Download Donna Marie Baratta

Donna Marie Baratta
CAEA , Canadian/Italian Passports
DIRECTION
THE PERSIANS
a modern adaptation
SITI Company Intensive Black Box (Skidmore College)
*GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!
by Greg MacArthur
Present Danger Productions SummerWorks 2013
FOOL FOR LOVE
by Sam Shepard
Heart in Hand Theatre
The Playwright Project
THE MURMURATION OF STARLINGS University of Alberta
by Evan Tsitsias
The Second Playing Space
HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE
by Paula Vogel
University of Alberta
Media Room
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
by Ariel Dorfman
University of Alberta
Media Room
EMBEDDED
by Louis Patrick Leroux
University of Alberta
Studio
LOW LEVEL PANIC
by Clare McIntyre
University of Alberta
Studio
DIRECTION/CHOREOGRAPHY
**LIVING WITH HENRY
by Christopher Wilson
NYMF 2012(July 23-29th) The Pearl Theatre, 42nd St./NYC
Next Stage Festival
Factory Theatre
Best of Fringe 2011
Toronto Centre for the Arts
Toronto Fringe 2011
George Ignatieff Theatre
MEDEA
by Larry Fineberg
University of Alberta
The Studio Theatre (thesis)
HONK
by Anthony Drewe, George Stiles
Da Capo Productions
Palmerston Library Theatre
Waterloo Stage (Asst.-Director)
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN Da Capo Productions
by Clark Gesner
Palmerston Library Theatre
Barrie Downtown Theatre
SHAKESPEARE COMPILATION
by William Shakespeare
Shakespearience
The Young Centre for Performing by
Arts
VAGINA MONOLOGUES
by Eve Ensler
TBVPAC
Thunder Bay Community
Auditorium
FIRST DANCE
By Trevor Copp, Jeff Fox,
Lisa O’Connell
Tottering BiPed Theatre
Impact Festival 2013
CYMBELINE
By William Shakespeare
Adapted by Kathleen Weiss
University of Alberta
ASSISTANT DIRECTION
The Studio Theatre
PERFECT LIFE (and
by Jet Matas
Choreography)
Perfect Life Co-op
Poor Alex Theatre/
Toronto Dance Theatre
SPIRIT OF A NATION
by Janis Dunning/Jacques Lemay
Canadian Heritage for the Arts
Confederation Centre of the Arts
Victoria, B.C.
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
BRIDGEFEST’97
Dir. Jacques Lemay
Opening Ceremonies
Borden, P.E.I.
A WAKE FOR LOST TIME
ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM
Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
January 2013
A WAKE FOR LOST TIME
[elephants] collective
Hub 14
Hub 14: November 15-16 2014.
GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!
by Greg MacArthur
Present Danger Productions
SummerWorks 2013
***STRANGE MARY STRANGE
by Evan Tsitsias
On the Verge
Productions
SummerWorks 2011
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
AFTERSHOCK
by Evan Tsitsias
On the Verge
Productions
SummerWorks 2010
Factory Theatre - Studio
University of Toronto
In House Theatre (U of T)
COLLECTIVE
PRODUCER
CHOREOGRAPHER
CANDIDE (Assistant Choreographer)
by Leonard Bernstein, Lillian Hellman, Hugh Wheller MFA Opera Program
FOOTLOOSE (Co-Choreographer)
BMT – Brampton Music
by Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford & Walter Bobbie Theatre
The Rose Theatre, Brampton
GONE FOR A DANCE
(Assistant Choreographer)
A film by Alain Berliner
Paris, Brussels, Luxembourg
Samsa Films/Artemis
Productions
* Two actors (Ben Wheelwright, Zoe Cleland) won “emerging artist awards” for their performances
