Theatre at UBC
Directory: Faculty Members
Professors:
ROBERT GARDINER, B.A. (California State, Sacramento), M.F.A. (Washington) is Professor of Scenography at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He has designed stage scenery and lighting at many theatres in North America, has been a member of various boards, panels, and juries for civic, provincial, and national agencies and not-for-profit organizations, and was Head of the UBC Department of Theatre and Film from 2002-2007. He has received Jessie Richardson Awards and a Dorothy Somerset Award in Vancouver, an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes award in Edmonton, a Toronto Theatre Critics Award, and his work has been represented in the Canadian National Exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial. He is an expert in lighting, scenery, costume, and video design for theatre, stage directing, technical direction, scenic art, stage carpentry, and performance. His recent artistic and research practice integrates imagistic design, digital media technologies, and live performance, and has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the BC Innovation Fund, the BC Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and other agencies.
Email: robert.gardiner [at] ubc.ca
Website: http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/rgardiner/rgdes/index.htm
STEPHEN HEATLEY, B.A. (Brock), MFA (Alberta) teaches acting and directing and is the departmental liaison for playwrighting. He spent twelve seasons as Artistic Director of Edmonton's Theatre Network where he directed over thirty world premieres. He spent five years as Associate Artistic Director at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton and has directed for other companies in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Toronto, Blyth, Victoria, Richmond and Rosthern, SK. In 2007, his production of Roald Hoffmann’s Should’ve was featured at the congress of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in Turin, Italy. Stephen is the Coordinator of the MFA Directing Program.
Email: sheatley [@] interchange.ubc.ca
JERRY WASSERMAN, B.A. (Adelphi), M.A. (Chicago), Ph.D. (Cornell) is Professor of English and Theatre and Head of the Department of Theatre and Film, specializing in modern drama and theatre history with particular interests in Canadian theatre and acting for the camera. His books include Modern Canadian Plays (2 vols.), now in its 4th edition, Twenty Years at Play: A New Play Centre Anthology, Theatre and AutoBiography: Writing and Performing Lives in Theory and Practice, co-edited with Sherrill Grace, and Spectacle of Empire: Marc Lescarbot’s Theatre of Neptune in New France. He also wrote and hosted Modern Canadian Theatre, a 12-hour telecourse for BC’s Knowledge Network. Wasserman has published widely on modern drama, modern fiction, and blues literature. He reviewed theatre for CBC radio for 17 years and is currently theatre critic for The Province newspaper in Vancouver. He sits on the board of Playwrights Theatre Centre and the Canadian Theatre Critics Association, and has more than 200 professional acting credits for stage and screen (see www.imdb.com).
Email: jerrywas [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Website: www.vancouverplays.com
Associate Professors:
CATHY
BURNETT, B.A. (Utah), M.F.A. (Boston) teaches movement and
dance. She has choreographed many productions for the Pink Ink Theatre,
Citadel Theatre, Workshop West, and the University of Alberta, and
has experience as a performer and dance instructor.
Email: cburnett [@] interchange.ubc.ca
BOB
EBERLE (Production and Stage Management) has extensive experience
in all aspects of technical theatre - production, design, and construction.
He has also worked in film and television and as Production Manager
of the Vancouver Children's Festival.
Email: beberle [@] interchange.ubc.ca
RONALD FEDORUK, BFA (Calgary), MFA (Victoria) has been teaching Scenography in the Theatre Program since 1989. He has served a term as Head of the Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing and has been Director of first year Arts Foundations Program. Scenography for the Theatre Program has included Herr Puntilla and his Man Matti, Our Country's Good, Woyzeck, Love's Labour's Lost, Sarcophagus, Sunspots, To Have, Beautiful City, Endgame, Over the Moon, Life Without Instruction, Frankenstein, and Arcadia.
From 1993 to 2000, Fedoruk was a Canadian representative to the International Theatre Design Organization (OISTAT), and his work was exhibited in the Prague Quadrennial Scenographic Exposition in 1995. He has published a number of articles on Scenography in the journals of Associated Designers of Canada, the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology and the US Institute for Theatre Technology. A thirty-five year Theatre career has seen Fedoruk create designs for The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, the Belfry Theatre, the Bastion Theatre, the Vancouver Opera Association, the Arts Club, the New Play Centre and many more. For six years he was the Scenographer for Bard on the Beach, for which he designed a dozen productions. He is serving his third term as a member of the Board of Directors of Bard on the Beach.
Email: rfedoruk [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Website: http://conceptu-alley.arts.ubc.ca
ALISON
GREEN, B.F.A. (Brit. Col.), M.F.A. (Brit. Col.) member
of Associated Designers of Canada, Set and Costume Designer
for major
theatre companies in Vancouver, Victoria and Ontario. Has worked
previously as designer for Radio-Canada Television and film
companies in Montreal.
