Lemoine's Controlled Chaos
by Gaëtan L. Charlebois
Stephen Heatley has worked in professional theatre for over 40 years. During his 12-year stint as Artistic Director of Theatre Network in Edmonton, he directed over 30 world premieres. He also directed outdoor productions of Shakespeare for the Free Will Players from 1991-1995 and has directed for theatres as diverse as the Blyth Festival and La Boit a Popicos Theatre pour enfants. Before arriving as a faculty member at the University of British Columbia in 1999, he spent five years as Associate Artistic Director of the Citadel Theatre where he ran the Theatre School and directed in each of the theatre’s performance spaces. Mr. Heatley is the 2013 recipient of UBC’s Dorothy Somerset Award for Development in the Performing Arts and recently directed Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle for Theatre at UBC.
CHARPO: This first question may seem odd, now that you are in BC, but it is germane, I promise: tell us about the theatre scene in Edmonton.
HEATLEY: I would tell you about the scene in Edmonton but it would be entirely historic as I haven't lived there since 1999. I do get back there from time to time but my knowledge of the evolution of the theatre community is limited to little bits of information, hearsay and gossip. I know that the Fringe continues to evolve – I took a show there in the summer of 2012 and was overwhelmed by the scale of the event (which was always huge, now it is even more so). I know that the Citadel is still the main player. What were the smaller companies back in the 80s have either established themselves as regular mid-sized companies or have found their own particular niche (Northern Light Theatre, Catalyst Theatre, Theatre Network, Workshop West Theatre). Stewart Lemoine's company has passed on to a new Artistic Director in Jeff Haslam, but the same aesthetic holds. Sorry I can't be more specific than that.
