Mad Duck Theatre Collective
Encyclopedia
Mad Duck Theatre Collective (formerly "Mad Duck") is an artist driven and self-produced collective of professional theatre
performers, designers, technicians and administrators. Operating on an ad hoc basis, Mad Duck set out a mandate to bring the best of "indie" innovation and alternative staging to classical works while providing unconventional roles for women, color-blind casting, mentorship, and showcasing emerging talent. Mad Duck Theatre Collective productions have included the Vancouver
premiere of Shakespeare's R&J and Titus Andronicus
, The Tempest
(with a female Prospero
), Julius Caesar and Coriolanus
.
Mad Duck Theatre Collective has been nominated for 11 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including design, performance, and direction; Xtra West’s Live Performance of the Year; and is the recipient of two of Jerry Wasserman
’s Vancouverplays.com Play of the Month Awards. Collective members have included: Chris Britton
(Da Vinci’s Inquest), Anna Cummer
(Jessie Award Winner), Sean Cummings
(Blade: Trinity
), Ian Farthing (The Glass Menagerie
), Carole Higgins (Carousel Theatre
), Laura Jaszcz, Jack Paterson
(director), and Gwynyth Walsh
(Star Trek:Generations, Da Vinci’s Inquest).
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
performers, designers, technicians and administrators. Operating on an ad hoc basis, Mad Duck set out a mandate to bring the best of "indie" innovation and alternative staging to classical works while providing unconventional roles for women, color-blind casting, mentorship, and showcasing emerging talent. Mad Duck Theatre Collective productions have included the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
premiere of Shakespeare's R&J and Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
, The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(with a female Prospero
Prospero
Prospero is the protagonist in The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare.- The Tempest :Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, who was put to sea on "a rotten carcass of a butt [boat]" to die by his usurping brother, Antonio, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda survived,...
), Julius Caesar and Coriolanus
Coriolanus
Gaius Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" because of his exceptional valor in a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was then promoted to a general...
.
Mad Duck Theatre Collective has been nominated for 11 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including design, performance, and direction; Xtra West’s Live Performance of the Year; and is the recipient of two of Jerry Wasserman
Jerry Wasserman
Jerry Wasserman is an American film and television actor.Wasserman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.Wasserman is currently working his role in Alien Trespass stated in post-production and Watchmen, released in March 2009....
’s Vancouverplays.com Play of the Month Awards. Collective members have included: Chris Britton
Christopher Britton (actor)
Christopher Britton sometimes credited as "Chris Britton," is a Canadian-born film actor, television actor, Stage Actor, and voice actor who is probably best known for his work in X-Men: The Animated Series, in which he was the voice of Mister Sinister...
(Da Vinci’s Inquest), Anna Cummer
Anna Cummer
Anna Cummer is an actress from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She spent half of her adolescence in Southeast Asia and the other half in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. She finished high school in Hong Kong at the French International School and studied drama in England where she completed...
(Jessie Award Winner), Sean Cummings
Sean Cummings
Seán Cummings is a Canadian actor and director from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was born in Ontario on January 17, 1968.In 2008, Cummings became Artistic Director of Screaming Weenie Productions in Vancouver...
(Blade: Trinity
Blade: Trinity
Blade: Trinity is a 2004 American superhero vampire action film, written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the screenplays to the first two Blade films...
), Ian Farthing (The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
), Carole Higgins (Carousel Theatre
Carousel Theatre
Carousel Theatre is a professional theatre company for young audiences located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company stages plays for young people, families and educators at the Waterfront Theatre and Performance Works on Granville Island and tours to elementary schools across...
), Laura Jaszcz, Jack Paterson
Jack Paterson
Jack Paterson is a Canadian actor, director and coach. He is a graduate of the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York. He is currently doing The Canadian Stage's BASH! recidency in Toronto. He was recently the Artist is Residence at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal and directed F...
(director), and Gwynyth Walsh
Gwynyth Walsh
Gwynyth Walsh is a Canadian actress best known for her role of the Star Trek character B'Etor, one of the Duras sisters.She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1958 and raised in Vancouver. Walsh earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta and started her career appearing on stage...
(Star Trek:Generations, Da Vinci’s Inquest).
Past productions
Member Projects - 2006-2009- CoriolanusCoriolanusGaius Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" because of his exceptional valor in a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was then promoted to a general...
- by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - Shakespeare's R&J - Adapted by Joe Calarco, based on the play by William Shakespeare
- Titus AndronicusTitus AndronicusTitus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
- by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - Julius CaesarJulius Caesar (play)The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
- by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
- by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - 7 Actors and a Dog in A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
- by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - Not About NightingalesNot About NightingalesNot About Nightingales is a three act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1938. The play itself focuses on a group of inmates who go on a hunger strike in attempt to better their situation. There is also a soft love story, with the characters Eva, the new secretary at the prison, and Jim, a...
- by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...