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Hello theatre creators, educators, scholars and everything in between! I hope you’re having a productive-yet-restful summer.  Ever wonder what it’s like to work at the second-largest theatre company in North America? Well, I am happy to report to you as the 2022 DART Intern at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake,…

Frances Johnson graduated from the Department of Dramatic Arts in 2020 and was about to begin an internship at the Shaw Festival when the Covid-19 pandemic halted live theatrical activity. Her internship in stage management is now happening this spring and early summer, as the Shaw Festival continues to navigate pandem…

How do we keep theatre alive during a global pandemic? This question arose nearly a year ago, motivating theatremakers to develop Zoom theatre. Whether it be live or pre-recorded performances, it’s being done over Zoom. Since this exploration began, my work inside some such productions and my viewing of others has prom…

Scenes from an Execution has opened, and even as someone working on it I was floored by how well the ambitious design turned out and how far the actors have come since the first rehearsal. As the dramaturg I have been watching the production night after night from the comfort of my living room. Though some performers a…

In the week before Scenes from an Execution opens, everyone I talked to has wanted to know how it works. We are staging the production online, a convention in theatre that has become necessary in the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no precedent for how to rehearse and perform theatre live online; the team has been adapting…

Rehearsals for Scenes from an Execution are underway and the show is beginning to take shape. This process is not without its speed bumps, from actors with older computers to internet issues to loud roommates. The list goes on. Already the creative and production teams are devising strategies to handle online rehearsal…

In their final post, our team of embedders at the Shaw Festival discuss their experience sitting in on a technical rehearsal and watching the world of The Horse and His Boy come vividly to life. Shannon Fletcher, Matt Lazaris-Brunner, Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk, and Danielle Woodcock write, Well, readers, we have follow…

Student critics voice their thoughts on Theatre Aquarius’ world-premier of Steel City Gangster, written by George F. Walker and directed by Ron Ulrich. The play tracks the life of the notorious organized crime boss and Hamiltonian, Rocco Perri and his partner-in-crime Bessie Starkman. The production ran on the theatre’…

The embedders return to the Shaw Festival’s The Horse and His Boy for their last rehearsal before they move into the Festival Theatre for technical rehearsals. Shannon Fletcher, Matt Lazaris-Brunner, Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk, and Danielle Woodcock write, It’s an exciting thing, walking into Shaw and being recognized b…

The DARTCritics journied to Crow’s Theatre to see Stephen Massicotte’s play Mary’s Wedding, directed by Kent Staines. Students Dani Shae Barkley and Gwen Anderson express their thoughts below, although in relatively different formats. Dani Shae conveys her experience through text while Gwen elects to explore criticism…