Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON – Canadian Stage today announced Tanja Jacobs and Alistair Newton as the incoming Master of Fine Arts candidates for York University’s Graduate Program in Theatre - Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage. Established in 2011, this groundbreaking partnership with York University’s Department of Theatre is extended through annual programming in Canadian Stage’s regular season. During the 2015.2016 season, current MFA students, Estelle Shook and Matjash Mrozewski will direct performances of Shakespeare in High Park (SiHP) and the double bill Botticelli in the Fire & Sunday in Sodom by Jordan Tannahill, two works commissioned by Canadian Stage.
“As we announce the third intake of candidates for the collaborative MFA program, we are delighted to look back at how our partnership with York University’s theatre program has grown,” said Matthew Jocelyn, artistic & general director, Canadian Stage. ”Helping to provide the tools for some of tomorrow’s great artistic leaders is an essential part of our mandate at Canadian Stage. This includes production opportunities at our theatre – and both the High Park productions and the Tannahill double bill will be opportunities to appreciate the exceptional work of this year’s graduates. I’d also like to recognize the unprecedented support from BMO in making this program possible.”
A Dora Award-winning actress, Jacobs has been a guest teacher, mentor and director at the National Theatre School, the University of Toronto, George Brown Theatre School, and Humber Theatre School. She is also part of the team creating The Watershed, a new work about the politics of fresh water for the Pan Am Games by Crow’s Theatre and Porte Parole, opening in July 2015.
Newton is a Toronto-based director of theatre and opera whose recent production Of a Monstrous Child: A Gaga Musical closed Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s mainstage season in 2013. Newton has participated in projects at many of Canada’s major artistic institutions including The National Arts Centre English Theatre, The Canadian Opera Company, and The Shaw Festival.
Both Jacobs and Newton will work with MFA program mentor, Peter Hinton (Shaw Festival; National Arts Centre) and associate mentor, Chris Abraham (Artistic Director of Crow's Theatre) – in addition to collaborating closely with Jocelyn and various artists at Canadian Stage.
The 2015.2016 season at Canadian Stage features two productions in collaboration with the Theatre Department in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design at York University – both helmed by the outgoing MFA candidates. This July, SiHP will feature two Roman plays, Julius Caesar directed by Shook and The Comedy of Errors directed by Mrozewski. Then in 2016, the season ends with the premiere of new work by Canadian Stage’s playwright in residence Jordan Tannahill. Performed as a double bill, Botticelli in the Fire and Sunday in Sodom will be directed by Shook and Mrozewski respectively.
Maintaining a continued commitment to the program, lead support of Canadian Stage’s participation in York University’s Master of Fine Arts in Stage Direction is provided by BMO Financial Group.
Facebook: Canadian Stage
Twitter: @CanadianStage; #CS1516; #SiHP
Shows and Tickets:
2015.2016 Subscriptions are on sale with 6-show packages starting from $180 and full-season 13-show packages starting from $360. Subscriptions may be purchased online, by phone at 416.368.3110 or in-person at the Canadian Stage Box Office: Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front Street E.) or Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley St.). Single tickets are now on sale. Full details on the productions, casting and subscription packages are available online at canadianstage.com
About York University’s Master of Fine Arts in Theatre - Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage:
York University’s MFA Program in Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage brings together one of Canada’s pre-eminent theatre schools and leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies to support the development of outstanding young directorial talent for the national and international stage. The two-year program offers highly specialized, advanced training in large-scale theatre directing, allowing students to develop their creative and technical skills to the highest level within a rigorous academic and professional context.
Photo: Alistair Newton.
2015-03-13
Toronto: New candidates announced for York University’s MFA in Stage Direction in collaboration with Canadian Stage