We are thrilled to announce the directors of our 2025 Season!
On the BMO Mainstage, Johnna Wright will direct Shakespeare’s wittiest comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, in a production set in the 17th century and featuring additional dialogue by celebrated Canadian playwright Erin Shields; Dean Paul Gibson puts a fun ‘80s spin on The Two Gentlemen of Verona. In the Douglas Campbell Theatre, the hilarious Mark Chavez brings his considerable comedic experience to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, with new revisions by Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield; and Moya O’Connell examines the relationship between ambition, envy, and love in Jessica B. Hill’s The Dark Lady.
“I could not be more pleased with the variety, quality, and range of talent we have engaged to shape this season,” said Christopher Gaze, Bard Artistic Director. “These stories are both timeless and new, and we’re confident that these directors will share their love of storytelling and theatre in ways that audiences will find compelling, engaging, moving, stimulating, and satisfying.”
MEET THE DIRECTORS
Johnna Wright
Much Ado About Nothing
As a director, Johnna Wright believes now more than ever in the power of theatre to change the way we see the world, and in the need for audiences to have that experience together. Her recent credits include All’s Well That Ends Well for Bard (co-directed with Rohit Chokhani); Tomson Highway’s The (Post) Mistress (with himself as Musical Director) for Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre, Saskatoon; and Cinderella for Gateway Theatre. Johnna has received Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Bard; The Triumph of Love, Blackbird Theatre), among other recognition. Also a playwright and dramaturg, she co-wrote an adaptation of Gaslight which premiered at the Shaw Festival, toured Australia, and is currently running in the United States and in Santiago, Chile. Johnna is proud to have been a co-founder of Bard on the Beach back in 1990.
Much Ado About Nothing is generously sponsored by Lawson Lundell LLP.
Dean Paul Gibson
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Dean Paul Gibson is, among his many other talents and responsibilities, Bard’s Associate Artistic Director. Dean trained at Vancouver’s professional theatre training school, Studio 58, where he graduated with some of Canada’s brightest talents, many of whom he continues to work with to this day. With over 30 years of working professionally on stage and screen, he has been acclaimed for his skills with classic and contemporary works as both an actor and director. He is also a much sought after coach, instructor, adjudicator, and champion for new artists within the entertainment industry. He is the recipient of multiple awards and nominations over his three decades of working professionally. Among his many credits for Bard are directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Coriolanus. He staged The Two Gentlemen of Verona for Theatre Calgary in 2018, and he looks forward to revisiting his misspent youth with the Bard Company. In the ‘80s, Dean sported a beautiful mullet, which we’re delighted to share here.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is generously sponsored by Odlum Brown.
Mark Chavez
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] (again)
Mark Chavez is a writer, comedian, actor, and theatre maker originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is one half of the Pajama Men, a world-renowned narrative-sketch comedy duo that The Guardian hailed as “one of the most influential comedy groups of a generation.” Chavez has written screenplays and television scripts for international studios including the BBC, HBO, CBS, and Film4. He is co-host of the Webby Award-winning CBC podcast Let’s Make a… (named one of the top 10 best new podcasts by the New Yorker) as well as co-host (along with Ryan Beil) of the new podcast The Town Show. Upcoming, you can see Mark play many characters in Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto: Robin Hood at the York Theatre. Fans of the East Van Panto will also recognize Chavez’s name as the writer of Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and Panto Come Home. You can see Mark perform every Sunday at the Fox Cabaret as a member of the long-running improv group The Sunday Service.
Moya O’Connell
The Dark Lady
Building on her extensive experience with the classics, Moya O’Connell embraces wholly contemporary impulses. Most recently Moya directed a critically acclaimed production of Hedda Gabler for Coal Mine Theatre in Toronto. She directed the staged reading of The Very Book Indeed by Paul Budra in association with Bard on the Beach, the University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University in celebration of the 400-year anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio and is currently directing the staged production for Theatre and Film at UBC, premiering November 20 of this year. Moya has an MFA in directing from the University of British Columbia. She has an active creative practice with upcoming productions throughout 2024 and beyond. As an actor, Moya has been called “unimproveably right” by the Wall Street Journal and celebrated for her “brazen poise and devilish charm” by the New York Times.