Audrey Dwyer Explained

Birth Place:Winnipeg, Manitoba
Audrey Dwyer
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Alma Mater:University of Manitoba

Audrey Dwyer is a Canadian writer, actor, and director. She is a former associate artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. She wrote the 2018 comedy, Calpurnia.

Early life

Dwyer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She studied theatre at the University of Manitoba.[1]

Career

In 2011, Dwyer did dramaturgy for and directed Rabiayshna Productions' The Apology.[2] From 2016 to 2017, Dwyer was the artistic director of Cow Over Moon Children’s Theatre in Mississauga. She also served as the associate artistic director of both Tarragon Theatre and Nightwood Theatre in Toronto.

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 from the perspective of one of the book's minor characters, Calpurnia.[3] The play tackles themes of race, class, and privilege.[4] fu-GEN Theatre selected Calpurnia as one of their top 49 groundbreaking plays by women of colour.[5] 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. She previously acted in the RMTC's 2015 production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.[6] In 2020, she directed the RMTC's premiere of Frances Koncan's Women of the Fur Trade.[7] The next year, she directed The Mountaintop with RMTC. The production was streamed online to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions.[8] The RMTC is set to put on Dwyer's play Calpurnia in 2022.[9] [10]

Dwyer wrote the 6-episode Crave series, The D Cut, which premiered in 2020.[11] In 2020, Dwyer wrote the libretto for the opera Backstage at Carnegie Hall. Backstage was composed by Tim Brady and was based on Charlie Christian's 1939 Carnegie Hall performance with Benny Goodman's band.[12]

Dwyer's audio-play, Come Home – The Legend Of Daddy Hall, premiered in May 2021 with Tarragon Theatre. Dwyer directed the production which featured the voices of Jesse Clark, Beau Dixon, Starr Domingue, and Jackie Richardson.[13]

Acting credits

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008–2009Da Kink in My HairTheaEpisodes: "Forced Ripe Mango" and "Di Heart of Di Matter"
2017–2018Baroness Von Sketch ShowMisc. rolesEpisodes: "Sometimes It's Good to Be the Shaman" (2018), "Is That You Karen?" (2018), and "Taco and a Hair Flip" (2017)

Theatre

YearTitleRoleCompanyRef.
2005throwing stonesClear Light (Toronto Fringe)[14]
2005Blue PlanetHuldaYoung People's Theatre[15] [16]
2006The BabysitterBabysitterTheatre Direct Canada/Eldritch[17]
2008Black MedeaMedeaObsidian Theatre[18]
2009The TempestArielDream in High Park[19]
2010The OverwhelmingEmiritha / Market Woman / WaitressStudio 180/Canadian Stage[20]
2012thirstyJuliaNational Arts Centre[21]
2013Clybourne ParkFrancine / LenaStudio 180[22]
2014Good PeopleKateRoyal Manitoba Theatre Centre[23]
2015Vanya and Sonia and Masha and SpikeCassandraRoyal Manitoba Theatre Centre
2016One Thing Leads to AnotherEnsembleYoung People's Theatre[24]
2018TheoryLeeTarragon Theatre[25]

Directing credits

Theatre

YearTitleCompanyRef.
2011The ApologyRabiayshna Productions
2011The AftermathNightwood Theatre (Grounsdwell Festival)[26]
2017Serenity WildTender Container/SummerWorks[27]
2018CalpurniaNightwood Theatre[28]
2020Women of the Fur TradeRoyal Manitoba Theatre Centre
2021The MountaintopRoyal Manitoba Theatre Centre (online)[29]
2021Come Home – The Legend Of Daddy Hall (audio play)Tarragon Theatre
2021In ConclusionRoyal Manitoba Theatre Centre (online - Pimootayowin: A Festival of New Work)[30]

Awards

!Year!Award!Category!Work!Result!Notes!Ref.
2011Dora Mavor Moore Awards – Independent Theatre DivisionOutstanding DirectionThe Apology[31]
2015Cayle Chernin AwardTheatreCalpurnia[32]
2016Dora Mavor Moore Awards – Theatre for Young AudiencesOutstanding Performance, EnsembleOne Thing Leads to Another[33]
Outstanding New Playwith Maja Ardal, Julia Tribe, and Mary Francis Moore

