Directing Mentorships

Julie Lumsden & Beverly Ndukwu

The PTE Directing Mentorship program was created for emerging and/or mid-career Winnipeg-based IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, People of Colour) directors to have the opportunity to be mentored by Thomas Morgan Jones (director of Post-Democracy by Hannah Moscovitch), and Jones and Cherissa Richards (directors of VOICE by Ismaila Alfa). The program is made possible with the support of Canada Life.

The purpose of this paid mentorship is both to share experience and knowledge to the director, but, most importantly, to empower their individual voice through conversation, using these two projects as case studies to discuss some of the ways in which theatre can be created.

While the mentorship will provide some insights into the process of directing in rehearsals and in pre-rehearsal meetings/design processes, this mentorship is meant to give the director not only experience, but perspective on the craft of direction from a very specific viewpoint. The perspective on directing for the stage will be shaped, framed, and informed by the conditions of the productions:  PTE as a theatre (our structure, size, production team, administrative staff), working on a thrust stage, working on new plays, working with these particular directors, casts, design teams, and stage management. There are so many ways to create plays, and part of the conversations during the mentorship will be identifying why and how these conditions impact the work itself.

With the support of