Kate Lushington

Last updated
Kate Lushington
NationalityCanadian
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • Theatre director
  • Teacher
Known for Nightwood Theatre
Children3
Website www.katelushington.com

Kate Lushington is a Canadian theatre artist and teacher. From 1988 to 1993, Lushington was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre. Lushington has worked with The Clichettes and is the writer of The Apocalypse Plays: A Legacy Project.

Contents

Early life

Lushington studied design at Concordia University and later design and production at York University. [1]

Career

In the early seventies, Lushington taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. [2]

In 1987, Lushington's play Let's Go to Your Place, which she co-created with The Clichettes premiered at Nightwood Theatre's 3rd Groundswell Festival. Lushington's play Sex in a Box also premiered at the 1987 Groundswell Festival. [3] In 1988, Lushington's collaboration with The Clichettes, Up Against The Wallpaper premiered under the direction of Maureen White. [4] [5]

In 1988, Lushington was hired as Nightwood Theatre's artistic associate. At the time, the artistic associate position fulfilled the same responsibilities as an artistic director, but the difference in title reflected Nightwood's structure as a creative collective. In 1990, Lushington reverted the title of her position to artistic director. [6] Lushington was the first artistic director/coordinator of Nightwood that was not a founding member of the collective. [7] While working for Nightwood, Lushington directed several shows including Susan G. Cole's A Fertile Imagination (1991), Kelley Jo Burke's Charming and Rose: True Love (1993), and Lillian Allen's Love & Other Strange Things (1993). [8] [4] [9] Lushington also co-dramaturged Monique Mojica's Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots in 1989 with Djanet Sears. [10] In 1994, Alisa Palmer and Diane Roberts took over from Lushington as co-artistic directors of Nightwood Theatre. [11]

In 1999, Lushington's short film, "Subway Transfer" premiered at the On The Fly Festival in Toronto. The film was awarded the Mouche D'Or and the $4,000 cash prize associated with it. [12]

In 2007, Lushington directed the controversial play My Name Is Rachel Corrie for Theatre PANIK in Toronto. [13] In 2011, Lushington directed Morning Glory, Karen Bolette Sonne's play about female prisoners with special needs. [14] [15]

Lushington began teaching speaking skills at the Injured Workers Speakers School in Toronto in 2007. There, Lushington used traditional theatre techniques to teach the history of worker's compensation. [16] Lushington currently teaches Alexander Technique from her studio. [17]

Personal life

Lushington was married to interdisciplinary theatre artist Richard Greenblatt. The two met in London while Lushington was teaching at RADA. [18] They have three children: Natasha, William, and Luke. [2]

Bibliography

Plays

Works co-created with The Clichettes

The Apocalypse Plays: A Legacy Project

Non-Fiction

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. The Canadian Women Director's Catalogue: A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF WOMEN DIRECTING IN CANADA (PDF). Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). 2011. ISBN   978-0-921129-46-2.
  2. 1 2 Rose, Ben (10 January 2002). "Director/actor explores Jewish issues". Canadian Jewish News. Vol. 32, no. 2. p. 31. ISSN   0008-3941.
  3. Crew, Robert (16 January 1987). "Feminists launch festival: [FIN Edition]". Toronto Star. p. D17. ISSN   0319-0781.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Mary Elizabeth (1997). ""One Must Please to Live": The Survival of Harry Lindley in Atlantic Canada". Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches Théâtrales Au Canada. 18.
  5. Crew, Robert (18 January 1988). "Zany Clichettes at their best yet: [FIN Edition]". Toronto Star. p. C5. ISSN   0319-0781.
  6. Scott, Shelley (2010). Nightwood Theatre: A Woman's Work is Always Done. AU Press, Athabasca University. p. 112. ISBN   978-1-897425-55-8 via Google Books.
  7. Wagner, Vit (25 November 1988). "Feminist collective adds multi-racial focus: [FIN Edition]". Toronto Star. p. D7. ISSN   0319-0781.
  8. Scott, Shelley (2010). Nightwood Theatre: A Woman's Work is Always Done. AU Press, Athabasca University. p. 131. ISBN   978-1-897425-55-8 via Google Books.
  9. "Theatre gamblers share risk and anxiety: [AM Edition]". Toronto Star. 10 June 1993. p. WO10. ISSN   0319-0781.
  10. Mojica, Monique (1991). Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots: Two Plays. Canadian Scholars' Press. p. 13. ISBN   978-0-88961-165-8 via Google Books.
  11. Scott, Shelley (2010). Nightwood Theatre: A Woman's Work is Always Done. AU Press, Athabasca University. p. 159. ISBN   978-1-897425-55-8 via Google Books.
  12. "On The Fly festival names winners: [1 Edition]". Toronto Star. 6 August 1999. p. 1. ISSN   0319-0781.
  13. Posner, Michael (29 August 2007). "Toronto company to stage Rachel Corrie play". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  14. Bergman, S. Bear (9 August 2011). "Morning Glory (Kate Lushington and Soo Garay) 2011 SummerWorks Review". Mooney on Theatre. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  15. Sumi, Glenn; Kaplan, Jon (4 August 2011). "Artists to watch". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  16. Vigil, Oscar (2012). "INJURED WORKERS SPEAKERS SCHOOL". Our Times. Our Times Publishing Inc. pp. 33–39. ISSN   0822-6377.
  17. "Kate Lushington Voice and Alexander Teacher". katelushington.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  18. Crew, Robert (21 November 1986). "TFT casts director as 'minister of new works': [FIN Edition]". Toronto Star. p. D24. ISSN   0319-0781.
  19. Maga, Carly (13 February 2019). "Kate Lushington put aside her idea for a play when her daughter, Natasha Greenblatt, was 2. Now that Natasha's 34, they've finished it together". Toronto Star. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  20. Kerr, Rosalind (2007). "Feminist Theatres". Canadian Literature. Pacific Affairs. The University of British Columbia (194): 103–104. ISSN   0008-4360.