Michael Devine (Canada)
BA, MFA, PhD, actor, director, playwright
Michael Devine has a PhD in Drama from the University of Toronto. As an actor he trained at LAMDA (England) and at Herbert Berghof Studio (New York City), as well as York University (Toronto). A two-time Artistic Director in the Canadian theatre as well as an accomplished playwright, dramaturg, and essayist, he has directed twelve productions in seven languages in eastern and central Europe, as well as creating five new plays. Michael has founded an actor training methodology called BoxWhatBox, which he has brought to Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Kosova, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
TRAINING
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art – Post-graduate Overseas Acting Programme.
Herbert Berghof Studio
Actors Movement Studio, NYC
York University
BA (Canadian Studies)
MFA (Theatre Performance)
University of Toronto
PhD, Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama
ARTISTIC DIRECTION
Co-Founder, Idea Factory, Novi Sad, Serbia (spring 2008)
Co-founder, Co-Artistic Director - Scheme Ov Things Theatre Ensemble, Toronto
Co-founder, Co-Editor - Theatrum Magazine
Executive and Artistic Director - Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal, 1991-94
Artistic Director - Theatre Newfoundland Labrador, 1997-99
Artistic Director - Gros Morne Theatre Festival, 1997-99
DIRECTING
International Productions
Public Enemy - Ibsen - National Theatre of Srbija, Niś, Srbija December 2008 (Serbian)
Killing Smile - Devine/Neziraj - Dodona Theatre, Prishtina, Kosova, July 2008 (Albanian)
HAWKS - Devine - Open Arc Theatre, Mokra Gora, Srbija July 2007 (Serbian)
Cyrano XXI - Devine - National Theatre of Srbija, Niś, Srbija May 2007 (Serbian)
Aeneas Ghost - Devine - Multimedia Theatre, Prishtina, Kosova October 2006 (Albanian)
Aeneas Wounded - Neziraj - Multimedia Theatre, Prishtina, Kosova October 2006 (Albanian)
BoxWhatBox – I DREAM - Open Arc Theatre, Mokra Gora, Srbija July 2006 (Serbian)
Auntie And Me - Panych - Radu Stanca National Theatre, Sibiu, Romania 2005 (Romanian)
Auntie And Me - Panych - Radu Stanca National Theatre, Sibiu, Romania 2005 (German)
BoxWhatBox - I FORGET - State Theatre of Serbia, Užice, Srbija, 2005 (Serbian)
The Orphan Muses - Bouchard - Radu Stanca Theatre, Sibiu, Romania 2003 (German)
Brecht In The Garbage - Brecht/Devine - Tony Bulandra Theatre, Târgovişte, Romania 2003 (Romanian)
The White Bear - Devine - Vojtina Babszínház, Debrecen , Hungary 1997 (Hungarian)
7Stories - Panych - Csokonai Színház, Debrecen , Hungary 1996 (Hungarian)
Canadian Productions
The Only Living Father - Cahill - Theatre NF Labrador (provincial tour)
Eiriksdottir - Clark - Theatre NF Labrador; Gros Morne Theatre Festival
Wrong For
Each Other - Foster - Theatre NF Labrador, provincial tour
Fisherman’s Revenge - Cook - Theatre NF Labrador, Gros Morne Theatre Festival
Neddy Norris Nights - Cabaret - Theatre NF Labrador, Gros Morne Theatre Festival
Vigil - Panych - Centaur Theatre, Montreal
In Vitro - Bienvenue - National Arts Centre, Eng. premiere, G-G Award
Body And Soul - Mighton - National Arts Centre 1993
Rock and Roll - Gray - Theatre NF Labrador 1997
Rock And Roll - Gray - Theatre Lac Brome, Montreal 1994
King John - Shakespeare - Mount Royal Shakespeare Co., Montreal
Much Ado About…- Shakespeare - Repercussion Theatre, Montreal
Out At Sea - Mrozek - Scheme Ov Things, Toronto
The Blue Hour - Mamet - Mercury Theatre, Toronto
Birdbath - Melfi - Mercury Theatre, Toronto
The Actor’s Nightmare - Durang - Mercury Theatre, Toronto
University Productions
4:48 Psychosis - Kane - Acadia University, Nova Scotia Canada 2007
Threepenny Opera - Brecht - Acadia University, Nova Scotia Canada 2005
The Sea - Bond - Acadia University, Nova Scotia Canada 2005
BWB-Family Album - Devine - University of Jyväskyla, Finland 2004 (Finnish)
The Peace In Hell - Barker - Bathurst St. Theatre, Toronto 2002
The Miller Girl - Schiller/Devine - Drama Centre, Toronto 2002
Peer Gynt - Ibsen - Concordia University, Montréal, Canada 1991
PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPS
BoxWhatBox is a workshop training system developed for both professional and aspiring performers which has applications for non-theatre participants, as well. It can extend from one half-day to as long as three months, and is executed within the framework of a professional performance or without a performance objective. Its primary components are demechanisation, rhythm, and non-linear text and image creation.
