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Chris Abraham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chris Abraham (born 1974) is a Canadian theatre director, most noted as the artistic director of the Crow's Theatre company in Toronto, Ontario since 2007.[1]

Originally from Montreal, Quebec, he studied theatre at the University of Toronto and the National Theatre School of Canada.[1] He was subsequently one of the founding partners in Go Chicken Go, a theatre company of recent NTS graduates.[2] Productions he directed for Go Chicken Go included Peter Handke's Offending the Audience,[2] Anton Piatigorsky's Easy Lenny Lazmon and the Great Western Ascension,[3] Darren O'Donnell's Boxhead,[4] and Abraham's own adaptation of Georg Büchner's Lenz.[1]

In 2001 he was the director of Kristen Thomson's stage play I, Claudia.[5] He subsequently also directed a film adaptation, which premiered at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival[6] and was named to TIFF's year-end Canada's Top Ten list.[7]

He took over artistic direction of Crow's Theatre in 2007, following the retirement of the company's founding artistic director Jim Millan.[8]

He is married to actress Liisa Repo-Martell.[9]

Awards

[edit]
Award Year Category Work Result Ref(s)
Dora Mavor Moore Awards 1999 Best Direction, Independent Theatre Easy Lenny Lazmon and the Great Western Ascension Won [10]
Outstanding Set Design, Independent Theatre Nominated [11]
Outstanding New Play or Musical, Independent Theatre Lenz Nominated
2001 Best Direction, Independent Theatre Boxhead Nominated
2003 Best Direction, General Theatre Russell Hill Nominated [12]
2006 Best Direction, Independent Theatre Cringeworthy Nominated [13]
2007 Best Direction, General Theatre Insomnia Nominated [14]
2009 I, Claudia Nominated [15]
Best Direction, Independent Theatre Eternal Hydra Won [16]
2013 Best Direction, General Theatre The Little Years Won [17]
Someone Else Nominated
2020 Julius Caesar Nominated [18]
2024 The Master Plan Pending [19]
Gemini Awards 2005 Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series I, Claudia Won [20]
Siminovitch Prize in Theatre 2001 Protégé Self Won [21]
2013 Recipient Won [22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Anne Nothof, "Abraham, Chris". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, May 3, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Vit Wagner, "Theatre and schnitzel: acting a la carte". Toronto Star, June 19, 1997.
  3. ^ Ray Conlogue, "Director's road to acclaim began with bottle drives; Toronto's Chris Abraham is getting the attention of stage veterans". The Globe and Mail, October 12, 1998.
  4. ^ Robert Cushman, "Too much in such a boxy play". National Post, June 10, 2000.
  5. ^ Robert Cushman, "She, Claudia, has a few thoughts on the subject". National Post, April 5, 2001.
  6. ^ Katrina Onstad, "Who was that masked actress?: Kristen Thomson reveals the true face of I, Claudia". National Post, October 1, 2004.
  7. ^ "Best films tells diverse stories; Top Ten Canadian movies honoured New filmmakers being recognized". Toronto Star, December 15, 2004.
  8. ^ Alison Broverman, "As the crow flies away". National Post, November 21, 2006.
  9. ^ Aisling Murphy, "The Actor’s Uncle Vanya : In Conversation with Liisa Repo-Martell". Intermission, August 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Dora winners list". Toronto Star, June 22, 1999.
  11. ^ "Dora awards are darkest without the Don ; Soulpepper play a glaring omission from strong field of best show nominees". Toronto Star, June 19, 1999.
  12. ^ "Dora Award nominees". Toronto Star, May 22, 2003.
  13. ^ Kamal Al-Solaylee, "Odd couple lead the Dora pack". The Globe and Mail, June 7, 2006.
  14. ^ Robert Cushman, "The Dora Plethora; Our theatre critic gives his two cents on the nominees and who's likely to win". National Post, June 23, 2007.
  15. ^ Michael Posner, "Dora nominations announced in Toronto". The Globe and Mail, June 4, 2009.
  16. ^ Michael Posner, "Play by Ojibwa artist, 23, takes six awards". The Globe and Mail, June 30, 2009.
  17. ^ J. Kelly Nestruck, "A Cinderella story at the Dora Awards". The Globe and Mail, June 25, 2013.
  18. ^ Smith, Mae (June 29, 2020). "2020 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Aisling Murphy, "TAPA announces 2024 Dora Award nominees". Intermission Magazine, May 28, 2004.
  20. ^ "Eyeballs vs. awards at Geminis". Sudbury Star, November 21, 2005.
  21. ^ "Siminovitch Prize awarded to Toronto director". Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, October 30, 2001.
  22. ^ Richard Ouzounian, "When the theatre student becomes the master: $75,000 Siminovitch Prize goes to Crow's Theatre artistic director Chris Abraham, 12 years after he was named protege under initial winner". Toronto Star, October 22, 2013.