Audrey Dwyer is a Canadian writer, actor, and director. She is currently the associate artistic director of the
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by Joh ...
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. She studied theatre at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.
Career
In 2011, Dwyer did dramaturgy for and directed Rabiayshna Productions' ''The Apology''. From 2016 to 2017, Dwyer was the artistic director of Cow Over Moon Children’s Theatre in
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
. She also served as the associate artistic director of both
Tarragon Theatre
The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.
and
Nightwood Theatre
Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
Dwyer's play, '' Calpurnia'', premiered in 2018 in Toronto with Nightwood Theatre and Sulong Theatre, under Dwyer's direction. ''Calpurnia'' follows a young Jamaican-Canadian writer who is writing a script retelling ''
To Kill A Mockingbird
''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
'' from the perspective of one of the book's minor characters, Calpurnia. The play tackles themes of race, class, and privilege. fu-GEN Theatre selected ''Calpurnia'' as one of their top 49 groundbreaking plays by women of colour. Also in 2018, Dwyer developed and performed in ''One Thing Leads to Another'' for Young People's Theatre.
In 2019, Dwyer was appointed associate artistic director of the
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by Joh ...
. She previously acted in the RMTC's 2015 production of
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'' is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, ...
. In 2020, she directed the RMTC's premiere of Frances Koncan's ''Women of the Fur Trade''. The next year, she directed ''
The Mountaintop
''The Mountaintop'' is a play by American playwright Katori Hall. It is a fictional depiction of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth set entirely in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel on the eve of his assassination in 1968.
Historical b ...
'' with RMTC. The production was streamed online to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. The RMTC is set to put on Dwyer's play ''Calpurnia'' in 2022.
Dwyer wrote the 6-episode Crave series, '' The D Cut'', which premiered in 2020. In 2020, Dwyer wrote the
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
for the opera ''Backstage at Carnegie Hall''. ''Backstage'' was composed by Tim Brady and was based on
Charlie Christian
Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist.
Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...
's 1939
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
performance with
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
's band.
Dwyer's audio-play, ''Come Home – The Legend Of Daddy Hall'', premiered in May 2021 with
Tarragon Theatre
The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.
. Dwyer directed the production which featured the voices of Jesse Clark, Beau Dixon, Starr Domingue, and
Jackie Richardson
Jackie Richardson (born January 4, 1947) is a Canadian singer and actress. Richardson is known for her screen roles in '' Turning to Stone'', ''The Gospel According to the Blues'', ''The Doodlebops'', and '' Sins of the Father''. She is also kno ...
.
In 2022, Dwyer will direct ''
The Lifespan of a Fact
''The Lifespan of a Fact'' is a book co-written by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal and published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2012. The book is written in a non-traditional format consisting of D’Agata's 2003 essay “What Happens There” in black ...
'', written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, at RMTC.