**Lead Actor (Ryan Kelly) won an “Outstanding Individual Performance” award for his performance
*** Best of SummerWorks - Critics Pick - Outstanding Direction, Production and Ensemble - NOW Magazine
PERFORMER
THEATRE (selected credits)
SUNSET BOULEVARD
CRAZY FOR YOU
CRAZY FOR YOU
REFLECTIONS ON A
CROOKED WALKING
NED DURANGO COMES
TO BIG OAK
SPIRIT OF A NATION
PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ
PIRATES
3RD Harem Girl/Jean/
Lamarr
Mitzi/Ensemble
Louise/Ensemble
Arriba/Ensemble/
Dance Captain
Kay
Trevor Nunn
Lead Dancer/Singer/
Assistant Director
Lead Dancer/Singer
Caroline
Jacques Lemay/
Janis Dunning
Jacques Lemay
Janis Dunning
Tara Young
Mike Ockrent
Mario Crudo
Livent Productions/ Beautician/Hedy
Toronto & Vancouver
Snapshot Productions
Mirvish Productions
Magnus Theatre
Randolph Swyer Magnus Theatre
Tour/ Charlottetown
Festival/Victoria
Charlottetown Festival
Charlottetown Festival
THE PRINCESS AND THE HANDMAIDEN
Courtier
Janis Dunning
Charlottetown Festival
EDUCATION
MFA with Distinction- Directing University of Alberta 2010-2012
Honours Bachelor of Arts – (English/Biology)
Bachelor of Education – first class standing
Lakehead University/University of Toronto
Lakehead University
Drama Specialist (Parts I, II, III) OISE Stratford
and Toronto, summer 2000-2002
On-going: Bachelor of Arts (Italian Language, Women’s Studies at U of T) Part-time student
TRAINING/WORK RELATED EXPERIENCE
·
SITI Company Summer Intensive - May - June 2014 (Trained with: Anne Bogart, Will Bond,
Ellen Lauren, Stephen Webber, Akiko Aizawa, J.Ed. Araiza, Gian-Murray Gianino, Leon Ingulsrud,
Kelly Maurer, Barney O’Hanlon, Brian H Scott, Darron L West, Elizabeth Swados)
·
Volcano Conservatory 2014: Peggy Baker, Stephen O’Connell (bluemouth inc.), Jillian Keiley
·
Artistic Producer/Co-Founder - Present Danger Productions
·
Past Associate Director for Da Capo Productions/Beyond Boundaries
·
Past President, Arts Advocate and Northwestern Ontario Representative - CODE (Council of
Ontario Drama and Dance Educators)
·
Dramaturgy Workshop at Nightwood Theatre - Nina Lee Aquino (December 2011)
·
Director’s Lab North Steering Committee (2013-present) - inaugural lab member June 2011
(www.directorslabnorth.com)
·
Director’s Summit November 2009 –Nightwood Theatre (workshops with: Yaël Faber, Jillian
Keiley, Liesl Tommy)
·
Directing Intensive with Richard Rose 2005 – Equity Showcase
·
Adjudication of Dance and Speech Arts festivals and workshops (TCDSB, Pulse Dance
conference, Kinetic Cohesion, DanceFest)
·
Directed/Choreographed high school productions: Crazy For You, Seussical, The Birds, Once
Upon a Parable, Peter Pan, Jitters, Lady Dracula, You Can’t Take it With You, 7 Stories, Isn’t
Anybody Listening, Grease, Alice In Wonderland
·
Created Original pieces with High School students: The Story Project, Inside the Box, We will
Mock You, Herstory, That’s Sixty Show, A Time for Everything, When Push Comes to Shove,
Historical Echoes, Dance Works, Dance Mesh, Dance Extravaganza, Remembrance Day Pieces
·
Shakespearience Performing Arts Summer Program - Instructor
·
Flint Michigan Tap Workshop/Vancouver Tap Society Workshop
·
Centrodanza, Treviso Italy - Fiorenza Carta
·
The National Ballet School – Summer Program
·
Dance Instructor for 23 years
·
Fully Qualified Teacher: 14 years teaching
o 4 years as Drama/Dance educator at Westgate High School in Thunder Bay, ON.
