Robin Patterson is a Canadian

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

, and a founding member of Theatre Beyond Words: a

Physical theatre Physical theatre is a genre of theatrical performance that encompasses storytelling primarily through physical movement. Although several performance theatre disciplines are often described as "physical theatre", the genre's characteristic aspe ...

company that specializes in the creation of original works using mask, puppetry, music, and mime. Patterson graduated from

L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq is a school of physical theatre previously located on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. In May of 2023 the school announced its departure from Paris and relocation t ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, then attended

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

for her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. After graduation, Patterson toured internationally for four years with Canadian Mime Theatre as its first female soloist, writer and director. Currently, specializing in clown, mask, and commedia techniques, she is teaching in the Dramatic Arts Department at

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

Theatre works

Potato People

Patterson conceived the ''Potato People series''; wrote, directed and performed in many of the plays. ''Potato People'' is a series of non-verbal larval mask plays for inter-generational audiences. Its first show, ''Nuthin' But Trouble'' was produced in 1977 by Robin Patterson along with the other founding members of Theatre Beyond Words. Out of the 14-series of plays, Patterson created and directed ''Seven Potato More (1988)'', ''Suite Potato (1989)'', ''School Daze (1994)'', and ''Family Tree (1995)''. In 1987, ''Potato People (a theatrical cartoon)'' has received the Citation of Excellence Award in the Art of Puppetry from UNIMA-USA.

Awards

Robin Patterson received the Women of Distinction Award, May 2007, in the field of Arts and Culture from the Niagara Region YWCA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Robin Canadian artistic directors Academic staff of Brock University Canadian theatre directors Living people Physical theatre Simon Fraser University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)