Advertisement

Culture Stage

Taking direct action

Rating: NNNNN


DARYL CLORAN Our Country’s GoodBorn: Sarnia Came to Toronto: 1998 Trained: Queen’s University, Canadian Film Centre Career

highlights: After nominations for Dora Awards (fforward) and the Australian Fringe prize (House), he came on strong with I Might Be Edgar Allan Poe and Cloud Nine. What: Our Country’s Good, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play-within-a-play set in an 18th-century Australian penal colony (details, page 56). Buzz: After two successful years of modest works, Cloran tackles a challenging, literate script with a large cast. And the more popular venue means the stakes are higher.EDWARD ROY Pains Of Youth

Born: Montreal Came to Toronto: 1983 Trained: Dome Theatre School (Montreal) Career highlights: He’s won awards (The Other Side Of The Closet, A Secret Life), heads a theatre company (Topological) and is company dramaturge at Buddies. What: Pains Of Youth, German playwright Ferdinand Bruckner’s look at young people dealing with post-first-world-war angst as they clamber toward adulthood (details, page 57). Buzz: Given Roy’s own sharp-edged scripts about troubled teens, this Euro classic should resonate with contemporary audiences. The strong ensemble cast won’t hurt either.@! BOXTEXTBOLD-1ST -THESANS 8:

Beginnings

First theatre memory?daryl cloran: In grade three, I wrote a stage version of the TV show The Greatest American Hero that I performed for my class. It was my first and last attempt at writing.

edward roy: Performing at age four with my foster parents’ C&W band. That’s theatre, isn’t it?What made you want to get involved in theatre?cloran: I love telling stories.

roy: It’s one of the few jobs that has no definite retirement age.Major influences or mentors?cloran: Neil Munro, Robert Lepage, Sarah Stanley, Daniel Brooks, Dennis Garnhum and other directors who take creative risks but tell a good story.

roy: Martha Graham, Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, David Bowie and Abbott and Costello.First show you directed?cloran: Brad Fraser’s Unidentified Human Remains And The True Nature Of Love. Because of the cast’s nervousness about the nudity, we did an entire rehearsal * me included * in our underwear.

roy: Bryden MacDonald’s Remission (1985), a good experience except for the time when Bryden threatened to kill me.

The WorkWhat’s your show about ­– in one sentence?cloran: Finding hope in adversity, finding love in despair and finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.

roy: The emotional upheaval we face when approaching the daunting challenge of adulthood.What’s your main directorial challenge in this piece?cloran: 11 actors in the Tarragon Extra Space. I need a big shoehorn to squeeze them all in.

roy: Not getting in the actors’ way.Describe your directing style.cloran: Creative catalyst.

roy: Cruel but fair.Dream project as a director?cloran: Anything that isn’t funded by my rent money.

roy: Reconstructing the universe.You also act. As director, what notes would you give the actor in you?cloran: “Stop kidding yourself.”

roy: “Service the play, not your ego.”Last play you saw and loved?cloran: Soulpepper’s Platonov. Diego Matamoros * wow!

roy: The Cherry Blossom Princess at Japan’s National Kabuki Theatre. It reminded me of the art form’s theatricality and artifice.

The CareerWorst part-time job?cloran: I spent a summer at the top of a waterslide saying, “Go… go!… stop screwing around on the slide or I’ll kick you out of the park! Go… go!”

roy: Grounds boy at a summer camp. Every day I scrubbed 150 toilets.Best break in theatre?cloran: I’m probably in the middle of it right now.

roy: Meeting Sky Gilbert.Have you been enticed to work in film/TV?cloran: When not directing theatre, I direct interactive digital video projects for Trapeze Media.

roy: I’ve acted in both, and might direct or act in the future * when I decide to sell my soul.What do your parents think of your profession?cloran: They’re good about trudging to Toronto when I direct a show. But I think they’re secretly waiting for me to admit this is a phase and I really want to be a doctor.

roy: They weren’t around to give their approval. Or get in the way.

Second ThoughtsIf you weren’t in theatre, what would you like to be?cloran: Underwater photographer.

roy: A painter or a psychologist.Worst stage experience?cloran: Falling off the stage of Kingston’s Grand and landing in the orchestra pit. I couldn’t sit for a week.

roy: I’ve had my hair pulled, been screamed at and walked out on during dress rehearsals and had actors come to opening night drunk.Pleasures and piss-offs about the T.O. theatre scene?cloran: SummerWorks showed me that there are a million talented young theatre artists here. It’s very supportive.

roy: It’s a pleasure doing what I love. I don’t like people judging a show before seeing it, after reading reviews.Future theatre plans?cloran: Directing a new Claudia Dey play at Rhubarb!, Mojo at TPM and assistant directing Timothy Findley’s The Trials Of Ezra Pound at Stratford. Then lots of sleep.

roy: Working with Japan’s Kagebushi Theatre and developing The Golden Thug for Topological.

jonkap@nowtoronto.com

glenns@nowtoronto.com

DARYL CLORAN Our Country’s Good

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted