Hope McIntyre is a Canadian playwright, theatre creator, and professor. She was the founding artistic director of Sarasvati Productions and served as the company's artistic director until 2020.

Early life and education

McIntyre was born and raised in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. McIntyre obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and, later, a Masters of Fine Arts in Directing from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

. She proposed directing María Irene Fronés' ''

Fefu and Her Friends ''Fefu and Her Friends'' was the fourteenth play by Cuban American playwright María Irene Fornés, originally written and produced in 1977. It is known for its alternative staging and use of a solely female cast. Synopsis Plot ''Fefu and her ...

'' as part of her MFA thesis project but was told by male faculty advisors that the play's feminism was dated and that it would be too difficult to cast given the large number of female actors required. McIntyre later trained at ARTTS International.

Career

McIntyre worked at Rare Gem Productions, an international commercial theatre producer, in Toronto in the late nineties. McIntyre founded Sarasvati Productions in Toronto in 1998 but moved the theatre company to Winnipeg in 2000. McIntyre founded Sarasvati's FemFest in 2003 expressly to amplify female voices. While working at Sarasvati, McIntyre directed several shows including ''Fire Visions: The Poetry of Bertolt Brecht'' (2002), ''

Fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...

'' (2010), '' Vinegar Tom'' (2010), and ''

'' (2014). As well, during her time with Sarasvati, McIntyre saw many of her own plays performed by the company. In 2020, Sarasvati announced that McIntyre would be retiring from her position as artistic director to focus on her position as an assistant professor at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...

. McIntyre was succeeded by Frances Koncan.

Plays

* ''Hunger'' (1998) *''Trauma'' (1999) * ''Revisionings'' (1999) * ''Missiah'' (2000) * ''Death of Love'' (2001) * ''Ripple Effect'' (2008) * ''Eden'' (2012) * ''Empty'' (2012) * ''Immigration Stories'' (2012) - written by McIntyre with the Immigrant Women's Association of Manitoba * ''Jail Baby'' (2013) - co-written by McIntyre and Cairn Moore with Nan Fewchuk and Marsha Knight * ''Giving Voice'' (2014) - co-created with youth in foster care * ''Erica in Technoland'' (2014) * ''Breaking Through'' (2017) - co-written by McIntyre and Cairn Moore

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Hope Canadian artistic directors Living people University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Victoria alumni University of Winnipeg faculty 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian theatre directors Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)