Email: agdesign [@] interchange.ubc.ca
website: http://www.theatre.ubc.ca/agdesign
KIRSTY
JOHNSTON, B.A.(Queen’s),
M.A.(U. Toronto), Ph.D. (U. Toronto), specializes in dramatic literature
and theatre history with particular interest in representations of
illness on stage. Other research interests include Canadian theatre,
multicultural theatre, disability arts and early cinema. She has
published articles on theatrical strategies for representing mental
illness and contemporary Canadian dramaturgy.
Email: kirstyj [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Website Profile: www.arts.ubc.ca/nc/research
STEPHEN
MALLOY, B.A. (York/Ottawa), B.A. Honours Directing (Ottawa), M.F.A. Directing (Victoria) is the Associate Head of Theatre Production at UBC. A member of the Department of Theatre and Film since 1989, Stephen Malloy is nationally recognized for his brilliant interpretation of dramatic text and innovative style of directing modern classics for the theatre. Malloy’s study of the dramatization of the family and its inherent blood connections have led him to explore the links between ancient Greek theatre, Irish drama (in particular Samuel Beckett and Brian Friel) and the work of contemporary American playwright Sam Shepard. Malloy’s award-winning play, FALLIN’ IN LOVE, has been produced by theatres in Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle. Malloy’s video projects include REACH UP AND RECEIVE with Cathy Kyle (Toronto’s Dancemakers), and several music videos for Jealous Monk records, which have been distributed internationally. He was the co-founder and Artistic Director of the influential Coming Attractions Theatre Company in Ottawa, Ontario. Professor Malloy teaches Acting and Directing at UBC. He is recognized for the quality of his graduate students and is in high demand as a graduate supervisor.
Email: malloy [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Website: www.theatre.ubc.ca/portfolio/malloy
ERNEST MATHIJS, Ernest Mathijs (PhD, Brussels) researches the receptions of
alternative and cult cinema, and of film and stage performance. He has
a keen interest in 20th Century and contemporary alternative
performances (from Beckett and Beuys to Rocky Horror and rock opera).
He has most recently edited The Cult Film Reader (with Xavier Mendik),
and three books on The Lord of the Rings: The Lord of the Rings:
Popular Culture in Global Context, From Hobbits to Hollywood (with
Murray Pomerance), and Watching the Lord of the Rings (with Martin
Barker). He has also published in a.o. Film International, Screen,
Cinema Journal, Literature/Film Quarterly, and History of Political
Economy, and he edited books on European exploitation cinema, Big
Brother, and Belgian and Dutch cinema. He coordinates the series Contemporary Cinema (with Steven Schneider) and Cultographies (with
Jamie Sexton). His monograph on David Cronenberg appears in August by
Wallflower Press.
Email: emathijs [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Websites:
- The Centre for Cinema Studies
- Cult Film Reader - also read a review by the Times Higher Education
- Cultographies
- The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context
- Watching the Lord of the Rings
GAYLE
MURPHY, B.F.A. (Calgary), M.F.A. (York) teaches voice
and speech in the BFA Acting Program. She has acted professionally
in
Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Edinburgh and has taught voice and
speech at the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School, Simon Fraser University's
School for the Contemporary Arts, Studio 58 and the Canadian National
Voice Intensive. She has also led voice workshops for professional
actors and dancers in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and Bangkok. She is the current Coordinator of the BFA Acting Program.
Email: gmurphy [@] interchange.ubc.ca
TOM
SCHOLTE, BFA, MFA (UBC) Tom is a nationally recognized actor in
the realms of theatre, film, and television. Among his numerous screen
credits are a Genie nominated and Leo winning performance in the feature
film LAST WEDDING, a Gemini winning performance on DA VINCI'S INQUEST,
and a Leo winning performance in the short film EXPOSURES. On stage,
he is a two time Jessie nominee who has appeared for such companies
as Vancouver's Pi Theatre, Ruby Slippers and Arts Club Theatre Company,
Toronto's Modern Times Stage Company, and Whitehorse's Nakai Theatre.
As a director he was a founding member of Neworld Theatre and is the
founder and artistic director of Theatreshop. He has previously taught
acting for stage and screen at the Vancouver Film School, Lyric School
of Acting, and the University of British Columbia. Tom's feature film directing debut, CRIME, received its world premiere at the 2008 Vancouver International Film Festival and will next be screened at the Mercury Theatre in Adelaide, Australia in conjunction with Tom's invited presentation to the Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association at their annual conference in July, 2009.
