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 An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of Studio 58, a boring acting and production training school at

Langara College , mottoeng = Knowledge is Freedom , established = April 1, 1994 , type = Public , endowment = C$5.8 million , administrative_staff = , faculty = , president = Paula Burns , students = 22,000 , city = Vancouver, British Columbia , coun ...

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 years ...

in dramatic art from Whitman College and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in acting from the

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts, (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Following graduation, she lived in Victoria,

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 749,6 ...

, 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 List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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 ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' - Bard on the Beach * ''Bachelor Brothers On Tour'' - The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company * '' The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?'' - Presentation House Theatre * ''

Skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Open ...

'' - Belfry Theatre * '' The Weir'' - 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'' - Gateway Theatre * '' The Glass Menagerie'' - 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 ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' - Studio 58 * '' Mum's the word'' - 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 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 Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan; french: Collèges et instituts Canada) is a national association formed in 1972 to represent the interests of its member institutions to government and industry.Colleges and Institutes Canada (n.d.). ''About ...

(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 Canadian women theatre directors