#7 Allan Stichbury Part 1 /  by Michael Kruse

Allan Stichbury is a set/costume/lighting designer based in Victoria, British Columbia.  An alumni of the conservatory program at the University of Alberta, Allan spoke to me about his early years in Victoria and Edmonton and the shows that made his career at a time in Canadian theatre that you could still become an overnight success.

The sound is a bit lower quality than I would have liked, as this was my first recording of a Skype call.  Please forgive the digital distortion at times, I have improved my technique and this will not happen again.

Show Notes

Vancouver's Gastown Riots

Canadian Actors Equity

University of Victoria Dept. of Theatre

Bastion Theatre

Company One

Carl Hare

Belfry Theatre

William D. (Bill) West

University of Alberta Theatre Program

Victor Becker

Northern Light Theatre

Wings

50/50 Glass (Rosco Shrink Mirror Scrim)

National Arts Centre

Josef Svoboda

Banff Centre for the Arts

Citadel Theatre

Robin Phillips

Tarragon Theatre

Young People's Theatre

The Grand Theatre

CentreStage Company (Canadian Stage Company)

Dennis Garnham

Michael Whitfield




#6 Shawn Kerwin Part 2 /  by Michael Kruse

After a bit of a delay for school and life, here is episode #6, part 2 of my discussion with Shawn Kerwin.  We pick up with Shawn's experience with Desmond Heeley at the Stratford Festival and move onto the Met and Shawn's design philosophy, discussing problems with the audience "humming the scenery" after the show.  This episode is a great primer for how to approach a design, generate ideas, communicate with other artisans and build a show, as well as a frank discussion about starting a career in the theatre. Links below.

Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology Conference 2014

Desmond Heeley and his Bio

Backstage at the Stratford Festival

Susan Benson

Alex Stone and Carl Toms and Cecil Beaton

David Reppa and the Metropolitan Opera Company

Canadian Violinist Murdered at the Met : Helen Hagnes

John Michael Deegan

Theatre New Brunswick

Robert Edmond Jones

Script Analysis

Making a Model Box for Theatre - example, the play A Janika

Haden Griffin

Who's In The Goose Tonight? An Anecdotal History of Theatre in Canada to 1970, Vernon Chapman

#5 Shawn Kerwin Part 1 /  by Michael Kruse

This week, I speak with set designer Shawn Kerwin about her training in the early days of modern Canadian theatre in Toronto.  From the beginnings in an unheated warehouse at the Factory Theatre to training with the stars of British design, Shawn's life as been extraordinary.

Here are some links to stuff we talked about:

The Blyth Festival

Theatre Passe Muraille

The Factory Theatre

Eric Steiner

George Walker

Donald Davis

Playwright's Co-op

National Theatre School

Yale University School of Drama

Atlantic Steamer Cruise

Herschel Hardin

Baghdad Saloon

Bush Theatre (Shepard's Bush London)

Margaret 'Percy' Harris

Saddler's Wells

Motley Theatre Design Group

Hayden Griffin 

The Royal Court Theatre

The Tarragon Theatre



#4 Kevin Lamotte Part 2 /  by Michael Kruse

In this episode, I conclude my talk with the Director of Lighting Design at the Shaw Festival in Kevin Lamotte.  In this episode we begin by discussing Kevin's relationship with the director and how he visualises lighting.  We move on to discuss his approach to cuing and his role as the director of lighting design.

#3 Kevin Lamotte Part 1 /  by Michael Kruse

This week, I have the first part of my discussion with Kevin Lamotte, the director of lighting designer at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario.  We discuss his original training and dig into his early years at the festival as well as his design philosophy.

Leamington. Ontario

Niagara College

The Shaw Festival

The Studio and Forum of Stage Design

Lester Polokoff

The Banff Centre

Josef Svoboda

Ubu Roi

#1 Michelle Ramsay Part 1 /  by Michael Kruse

Michelle Ramsay, a Toronto-based lighting designer, agreed to be my guinea pig for episode one of the podcast.  This is the first of two 30 min sessions we taped.  Here is Michelle's bio (updated March 18 2014)

Michelle is a lighting designer for dance and theatre based in Toronto.

Companies she has designed with include: Modern Times, Cahoots Theatre Company, Blue Ceiling Dance, fu-Gen, The Theatre Centre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Stand Up Dance, New Harlem, Shaw Festival, Human Cargo, Theatre Rusticle, National Arts Centre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, Mirvish Productions, Theatre Passe Muraille and Tarragon Theatre. She has received several Dora Mavor Moore Awards, a SATAward, and in 2008 she received the Pauline McGibbon Award.

The beginning has a few rough audio spots, with some "peakyness" but I should be able to iron out the problems in the future.

In the interview we refer to "Wonderland" and failed to give any context.  Canada's Wonderland is an amusement park north of Toronto, ON, and was a training ground for many young technicians just out of school.  

Other things we glanced over:

 

The Shaw Festival

Theatre Smith Gilmore

Theatre Columbus

Theatre Kingston

Red

Manual Lighting Boards

Canadian Theatre Design /  by Michael Kruse

Design for the theatre is a unique endeavour.  A theatrical designer is tasked with not only creating an original expression of their understanding of other people's ideas, but must communicate these ideas within a team of artists all vying for their own voice.  A willingness to set one's ego aside, or know when to push it, is essential, and risk taking achieves an entire new urgency when budgets and resources are tight and opening night looms large.

This podcast will talk to designers in Canada who, despite all the travails and trials, have stuck with their first instincts and worked hard to make Canadian Theatre what it is.  It opens a window onto an obscure craft that is not readily appreciated by the theatre going public.  It will allow the new student of theatre to learn from established designers and help them hone their craft.  It will, finally, help capture  a neglected part of Canadian theatre history: the lives of Canadian designers.

 

Chicago, Mayfield Hotel, 2011, Photo by Ed Ellis, Set and Costumes by Cory Laframboise, Lighting by Michael Kruse, centre is Sara-Jeane Hosie as Velma Kelly

Chicago, Mayfield Hotel, 2011, Photo by Ed Ellis, Set and Costumes by Cory Laframboise, Lighting by Michael Kruse, centre is Sara-Jeane Hosie as Velma Kelly