Beneath the Poetry: Magic Not Meaning – Kate Hennig

Research focus

An exploration of the performers’ connection with text, and a search for alternative models of illuminating text in rehearsal. Through exercises designed to deeply integrate performer and the language they speak, the researchers sought a richer interaction between actor and story, and one that could better communicate that richness to our audience.

About the researcher

Kate Hennig is an actor, playwright, teaching artist and director.

Kate has played the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, Broadway, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Arts Centre, Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, and many more theatres across this country and beyond.

Kate has been writing in one way or another for most of her life. Her writing includes plays, poetry, stories, articles for industry publications, a dissertation, two blogs, and a research paper.

Kate is the former Director of Artist Development at the Shaw Festival. She has an MA (with Distinction) in Voice Studies (2001) from the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has taught Voice and Acting at the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre at the Stratford Festival, and at the Academy Intensive at the Shaw Festival. She has been on faculty at the National Theatre School of Canada – English Section teaching both Voice and Acting.

Collaborators and credits

Marion Day, Helen Farmer, Pam Johnson, Tanya Matthews, Michelle Polak, Larry Smith and Clare Preuss, with Nightswimming’s Brian Quirt and Naomi Campbell.

May 12-16, 2003 at Toronto’s Theatre Centre.