June 14 – 19, 2017. The lab’s seventh year welcomed an international contingent of 30 directors from Canada, the USA, Europe and the Middle East with a mandate to explore ideas, share knowledge and inspire creativity for the theatre.

Lab Topics

Artistic Direction and the State of Theatre
with Richard Rose

Writers Directing Their Own Work
and the Playwright/Director Relationship
with Judith Thompson and Kat Sandler

Dramaturgy
with Brian Quirt, Andrea Romaldi and Lisa O’Connell

Artistic Direction and Curating Festivals
with Josephine Ridge and Naomi Campbell

The Playwrights Project
with Daniel MacIvor

Movement and Text
with Allyson MacMackon

Interviews
with  Akram Khan, Alexandre Hamel of Le Patin Libre,
Yvette Nolan, and Steven Prengels

Lab Participants

Sahar Assaf
Mimi Barcomi
Richard Beaune
Briana Brown
Joao Carrolo
Amanda Connors
Heather Davies
Zoe Erwin-Longstaff
Sabrina Everett
John Gundy
Julia Heinrichs
Pam Joyce
Liam Karry
Elizabeth Kirkland
Marta Mari
Nicole Miller Marks
Fiely Matias
Nancy McAlear
Aileen McGroddy
Griffin McInnes
Brenda McLean
Eric Perron
Sean Pollock
Jason Schlafstein
Courtney Laine Self
Marissa Emma Smith
Leta Tremblay
Paul Van Dyck
Cole Wimpee

Lab Members also participated in “Shared Sessions”, a series of workshops where Lab members share knowledge and techniques with the Lab. Topics this year ranged from gesture work, a LeCoq workshop, puppetry, Droznin, Greek text, table work, verbatim theatre, VIEWPOINTS, Laban, and our Directing Experiment where we work with actors in rehearsal.

Lab Actors

Jeff Yung, Rachel VanDuzer, and Allegra Fulton

Stage Manager

Daniel Bennett

Interns

Talia Scaiano and Kaylen Mackenzie

DLN is grateful to its supporters

We gratefully acknowledge the Tarragon Theatre for generously donating their space to us again for this year’s lab and Soulpepper for donating their space as well.

A huge thanks to Playwrights Canada Press for donating plays for our Labbies.

A massive thank you to our new partner, the Luminato Festival, for their incredible generosity with access to their shows and their artists.

Thank you to the Toronto Arts Council for helping fund this year’s Lab.