Kate Lushington is a Canadian theatre artist and teacher. From 1988 to 1993, Lushington was the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

. Lushington has worked with

The Clichettes The Clichettes were an all-women feminist performance art group formed in Toronto, Canada in 1977. Their practice is notable for injecting humour and theatricality into the sphere of performance art. The three performers initially worked using lip s ...

and is the writer of ''The Apocalypse Plays: A Legacy Project''.

Early life

Lushington studied design at

Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...

and later design and production at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...

Career

In the early seventies, Lushington taught at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

(RADA) in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1987, Lushington's play ''Let's Go to Your Place'', which she co-created with

premiered at

's 3rd

Groundswell Festival Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' o ...

. Lushington's play ''Sex in a Box'' also premiered at the 1987 Groundswell Festival. In 1988, Lushington's collaboration with The Clichettes, ''Up Against The Wallpaper'' premiered under the direction of

Maureen White Patricia Maureen White, more commonly known as Maureen White, is a specialist in international humanitarian affairs and a fundraiser for the American Democratic Party. She is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School ...

. In 1988, Lushington was hired as Nightwood Theatre's artistic associate. At the time, the artistic associate position fulfilled the same responsibilities as an artistic director, but the difference in title reflected Nightwood's structure as a creative collective. In 1990, Lushington reverted the title of her position to artistic director. Lushington was the first artistic director/coordinator of Nightwood that was not a founding member of the collective. While working for Nightwood, Lushington directed several shows including

Susan G. Cole Susan G. Cole (born February 9, 1952) is a Canadian feminist author, activist, editor, speaker and playwright. She has spoken out on a number of issues, including free speech, pornography, race and religion. As a lesbian activist and mother, sh ...

's ''A Fertile Imagination'' (1991), Kelley Jo Burke's ''Charming and Rose: True Love'' (1993), and

Lillian Allen Lillian Allen (born 5 April 1951) is a Canadian dub poet, reggae musician, writer and Juno Award winner. Biography Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, she left that country in 1969, first moving to New York City, where she studied English at the C ...

's ''Love & Other Strange Things'' (1993). Lushington also co- dramaturged Monique Mojica's ''Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots'' in 1989 with

Djanet Sears Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director, nationally recognized for her work in African-Canadian theatre. Sears has many credits in writing and editing highly acclaimed dramas such as ''Afrika Solo'', the first stage play to be w ...

. In 1994,

Alisa Palmer Alisa Palmer is a Canadian theatre director and playwright. She was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre from 1993 to 2001. Palmer is currently the artistic director of the English section of the National Theatre School of Canada. Early l ...

and

Diane Roberts Diane Roberts is an American author, columnist, essayist, radio commentator, reviewer and professor. She is the author of three books and a documentary-maker for the BBC. Career Roberts has been a commentator for NPR since 1993,

took over from Lushington as co-artistic directors of Nightwood Theatre. In 1999, Lushington's short film, "Subway Transfer" premiered at the On The Fly Festival in Toronto. The film was awarded the Mouche D'Or and the $4,000 cash prize associated with it. In 2007, Lushington directed the controversial play ''

My Name Is Rachel Corrie My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

'' for Theatre PANIK in Toronto. In 2011, Lushington directed ''Morning Glory'', Karen Bolette Sonne's play about female prisoners with special needs. Lushington began teaching speaking skills at the Injured Workers Speakers School in Toronto in 2007. There, Lushington used traditional theatre techniques to teach the history of

worker's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

. Lushington currently teaches Alexander Technique from her studio.

Personal life

Lushington was married to interdisciplinary theatre artist Richard Greenblatt. The two met in London while Lushington was teaching at RADA. They have three children: Natasha, William, and Luke.

Bibliography

Plays

Works co-created with

* ''Let's Go to Your Place'' * ''Up Against the Wallpaper'' ''The Apocalypse Plays: A Legacy Project'' * ''Grief Kit'' * ''Sex in a Box'' * ''Bundle of Joy'' - co-written with Natasha Greenblatt

Non-Fiction

* "Fear of Feminism" in ''Feminist Theatre and Performance'' (ed.

Susan Bennett Susan Alice Bennett (née Cameron, born July 31, 1949) is an American voice actress and a former backup singer for Roy Orbison and Burt Bacharach. She is best known as the female American voice of Apple's Siri personal assistant, since the se ...

, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lushington, Kate Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian theatre directors Living people 21st-century Canadian women writers Concordia University alumni York University alumni Canadian artistic directors RADA