Claire Fogal – Director, Actor, Educator

Claire Fogal

Director

Actor

Educator

Artist’s Statement

Visceral

I love theatre that is visceral – theatre that is rooted in the body which allows our minds to step beyond literal reality into connection with deeper truths.

Primal

Artaud said theatre is a place to cultivate our primal connection to ourselves and one another. All of my work in theatre – as actor, director, creator, and teacher, has been and continues to be an experiment in grounding and freeing my own body and the bodies of fellow performers in order to have us share a deep and rich human experience with our audience.

Luscious

The Grotowski and Decroux based training I’ve done works from the principle of respect for all (including ourselves!) I believe people can take the biggest risks when working from within a safe ensemble, and that because we are seeking to accomplish nothing less than human transformation (in class and on stage), it benefits us to make that as welcoming, enjoyable and in fact, luscious an experience as possible.

Bio

A Vancouver actor, director and teacher, Claire holds a BA in Theatre and English Lit from UBC, an MFA in Directing from UofA, and is a graduate of Tooba Physical Theatre Centre. Her areas of teaching specialization are: acting, collective creation or play making, directing, Grotowski & Decroux based physical theatre, movement, Shakespeare, and text analysis.

Principal mentors are Kate Weiss and Dean Fogal, and she has also studied with Linda Putnam, David MacMurray Smith, Charles Marowitz, da da kamera, Foresight Theatre, Mascall Dance, the National Voice Intensive, Boca del Lupo, and Margie Gillis, and been commissioned by Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre to create Sixth Sense.

Directing credits include Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, Judith Thompson’s adaptation of Hedda Gabler, Mud by Maria Irene Fornes, and Lady Macbeth, an original creation based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Acting credits include the title role in Moo, Estragon in Waiting for Godot, and Lady Macbeth.

Claire has taught at UofA, UBC, and The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

She was the Director of Educational Programming and lead Acting Teacher at Tooba Physical Theatre Centre.

Claire co-founded Velvet Bone Theatre and Cor Departure Theatre Ensemble, now reincarnated as Minotaur’s Kitchen, where she is the Artistic Director.

Education

Ph.D. in Theatre, University of British Columbia, 2024

M.F.A. in Directing, University of Alberta, 2000

Certificate in Physical Theatre, Tooba Physical Theatre Centre, Vancouver 1998

BA in Theatre and English Literature, University of British Columbia 1996

Bellydance (1994 & since 2011) Corporeal Mime (since 1995) Yoga (since 1996)

BC Arts Professional Development Grant: Grotowski-based Master Teacher Mentorship Circle. Interviews/coaching from Penelope Stella, David MacMurray Smith, Raïna von Waldenburg, Brad Gibson, and Virginie Magnat (March-Aug 2014)

Grotowski Workcentre Masterclass at the University of Toronto (Feb 2014)

Acting Mentorship with Raïna von Waldenburg at SFU (Nov 2013-April 2014)

Movement Teacher Mentorship with Brad Gibson at Studio 58 (Jan-April 2014)

David MacMurray Smith Intensive: Creative Character Development and Personal Transformation through Clown – 186 hours (2013)

Richard Armstrong Intro & Ongoing Voice workshops (2013)
Movement Teacher mentorship with Catherine Lee, Kathleen McDonagh, Brad Gibson @ Studio 58, & David MacMurray Smith @ Douglas College (2012-13)

Charles Marowitz Master Class in playing Shakespeare Text (2003)

Boca del Lupo Physical Theatre Workshop (2003)

Margie Gillis Modern Dance workshops (2003 & 1998)

Linda Putnam Performance workshops (2005 & 2002) & Two Week Basics workshop (1995)

Canadian National Voice Intensive (2001)

Flamenco Dance (2000) and Butokukan Karate (1991)

da da kamera workshop with Daniel MacIvor and Sherrie Johnson (1999)

Mascall Dance Improv workshop (1999)

Foursight Theatre Collective Creation workshop (1998) & Total Theatre workshop (1996)

Mime, Voice, & Text Intensive with Dean Fogal and Stephen Atkins (1994)

Mime workshop with Ide Van Heiningen of Mime Centrum – Netherlands (1992)