Theatre of Changes, Athens, Greece, February 2008 - 3 days
MESS International Theatre Festival, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, October 2007 - 1 week
Rhodopi International Theatre Collective, Smolyan, Bulgaria, July-August 2007 - 2 weeks
Rhodopi International Theatre Collective, Smolyan, Bulgaria July 2006 - 1 day
INFOMAT Festival, Athens, Greece July 2006 - 1 day X 3
North University, Baia Mare, Romania April 2006 - 1 week
Faculty of Arts, Prishtina, Kosova October, 2005 - 1 day
Sibiu International Theatre Festival (FITS), Romania June 2005 -1 day X 3
Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada September-December 2004 - 3 months
Janacek Academy of Dramatic Art, Brno, Czech Republic October 2004 - 1 day
“Canada in the European Mind” Conference, Debrecen, Hungary 2004 - 1 day
University of Jyväskylä, Finland 2004 -1 week
University of Toronto, Canada 2004 - 3 days
ACTING (selected)
CRAVE - Sarah Kane - (A) Drama Centre,Toronto
Man Of La Mancha - D. Wasserman 0 (Quixote) Theatre NF Labrador
Brilliant Traces - Cindy Lou Johnson - (Henry Harry) Theatre NF Labrador
Mystery Of Irma Vep - Charles Ludlam - (Irma Vep) Theatre Lac Brome, Québec
A Tour Of The City - Joe Frank - (Vorst) Anima Prods., Montreal
The Caretaker - H. Pinter - (Aston) Mercury Theatre, Toronto
The Maids - J. Genet - (Solange) Mercury Theatre, Toronto
Seascape - E. Albee - (Leslie) Mercury Theatre, Toronto
How I Wonder - R. Morgan - (David) Theatre Direct Canada, Toronto
Summerfolk - M. Gorky - (Zimin) Canadian Stage, Toronto
Woyzeck - G. Büchner - (Organgrinder) CSC Rep, NYC (Off B’way)
Leonce and Lena - G. Büchner - (valet) CSC Rep, NYC
King Lear -W. Shakespeare - various CSC Rep, NYC
Oedipus Rex - Sophokles - various CSC Rep, NYC
Oedipus At Colonus - Sophokles - various CSC Rep, NYC
Antigone - Sophokles- (soldier) CSC Rep, NYC
Gilles De Rais - R. Planchon - (Le Ferron) CSC Rep, NYC
Lenny - J. Barry - Lenny Bruce) Dogstar Prods., Ottawa
DRAMATURGY
Artistic and Executive Director of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal, a national new play development centre, 1991 - 94
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal - Over 50 workshops, 200+ written critiques
National Arts Centre - 4 Page to Stage Festivals, 2 Young Playwrights’ festivals, 1 On The Verge Festival
Theatre New Brunswick - 4 Brave New Words Festivals
Alberta Theatre Projects - PlayRites Festival
PARC - Moveable Feast, Parrsboro, NS
Factory Theatre - Dramaturg
INSTRUCTION
Associate Professor - Acadia University, Theatre Studies Programme (current)
Senior Acting Instructor - Randolph Academy For The Performing Arts, Toronto
Instructor, Playwriting - National Theatre School of Canada
Visiting Instructor, Theatre - Debrecen University, Hungary
Assistant Professor - Concordia University, Theatre Department
Guest Lectureships - Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic; University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Memorial University of Newfoundland, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Corner Brook Newfoundland.
WRITING & RESEARCH
Co-founder, co-editor Theatrum - A Theatre Journal, 1984-87
1. Articles
- “Talons of Desire; BoxWhatBox and HAWKS in Southern Serbia”. Canadian Theatre Review no. 127, Summer 2008.
