 MEDIA RELEASE |
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MEDIA RELEASE |
|
November 16, 1999
For Immediate Release
BANFF CENTRE FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCES NEW
THEATRE ARTS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Banff, Alberta ... Internationally acclaimed playwright John Murrell is Artistic Director / Executive Producer of the Theatre Arts Department at The Banff Centre for the Arts effective immediately. Murrell is one of Canada's most literate and technically accomplished playwrights whose works are also among the most produced in Canada and internationally. His works have been translated into 15 languages and produced in more than 30 countries including a three-year run in Paris of Memoir, a play about Sarah Bernhardt.
Carol A. Phillips, Vice President, The Banff Centre and Director, The Banff Centre for the Arts had launched an international search to fill the position and declared Murrell's qualifications as ideal. "John Murrell's artistic talents - including those as director, dramaturge and actor - are well known and have been recognized through many awards. What makes John such a rare find and perfect fit for his new position with Theatre Arts is the combination of his artistic talents with his extensive experience as an educator and arts administrator. These are valued assets, as John will provide artistic leadership for a department that encompasses programs in dance, drama, opera and song and the playRites Colony. Theatre Arts also offers relevant master classes, company residencies, and opportunities for assistantships as well as mounting a variety of productions during the Banff Arts Festival.
"John's love of opera and his experience in translation coupled with his international connections will enhance a department that develops new works with international artists," she noted.
Among his many past involvements with the Centre for the Arts, Murrell headed the Playwrights' Colony* 1986-89. He observed, "My associations with The Banff Centre stretch back more than 25 years, and, during all that time, I have felt that the Centre represents a unique environment for the development of new performance and new kinds of performances - a unique opportunity for artists to expand their own creativity while also expanding their appeal and accessibility. I am tremendously excited now - as part of Banff's remarkable team of resident artists, administrators, and technicians - to explore ways in which all art forms and disciplines - the spoken word, music, dance, and visual spectacle - can be woven together to demonstrate that blend of surprise and rigour which is the essence of all great theatrical performance, and the basis of all successful theatrical training."
The Theatre Arts Artistic Director/Executive Producer position was most recently held by Keith Turnbull, who maintains his association with The Banff Centre as co-director of the playRites Colony and program director for Contemporary Opera and Song in the coming year.
*Name changed to playRites Colony in 1997 when Alberta Theatre Projects officially became an on-going partner.
THE BANFF CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
Canada's only year-round multidisciplinary environment devoted to professional development
and lifelong learning for artists.
Artists participate in a broad selection of programs geared toward individual and group
transformation.
The Centre's focus is on professional working artists and practitioners of arts related
production or technology disciplines who require formal and informal dialogue with peers
in order to advance their creative practice.
The Banff Centre for Conferences, The Banff Centre for Management, The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture and the 67-year-old Banff Centre for the Arts together form the diverse Banff Centre.
JOHN MURRELL
Artistic Director/Executive Producer, Theatre Arts, The Banff Centre for the Arts
Participant in Banff playRites Colony 1999,
1997, and many other times
Head of Playwrights' Colony 1986-1989
Resident Dramaturge of Playwrights' Colony 1979-1986
Currently working on a play about Friedrich Nietzsche, commissioned by The Shaw Festival;
and a new version of A Doll's House by Ibsen,
commissioned by DVxT Theatre in Toronto
Plays translated into 15 languages and produced in more than 30 countries
Honorary Diploma in Theatre from Mount Royal College 1999
Co-Mentor of One Yellow Rabbit Summer Lab Intensive 1997-1999
Head of Theatre Section, Canada Council 1988-1992
French-language version of Memoir ran in Paris 1982-1985
Associate Director, Stratford Festival 1978-1980
Playwright in Residence, Theatre Calgary 1979-1981
Playwright in Residence, Alberta Theatre Projects 1975-1977
Teacher's Certificate, University of Calgary 1971
BFA Southwestern University, Texas 1967
PLAYS
Death In New Orleans [1998], winner of Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award
When They Stop Dancing [1998]
The Faraway Nearby [1995], winner of the Chalmers Best Canadian Play Award
Democracy [1990], winner of the Canadian Authors Association and the Writers
Guild Of Alberta Awards
October [1988]
New World [1984
Farther West [1981], winner of the Chalmers Best Canadian Play Award
Memoir [1978], winner of England's Plays And Players Most Promising New
Playwright Award and the Saskatchewan National Playwriting Competition
Waiting For The Parade [1977], winner of the Chalmers Best Canadian Play Award
Power In The Blood [1974], winner of the Clifford E. Lee National Playwriting
Competition
Haydn's Head [1972], winner of the Alberta Playwriting Competition
Numerous earlier plays for both adults and young audiences
TRANSLATIONS
Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard
Sardou's Divorçons!
Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac
Sophocles' Oedipus The King
Euripides' The Trojan Women
Ibsen's The Master Builder
Machiavelli's Mandragola
And others
PRODUCTIONS DIRECTED
The Cherry Orchard for Theatre Junction, Calgary, 1997
Waiting For The Parade for Theatre Calgary, 1996
Romeo And Juliet for Shakespeare In The Park, Calgary, 1995
New World for Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary, 198
A Moon For The Misbegotten for Theatre Calgary, 1983
Mrs. Warren's Profession for Theatre Calgary, 198
And others
ACTING PERFORMANCES
Only recent one: the title role in King Lear for Shakespeare In The Park,
Calgary, 1996
Many earlier ones, both professional and amateur
THEATRE ARTS DEPARTMENT
THE BANFF CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
Theatre Arts is dedicated to exploring contemporary repertoire and to developing new works
in dance, drama, opera and song. New works require and generate new skills. Underpinning
all activities is advanced training for working professionals performers, composers and
librettists, stage and musical directors, playwrights, choreographers, coaches, design and
production personnel. Research and development is used to examine the artistic pedagogy of
reaching new audiences.
Media Contact: Tim Christison, 403-228-3037