Notes and References

  1. News: King. Randall. 2019-03-13. Mar 2019: Royal MTC names new associate AD. en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2020-09-23.
  2. Web site: Kaplan . Jon . Jon Kaplan (theatre critic) . 2011-01-07 . The Apology . 2020-09-23 . NOW Magazine.
  3. News: Nestruck. J. Kelly. 2018-01-18. Review: Calpurnia's inconsistent characters undermine a play with promise. The Globe and Mail. live. registration. 2020-09-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180410194556/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/theatre-reviews/review-calpurnias-inconsistent-characters-undermine-a-play-with-promise/article37662663/ . 10 April 2018.
  4. News: 2018-01-25. Audrey Dwyer and Catherine Hernandez on the intentional awkwardness of their new play Calpurnia. CBC Radio. 2020-09-23.
  5. Web site: Parris. Amanda. 2020-03-06. 31 Black Canadian female playwrights you need to know. 2020-09-23. CBC.
  6. News: Prokosh. Kevin. 2015-02-12. Feb 2015: Offensive? Chekh-ov... Funny? Chekh-ov.... en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2020-09-23.
  7. News: Ross. Ian. 2020-02-27. Women are the Riel deal in comedic drama that puts a modern spin on Manitoba's past. en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2020-09-23.
  8. News: King. Randall. 2021-02-03. RMTC play explores last day of MLK's life. en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2021-03-05.
  9. News: Nestruck. J. Kelly. 2021-05-18. Should theatres re-open this fall - or this winter? Manitoba Theatre Centre and Tarragon Theatre seasons show different paths. 2021-06-08.
  10. News: King. Randall. 2021-05-14. Daring RMTC season proceeds with caution. en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2021-11-17.
  11. Web site: Hatzitolios. Chloe. 2020-06-30. 8 reasons this inclusive LGBTQ2S+ series about haircuts is a must-watch. 2020-09-23. etalk. en-US.
  12. Web site: Saxberg. Lynn. 2021-01-22. Local choreographer's opus on aging one of 13 projects backed by NAC fund. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122174635/https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/local-choreographers-opus-on-aging-one-of-13-projects-backed-by-nac-fund . 2021-01-22 . 2021-01-25. Ottawa Citizen. en-CA.
  13. Web site: 2021-05-27. The best things to do in Toronto this weekend: May 28–30. live. 2021-06-08. NOW Magazine. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527123919/https://nowtoronto.com/culture/the-best-things-to-do-in-toronto-this-weekend-may-28-30 . 2021-05-27 .
  14. Web site: 2005-07-14. Fringe Festival. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  15. News: Al-Solaylee. Kamal. 2005-02-05. Playful theatrics save Blue Planet. R4. The Globe and Mail. 2020-09-23. ProQuest.
  16. Web site: Kaplan. Jon. 2005-02-10. Powerful Planet. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  17. Web site: Kaplan. Jon. 2006-11-09. Bloody good fun. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  18. Web site: Kaplan. Jon. 2008-09-09. Double the drama. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  19. Web site: Crew Robert. 2009-07-06. Tempest with a twist. 2020-09-23. Toronto Star. en.
  20. Web site: Kaplan. Jon. 2010-03-16. The Overwhelming. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  21. News: 2012-11-08. Poet Dionne Brand debuts play about police shooting. CBC. 2020-09-23.
  22. News: Clybourne Park: An increasingly comic story of racism and real estate. Globe and Mail. live. 2020-09-23. registration. https://web.archive.org/web/20130320203936/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/try-it-now/?articleId=8901193 . 20 March 2013.
  23. News: Schmidt. Joff. 2014-04-18. RMTC's Good People flawed, but good theatre. CBC. 2020-09-23.
  24. Web site: Kaplan. Jon. 2016-02-15. One Thing Leads To Another. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  25. Web site: 2019-11-07. "All I had to do was listen": Playwright Norman Yeung rethinks his 'Theory'. 2020-09-23. DC Metro Theater Arts. en-US.
  26. Web site: Kaplan. Jon. 2011-12-01. Groundswell rising. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  27. Web site: Fein-Goldbach. Debbie. 2017-08-05. SummerWorks review: Serenity Wild. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  28. Web site: Sumi. Glenn. 2018-01-19. Calpurnia will make you laugh, think and shift uncomfortably in your seat. 2020-09-23. NOW Magazine.
  29. News: King. Randall. 2021-02-24. RMTC production looks to humanity within Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic status. en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2021-03-05.
  30. News: King. Randall. 2021-06-08. Raising their voices. en-CA. Winnipeg Free Press. 2021-06-21.
  31. Web site: 2011-06-07. PRISCILLA, BILLY ELLIOT et al Earn Toronto's Dora Award Nominations!. 2020-09-23. BroadwayWorld.com. en.
  32. Web site: 2015 Recipients Cayle Chernin Memorial Fund. 2020-09-23. en-US.
  33. Web site: Hay. Susan. 2016-10-03. Play for babies at Toronto theatre is getting two thumbs up. 2020-09-23. Global News. en-US.