Kathryn Shaw is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

director, actor, and writer living in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. From 1985 to 2020 she was the Artistic Director of

Studio 58 Studio 58 is the professional theatre training school at Langara College in Vancouver, British Columbia. The school offers a three-year diploma program for acting students and a three-year diploma program for production students. A Bachelor o ...

, an acting and production training school at Langara College.

History

Shaw graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in dramatic art from

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacific ...

and a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the Columbia University School of the Arts in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Following graduation, she lived in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

for a short while before eventually moving to Vancouver. Over the past few decades, she has directed some of Canada's most prestigious theatre companies. She has taught acting for professional and community groups across British Columbia,

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, ...

, Halifax, and has also been a guest instructor for the

National Theatre School The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Shaw has been on the Theatre BC committee, a parent organization to approximately 80 community theatre groups across British Columbia, as an adjudicator and

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

. She began teaching at Studio 58 in 1974 while the school was under the direction of

Antony Holland Antony Holland (28 March 1920 – 29 July 2015) was an English actor, playwright and theatre director who until his death in 2015 lived on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada. History Holland completed his drama training at the Labou ...

. She taught there for eleven years before replacing Holland as artistic director when he retired in 1985. Under her direction, Studio 58 has become recognized internationally as one of the premiere theatre training programs of Canada. She resigned as Studio 58's artistic director in 2020 and was succeeded by Courtenay Dobbie.

Select directing credits

* '' Measure for Measure'' -

Bard on the Beach Bard on the Beach is Western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare festival. The theatre Festival runs annually from early June through September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Festival is produced by Bard on the Beach Theatre Soc ...

* ''Bachelor Brothers On Tour'' - The

Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company ("The Playhouse") was a regional theatre company, producing plays since 1962. Its first production was '' The Hostage'' by Brendan Behan, which opened on October 2, 1963. The company performed out of the V ...

* ''

The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...

'' - Presentation House Theatre * '' Skylight'' -

Belfry Theatre The Belfry Theatre is a theatre and associated theatre company in the Fernwood neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces contemporary theatre, with a focus on Canadian work. The theatre building is a converted ...

* ''

The Weir ''The Weir'' is a play written by Conor McPherson in 1997. It was first produced at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London, England, on 4 July 1997. It opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 1 April 1999. As well as several oth ...

'' - Belfry Theatre &

Western Canada Theatre Western Canada Theatre is a professional theatre company located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1975 by Tom Kerr under the name Western Canada Youth Theatre. It currently offers seven live performances throughout the s ...

Company * ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...

'' - Gateway Theatre * ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' - Gateway Theatre * ''

The Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

'' -

Green Thumb Theatre Green Thumb Theatre (also known as the Green Thumb Theatre for Young People and simply as Green Thumb) is a Canadian children's theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1975 by playwrights Dennis Foon and Jane Howard ...

/ Studio 58 * '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' - Studio 58 * ''

Mum's the word Mum's the word is a popular English idiom. It is related to an expression used by William Shakespeare, in ''Henry VI, Part 2''. The word "mum" is an alteration of momme, which was used between 1350 and 1400 in Middle English with very close to the ...

'' - Back Row Productions,

Arts Club Theatre Company The Arts Club Theatre Company is a Canadian professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1958. It is the largest urban not-for-profit theatre company in the country and the largest in Western Canada, with productions tak ...

(creative consultant)

Honours

* In 1996 she received the UBCP/

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The orga ...

Sam Payne Award in recognition of "humanity, integrity and the encouragement of new talent." * In 2001, she was on the first jury for the

Siminovitch Prize in Theatre The Siminovitch Prize is Canada's largest theatre award recognizing excellence in mid-career directors, playwrights and designers. $100,000 is awarded annually, and for recipients, who are given the public recognition and financial resources, it i ...

, which recognized an outstanding director from nominations received from across Canada. * In 2005 she was elected into the

BC Entertainment Hall of Fame The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in Vancouver was founded on 24 July 1992 to honour British Columbians that have made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Star Walk inductees are featured with a plaque on the Walk of Fame on ...

. * The recipient of two

Jessie Richardson Theatre Award The Jessie Richardson Theatre Award (commonly known as the Jessie Awards) is given to recognize achievement in professional theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Jessies are presented by the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society, at an annu ...

s for Direction and Best Production, and nominated for four other Jessie Richardson Awards. *2009-2010 Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) Bronze Teaching Excellence Award * In 2010, she wa
recognized
as one of BC’s 100 most influential women by the Vancouver Sun. *2010 recipient of the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (GVPTA) Career Achievement Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Kathryn Whitman College alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Langara College people Canadian artistic directors Canadian theatre directors Women theatre directors