About Jack Paterson
“…Jack Paterson’s crisp, imaginative direction…makes the point with wonderful theatricality.”
– Jerry Wasserman, The Province
Jack is an award winning director, divisor, dramaturge, translator, actor and producer whose work and study has taken across Canada, The United Kingdom and around the world. His work has ranged from contemporary devising, cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary projects to main stage and classical theatre. Some favorite credits include directing the creation and first folio text fusion Romeo & Juliet (Cardiff, UK), the devised projects Wasting Time (Bali, IND) and Odyssey (London, UK), the site specific The Women of Troy (Canadian Stage, Toronto CAN) and F. Garcia Lorca’s The Love of Don Perlimplin in a fusion of Flamenco & Deep Song (The Shaw Festival).
He has trained at leading international theatrical institutions including Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), SENI Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Bali, INA) and received his Masters in Fine Arts from the renown East 15 Acting School (London, UK). Following a Production residency at the Centaur Theatre (Montreal), in 2011/2012 he crossed Canada with a self created National Artistic Director Residency Series: Three Provinces, Three Companies and Three Mandates with Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal (Quebec), Conspiracy (British Columbia) and The Magnetic North Theatre Festival (Ontario/ Alberta).
In Vancouver, he is the founder of multi-award winning Mad Duck Theatre Collective for whom he adapted and directed Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Vancouver’s first female Prospero in The Tempest and the Vancouver premieres of Shakespeare’s R&J and Titus Andronicus. Other directing credits include the award winning The Hobbit and The Odyssey for Carousel Theatre; The Pitmen Painters and A Moon for the Misbegotten for United Players. He has performed with The Arts Club, Chemainus Theatre, Theatre North West and was a regular performer in Savage God’s The Shakespeare Projects.
He is currently the Co- Artistic Producer of BoucheWHACKED! Theatre Collective and the International Representative for Playwright’s Workshop Montreal (Montreal). Shows under his direction have garnered over twenty six theatre award nominations with many wins including “Outstanding Production”. He is a recipient of The Ray Michal Outstanding Body of Work Award, The Cole Foundation Award for Emerging Translators, and The John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award for Outstanding West Coast Artist.
“…to say Paterson directs with verve would be an understatement.”
– Colin Thomas, The Georgia Straight
Walt Whitman’s Secret (a frank theatre) fusing physical theatre (Meyerhold) and New Text
On Practice
I have been fortunate to a career to date that has spanned multiple approaches to contemporary and tradition theatrical creation. As a result, my directorial practice that is an ensemble based inclusive “Total” approach – one where all techniques, forms, disciplines and pedagogies can share the playing space in conversation. My objective is what is most effective towards a given moment or expression and what new is created when opposing forms, disciplines and ideas are put in conversation.
Examples of this “form with purpose” approach has included fusing American Methods (Meisner, Adler, Strasberg, Chekov), creation and site specific practices with classical text First Folio Work; Physical theatre (such as Viewpoints, Laban and Biomechanics) with contemporary new writing; international traditional practices with western devising; contemporary dance and cross cultural practices with literary translation; and application of contemporary sculpture, installation and media practices to tradition theatre.
As a professional director who has been fortunate to travel extensively in my practice, I am often working with new ecologies, new companies and new artists. From professional mainstages to a beach in Bali, and from large festival resources to emerging new companies, I have focused my work on identifying the strength of my artists, building upon them and working together create high calibre material unique to the artists who made it. I have focused on a creative ensemble practice allowing elements such as limited company resources or artistic capacity to be a creative inspiration, turning potential perceived weaknesses into strengths.
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