Andrea Donaldson Explained

Andrea Donaldson
Birth Place:Toronto, Ontario
Nationality:Canadian
Alma Mater:Simon Fraser University
Occupation:Artistic director

Andrea Donaldson is a Canadian theatre director and dramaturge. She is the current artistic director of Nightwood Theatre and was formerly the program director of Nightwood's Write From the Hip program.

Early life

Donaldson attended the Claude Watson School for the Arts for high school.[1] She later attended the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University and graduated with a BFA in theatre.[2]

Career

From 2012 to 2016, Donaldson was the assistant/associate artistic director of Tarragon Theatre. Donaldson has directed several plays with Tarragon including Anna Chatterton's Within The Glass (2016)[3] and Arun Lakra's Sequence (2017).[4]

Donaldson participated in the Stratford Festival's Michael Langham Workshop for classical direction in 2012 and 2013.[5] As part of the program, she assistant directed The Matchmaker and Othello.[6] For her work at Stratford, Donaldson was awarded the Jean Gascon Award.

From 2014 to 2019, Donaldson was the program director of Nightwood Theatre's script development program Write From the Hip. As part of Write From the Hip, Donaldson helped to develop Rose Napoli's Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) which she later directed as part of Nightwood's regular season in 2017.[7] Donaldson also developed Jane Doe's Grace and then and directed it for Nightwood's main season. In 2019, Donaldson replaced Kelly Thornton as artistic director of Nightwood Theatre.[8]

Outside of Nightwood and Tarragon, Donaldson has directed Howard Barker's The Possibilities (2004),[9] Erin ShieldsThe Unfortunate Misadventures Of Masha Galinski (2007)[10] and Beautiful Man (2019),[11] and Harold Pinter's Betrayal (with Soulpepper, 2019).[12]

Donaldson is also an actor and has played such roles as the Prince in Shakespeare in the Ruff's 2016 production of Romeo & Juliet.[13] In addition, she sometimes teaches directing at the National Theatre School of Canada.[14]

Personal life

Donaldson is married to Rob Baker. She has a son, Theodore Fitz.

Awards

!Year!Award!Category!Work!Result!Notes!Ref.
2005Dora Mavor Moore AwardsOutstanding PerformanceAnd By the Way, Miss [15] [16]
Outstanding Productionwith Urge Collective
2011Outstanding New Play or New Musical (Independent Theatre Production)Montparnassewith Maev Beaty and Erin Shields[17]
2013Jean Gascon Award (Stratford Festival)[18]

References

  1. Web site: Andrea Donaldson becomes Nightwood Theatre's artistic director. Sumi. Glenn. February 8, 2019. NOW Magazine. en-us. May 20, 2020.
  2. Web site: Leslieville's Andrea Donaldson directs Tarragon Theatre's 'Within the Glass'. Lavoie. Joanna. January 9, 2016. Toronto.com. en-CA. May 20, 2020.
  3. Web site: Kaplan . Jon . Jon Kaplan (theatre critic) . January 20, 2016 . Review: Within The Glass . May 20, 2020 . NOW Magazine . en-us.
  4. Web site: Sequence crackles enough to hold your attention, but the characters are counters at best National Post. Cushman. Robert. January 19, 2017. National post. en-CA. May 20, 2020.
  5. Web site: MICHAEL LANGHAM WORKSHOP FOR CLASSICAL DIRECTION. www.stratfordfestival.ca. May 20, 2020.
  6. Web site: Announcement: Andrea Donaldson Appointed as New Artists Director, Nightwood Theatre. February 4, 2019. TAPA. en-US. May 20, 2020.
  7. Web site: Lo (Or Dear Mr. Wells) delivers uncomfortable truths we need to face. Campbell. Trevor. 2017-11-01. NOW Magazine. en-us. 2020-05-20.
  8. News: Maga. Carly. February 4, 2019. Nightwood Theatre announces Andrea Donaldson as new artistic director. The Toronto Star. May 20, 2020.
  9. Web site: SummerWorks Reviews @ FACTORY STUDIO. Sumi. Jon Kaplan, Glenn. August 12, 2004. NOW Magazine. en-us. May 20, 2020.
  10. Web site: Masha mashup. Fein-Goldbach. Debbie. November 29, 2007. NOW Magazine. en-us. May 20, 2020.
  11. Web site: Beautiful Man reveals ugly truths about gender stereotypes and exploitation. Edwards. Samantha. May 14, 2019. NOW Magazine. en-us. May 20, 2020.
  12. Web site: Betrayal at Soulpepper remains timelessly compelling. Fein-Goldbach. Debbie. September 9, 2019. NOW Magazine. en-us. May 20, 2020.
  13. Web site: Review: Romeo & Juliet goes modern and gender fluid. Kaplan. Jon. August 23, 2016. NOW Magazine. en-us. May 20, 2020.
  14. Web site: Directing. National Theatre School of Canada. en. May 20, 2020.
  15. Web site: Toronto director to direct "TomorrowLove". June 21, 2018. Communication Arts. en. May 20, 2020.
  16. Web site: Girls growing. Kaplan. Jon. 2004-12-02. NOW Magazine. en-us. 2020-05-20.
  17. Web site: Nominees. TAPA. en-US. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210514103139/https://tapa.ca/dora-awards/past-awards/nominees/. May 14, 2021. May 20, 2020.
  18. Web site: Press Release Tyrone Guthrie Awards celebrate Festival artists and staff. September 23, 2013. www.stratfordfestivalblog.com. en. May 20, 2020.