Email: tscholte [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Assistant Professors:
SIYUAN LIU, Ph.D. (U. of Pittsburgh), specializes in Asian theatre. Since 2006, he has published eight peer-reviewed research articles on twentieth-century Chinese and Japanese theatre in Theatre Journal, TDR, Asian Theatre Journal, and Text & Presentation. He also has two research articles included in anthologies that are currently in press. His book reviews have appeared in Theatre Journal, Theatre Survey, Asian Theatre Journal, Text & Presentation, and Modern Chinese Literature and Culture. He has contributed dozens of entries on twentieth-century Chinese theatre to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance and The Encyclopaedia of Asian Theatre. He has regularly presented research papers in conferences in North America and is the Member Outreach Coordinator for Association for Asian Performance. Currently he is working on several research projects. Before coming to UBC, he taught at the University of Georgia.
Email: Liu44 [@] interchange.ubc.ca
Emeritus
Professors:
ERROL
DURBACH, M.A. (Rhodes), M.A. (Cantab.), Ph.D. (London). (Theatre
History, Dramatic Literature) is author of Ibsen the Romantic, A Doll's
House: Ibsen's Myth of Transformation and many articles on modern,
comparative, and Commonwealth drama.
Email: edurbach [@] interchange.ubc.ca
NEIL FREEMAN, M.A. (Nottingham),
was trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His awards include
the John Geilguil Scholarship; USA National Endowment of the Arts
Major Artists's Fellowship; the Joseph G. Green Fellowship from York
University, and a minor Scholarship from SSSHRC. He worked with the
Will Geer Theatre, British American Drama Academy, The National Theatre
School, the Centre for Actors Study, the National Voice Intensive
and the Stratford Festival.
Website: www.neilfreeman.com
IAN PRATT was the Technical Director of the Frederic Wood Theatre from 1974 to 2003, contributing to more than 150 stage productions.
In addition, he was the Technical Director of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival for its first 24 seasons; co-founder and first TD of Cirkids (the Vancouver Children’s Circus); TD/SM at the WildHorse Theatre, Fort Steele, for 13 seasons and at the Palace Grand in Dawson City for three.
A long-time member of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology (CITT), Ian was active in workplace health & safety regulation for the performing arts including WCB regulation revue and BC electrical certification as well as Federal gun control and pyrotechnics regulations. He was a founder of SHAPE (Safety & Health in Arts Production and Entertainment) and sat on the Performing Arts Steering Committee and the Board of Directors of that organization.
Ian is a recipient of the “Frannie” Award from the Canadian Institute of Arts for Young Audiences and the Dieter Penzhorn Memorial Award from the CITT. He is a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Email: ianpratt [at] mail.ubc.ca
CHARLES SIEGEL, B.A. (Brandeis), M.F.A (Yale) taught acting and directing for 24 years in the Department and was the first person to be Chair of the Theatre Program. As a professional actor, he has appeared in over 50 TV shows and films. On stage he has acted on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in regional theatres across the United States and Canada – playing roles ranging from King Lear and Uncle Vanya to Cyrano and Falstaff. He has directed over thirty productions of plays – including the world premieres of Canadian plays in Vancouver, New York, and London. TO KEEP HER COMPANY, the play he wrote based on the writings of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, has been performed in London, New York and Los Angeles. He continues to work professionally as an actor, director, playwright and teacher.
Email: siegel [@] interchange.ubc.ca
KLAUS STRAUSSMAN
STANLEY WEESE
It is with deep sadness we announce the loss of a long-time favourite faculty member and friend in the Theatre program, Master Teacher Award-winner Stanley Weese.Stanley taught acting and directing in the department from 1966 until his retirement in 1988. He had a particular affinity for classics of the modern theatre, directing memorable Freddy Wood productions of O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night and A Moon for the Misbegotten, Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Endgame, Miller’s The Crucible and All My Sons, Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, Strindberg’s The Father, and Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. Stanley was also a very fine actor appearing in a number of productions around Vancouver and on the Frederic Wood Stage.
The Department wishes to honour Stanley’s request not to have a memorial service, however contributions to the charity “A Loving Spoonful” (www.alovingspoonful.org) in Stanley’s name would be appreciated.
JOHN WRIGHT
John Wright holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from UBC and an MFA in directing from Stanford. His film work includes TV dramas, and docu-dramas, a feature film (The Visitor, starring Eric Peterson) and documentaries, most recently Children of Bach (CBC/Bravo). In 1988 he joined the faculty at UBC, chairing the graduate program in Film Production, and from 1996 to 1999 he was Head of the Department. Notable stage productions John directed at UBC included Sophocles’ Antigone, his own version of The Beggar’s Opera, and Errol Durbach’s adaptation of Peer Gynt.
Motivated as always by the resonance of classic works in the modern world, John founded Blackbird Theatre in 2004, a professional company dedicated to performing the classics, and directed the inaugural production of Schiller’s Mary Stuart, followed by Pinter’s The Birthday Party (with co-director Henry Woolf) and the professional premier of the Ibsen/Durbach Peer Gynt. Next season he will direct his fourth production of a Greek tragedy, Euripides’ Hecuba.
Website: www.blackbirdtheatre.ca
NORMAN YOUNG