- (R) “Aeneas in Kosova: Inter-cultural Perspectives on Theatrical Creation in a Canadian-Albanian Context”, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on “Central Europe and the English-Speaking World, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania, 14-16 April 2007.
- (R) “Leaving England Behind: The Development of Theatre Culture in Newfoundland”, Vox Litteratum, Issue 5, 2006 (May 2007).
- (R) “Keileydography: The Methods and Mind of Jillian Keiley”, CTR 127, Fall 2006.
- “I FORGET, I Remember: A Canadian Director in the Serbian Theatre”, in CTR 125, January, 2006.
- (R) “The Evolution of Theatre Culture in Newfoundland: The Rise of the Gros Morne Theatre Festival”, Theatre Research In Canada, Vol. 26, January, 2006.
- (R)“Taking It Back: Authorship and the Director-Spectator Dynamic” in Migliarisi, A. (ed.), Directing and Authorship in Western Drama. Ottawa: Legas Publishing, 2005. p. 171-91.
- “You’re Not From Here: Place and Identity in Newfoundland Drama”, Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference of Central European Canadianists (CEACS), Krakow, Poland, April 2005.
- “The Enemy is Us: Shifting Definitions of the Outsider in Newfoundland Drama”, Annals of the 1st International Conference on Canadian Studies, Yugoslav Association for Canadian Studies, Belgrade, October 2004.
- In Vitro by Yvan Bienvenue, trans. by Shelley Tepperman, Scirocco Press, 1995. Foreword to published version.
- “The Changing Face of Czech Theatre”; Theatrum, no. 22, Feb/Mar 1991. pp.16-21
- “Forging Drama At Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal” Performing Arts In Canada, v.24, no.1, July 1988. pp.33-4.
- “Tarragon: Playwrights Talk Back” Theatrum, no.9, Spring 1988. pp. 13-22.
- “Toronto - Director Training” Canadian Theatre Review, no.52, Fall 1987. pp. 82-89.
- “Vakhtangov Leaves Russia” Theatrum, no.7, Summer 1987. pp. 25-30.
- “Piscator and Meyerhold: Slicing Life in Epic Proportions” Theatrum, vol. 2, no.1, Summer 1986, p. 17-20.
- “Albertine 2X5: Bridging The Solitudes” Theatrum, v..2, no.2, Summer 1985. pp.21-6.
- “Peter Stein and the Renovation of Naturalism” Theatrum, v.1, no.1, Apr.1985. p.15-18
2. Papers
- “Cultural Markers of Identity: the BoxWhatBox acting method in Canada, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Romania and Serbia”, 3rd International Conference of Yugoslav Association for Canadian Studies, “Culture and Ideology: Canadian Perspectives”. Belgrade, Serbia, Oct. 19-21, 2007.
- “BoxWhatBox: the Evolution of an International System of Actor Training”, 1st International Conference of the Croatian Association for Canadian Studies, Rab, Croatia, 15-17 May, 2007
- “Leaving England Behind: The Development of Theatre Culture in Newfoundland”, Bulgarian Association for British and American Studies Conference, Plovdiv, Bulgaria November 2006
- “BoxWhatBox Mokra Gora: Aspects of Intercultural Performance”, Second International Conference, “Canada in the European Mind”, Debrecen, Hungary October 2006
- “Past/Present: Michael Devine’s BOXWHATBOX and the Serbian-Canadian production of I FORGET”, 2nd International YACS Conference, Niš, Serbia and Montenegro, October 2005.
- “BOXWHATBOX – Finland Casebook”, 2nd “Canada in the European Mind” conference, Debrecen, Hungary, October, 2004.
- “You’re Not From Here: Place and Identity in Newfoundland Drama”, 3rd Annual Conference of Central European Canadianists, Krakow, Poland, April 2005.
- “Between A Rock and A Hard Place – Isolation in Newfoundland Drama”, 1st International Canada In The European Mind conference, Debrecen, Hungary, Fall 2002.
- “7 Stories West of the Moon: Directing Canadian Drama in the Hungarian State Theatre”, 1st International Canada In The European Mind conference, Debrecen, Hungary, Fall, 2002.
- “The Enemy Is Us: Shifting Definitions of the Outsider in Newfoundland Drama”; ACTR National Conference, Toronto, Spring, 2002.
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