(2000-2004)
o 8 years as a Drama educator at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts in Toronto,
ON. - (2005-2010) (2012- present)
o 2 years teaching at the University of Alberta (2nd year Scene Study class) (2010-2012)
MEMBERSHIPS
·
·
·
Director’s Lab North - inaugural lab member June 2011 (www.directorslabnorth.com),
Steering committee - ongoing (workshops with an incredible line up of directors and
playwrights from across Canada)
Canadian Dance Teachers’ Association (C.D.T.A.) - Full member of Stage Division (Tap, Jazz)
CAEA - member in good standing since 1994
AWARDS/GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIPS
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
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·
·
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TCR Grant - Volcano Theatre for a piece entitled Yes, Spring! - in process 2014
MDes Scholarship - University of Alberta 2010-2012
Alberta Foundation: Individual Artist Project Grant (Training/Career Development) 2012
Alberta Foundation: Travel Grant to direct Living with Henry for the NextStage Festival 2012
Alberta Creative Development Initiative (ACDI): Grants to Individuals-Theatre Project (Living
with Henry)2012
Scholarship: Minister of Education (Alberta) 2012
Now Magazine best of the fest- SummerWorks - Strange Mary Strange (outstanding production,
outstanding ensemble, outstanding direction) Summer 2011
Best of Fringe 2011 - Living With Henry
Istituto Italiano di Cultura Award - University of Toronto 2010
Now Magazine best of SummerWorks 2010 - Aftershock by Evan Tsitsias
Alumni Association of Lakehead University Scholarship recipient
Lakehead University In-Course Scholarship – 1999
Lakehead University Entrance Award of Academic Excellence
City of Thunder Bay Entrance Scholarship
Northwestern Ontario Law Associations Silver Jubilee Scholarship
Ontario Scholar
Ontario Teacher Federation Awards
Dance Scholarship – Tremaine Dance Center in North Hollywood, California
Dance Scholarship - Gus Giordano Dance Studio in Evanston, Illinois
Dance Scholarship - Canador College Artsperience Summer Program
REVIEWS (small cross-section)
Living with Henry
• Director-choreographer Donna Marie Baratta stages with invention and fluidity on Jennifer
Goodman and Laura Gardner's smart set of recombining sections of benches and chain-link
fence. Baratta elicits sharp work from the committed six-person cast, all making their New York
debuts.
Backstage: Review by Erik Haagnsen
• sexy and whimsical dances, choreographed by Donna Marie Baratta, who also directs. Standout
numbers include "Bathhouse Tango," performed by the men in the cast, and "The Price of Nice,"
which depicts Michael's exposure to HIV in a manner both titillating and disturbing.
Theatre Mania: review by Dan Bacalzo
• Director/choreographer Donna Marie Baratta highlights the emotional and dramatic heart.
Classical 96.3: Review by Paula Citron
• This fully staged chamber musical, imaginatively directed and choreographed by Donna Marie
Baratta, seems primed for a professional run.
Now Magazine: Review by Christopher Hoile
Medea
• the directorial choice to have Medea mirrored into five additional variations is artfully executed.
Rather than taking away from Medea's independence, they add to our understanding of the range
of emotions she feels throughout the story. The choreography behind the movement pieces is
noteworthy, and it became a clear asset to the visual aspects of this play.
Vue Weekly: Review by Saliha Chattoo
Fool for Love
• Donna Marie Baratta’s direction is well done in terms of blocking, pace and intention. She uses
the small performance space effectively and creatively and the flow is excellent.
Mooney on Theatre: Review by Jennifer McKinley
girls! girls! girls!
• The great Satanic joy of Greg MacArthur’s girls! girls! girls! is how innocuous it all seems; what
starts off as a comical look at precocious small town children quickly spirals into something
much darker. It’s a bit of a sinister magic trick, one which the new production by Present Danger
Productions, premiering at SummerWorks, clearly understands. A smart and elegant production,
the cast – shepherded by directors Jessica Carmichael and Donna Marie Baratta – merrily lead
the audience down the shadowy road.
The Charlebois Post: Joel Fishbane
• I expected many times for the play to hold back, but it continued to push my buttons with evil
relish. At first the show reminded me of a theatrical version of Skins,but then more boundaries
were gleefully crossed. Violence, nudity, and all other forms of debauchery are celebrated by the
youth. Their ages and ribbon related-drive highlight the senselessness of their lifestyles. As much
as this play shocked and upset me, I loved it. It kept my attention and made my heart race in
anticipation for the finale. I understand that girls! girls! girls! is not for everyone. If you don’t
like nudity, violence, swearing, or young people then this is not the best choice for you. But if
you have a dark side, you’ll have a grand old time.
Mooney on Theatre: Dana Ewachow
• The text itself, by Greg MacArthur, tries to distance the horror by using a hyper-theatrical
language that mimics Shakespeare and puts poetic words and ideas into the mouths of normally
less articulate 14-year-olds. It works as poetry - some of the images are sublime and terrifying at
the same time - but is overwhelmed by the visuals. Graphic violence on stage is problematic for
me personally because of a tendency to try to figure out how the special effects are done.
However in this case, as an emotional safety device, it didn't work - I was horrified, which seems
to be the point. All of the cast is extremely committed, believable and easy to identify with there is no letting the audience off the hook, we are part of the action, drawn in by the
performances...Girls! Girls! Girls! is not a comfortable play, and many moments are hard to sit
through, but it definitely haunts long after the curtain call.
Drew Rowsome