Linda Moore, Director
Interview

Winnipeg Roots

No stranger to the performing arts community of Nova Scotia, Linda Moore served as Artistic Director of Neptune Theatre between 1990 and 2000, helming over 90 productions and helping to establish and develop the Neptune Studio Series over a successful decade of theatre in Halifax. Now a freelance director, she talks with us about her formative years in theatre.

Having always been attracted to the world of performing arts, Moore traces her beginnings in theatre literature and expression to Friday night classes in Grade 4 in Winnipeg. Now spending much of her working time in various regions across the country and beyond, Moore
talks about her training in Winnipeg at the Manitoba Theatre School (then part of the Manitoba Theatre Centre, predecessor of the Prairie Theatre Exchange) where she had the opportunity to work with people such as John Hirsch, founder of the Centre, as well as Powys Thomas, both of whom were involved with the Stratford Festival at that time. At the school Moore was immersed in a rich mixture of classes in acting, voice, movement, fencing, and creative dramatics, all of which formed part of the curriculum. After this period Moore modestly describes as having been very lucky, she took an apprentice position at the Shaw Festival for the 1970 season, and then worked as a member of an experimental company with Theatre Calgary Associate Artistic Director Joel Miller, who would become Head of the English section of the National Theatre School.

Engaging in what she describes as intensive daily workshops during Athe living theatre@ phase of her training, it was at Theatre Calgary that Moore would immerse herself in group work that derived from Viola Spolin=s principles in improvisation, and the acting methods of Grotowski and Michael Checkov, to name some. Through studying collective creation work and contemporary performance emerging from New York at the time, Moore describes this stage in her career as one during which she learned an incredible amount, where she grew and developed through the experience.

Nova Scotia B Gargoyle Puppet Theatre, Halifax Independent Theatre

Moore=s arrival on the Halifax scene would happen after travelling across Europe with her Nova Scotian partner Sandy Moore, composer and musician, with whom she has collaborated on many productions. The couple formed a company with him that used a performance art approach to expression, and later founded Gargoyle Puppet Theatre with artist friends James MacSwain, Karen Schlick, and Robert Zeigler. It would seem that Moore found her theatrical connections in Nova Scotia quite naturally, also becoming involved with Dr. Richard Perkyns and others in the Halifax Independent Theatre in 1976. Recounting the days of touring around Nova Scotia with Gargoyle Puppet Theatre in a >57 hearse, Moore explains recounts that the touring vehicle was often mistaken for the real thing, adding that the collective had graduated to the hearse from an old army ambulance.

Moore declares that she owes much to the relationships and connections to other artists she has made along her way; so too, does she enjoy the aspect of collective effort in her role as director for the theatre. When asked about the things that have influenced her as an artist, Moore explains that living in a co-operative environment throughout her time in Halifax has had an enormous impact on her career. Continually steeped in what is happening on the arts scene, Moore enjoys the profound experience of living and working together with other artists, as well as the advantage of being able to combine talents and skills to live creatively and co-operatively. The way she sees it, her survival as an artist is partly due to a banding together and a sharing of space and experience. While she has travelled extensively to immerse herself in work in other places, Moore feels that she owes much to the opportunity she has had to live with fellow friends and artists here in Halifax.

On Directing and Research

As someone exceptionally fond of Beckett and of the contemporary American playwright Sam Shepard, Moore has spent a lot of time focussing on new work as well as on the classics, and, over her career, has deeply studied dramatic literature. In 1997, Moore was awarded anHonorary Doctor of Letters from Saint Mary=s University, Halifax. When asked about directing, Moore responds, ADirecting was like finding it,@ describing how her directorial bent emerged at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. As someone who describes herself as having a genuine interest in how actors work, or Ahow they tick,@ Moore explains, she finds her work infinitely interesting. Enjoying working closely with people, whether actors or designers, Moore chooses a directing approach that is very much in tandem with an individual=s process. Working with young theatre artists, Moore has also enjoyed the experience teaching at the National Theatre School, where she taught text analysis, as well as graduate productions.

When asked about the steps and stages of research behind a production, Moore responds that to her the process of research is of utmost importance. To her, the act of bringing the world of play into the room in order to engage people in that world, may result from analysis on a number of levels. As someone who likes to work with text, Moore=s focus on language, something she refers to as Alanguage behind the language,@ is an element that allows her to find and establish the depth of meaning on stage. She explains that through an understanding of the resonance of words used in a script, for example, that a sense of meaning may be opened up. Moore explains to us how a work becomes inherently deeper through the process of research and understanding words. Moore believes that good writers are highly selective about their text, and asserts that all is there for a reason. If a character is repeating something, she explains, using the example of the term Atalk@ in Daniel McIvor=s Marion Bridge, a play she recently directed, there is probably reason enough to warrant analysis, adding that all references to the word and its variants should be brought to the rehearsal process.

On Theatre Community Support

In addition to the countless productions of exceedingly high quality produced under Moore=s direction through the 1990s, the development and completion of the new Neptune facility including strategic planning, continual consultation with Architects, Engineers, and other specialists, as well as implementing the Studio Series, have been among the coups of Moore=s career with Neptune Theatre. On the new facility itself, she comments that there was a great need to fight for the studio theatre and to provide the opportunity for Neptune to have more than just the main stage, but at the same time, to preserve the main stage, and to connect the past with the future. Moore shares a few words with us about being part of the renovation of Neptune, about grand opening of the Du Maurier Theatre, and her involvement with all those who played a part in the expansion and improvement of Neptune Theatre.

Through her service on national and provincial committees for the arts, Moore is keenly aware of the need for increased support for the performing arts in Nova Scotia. She admits that she does find it difficult to be in a position where she feels it necessary to justify activities in the arts, where the arts are not perceived as a valued part of community life. Reflecting on the years during which John Savage was Premier, she contrasts, A now, we are in a Dark Age in terms of understanding the value of a strong cultural community,@ illustrating her point in the context of actions such as the loss of the Arts Council. Despite the current regrettable state of funding and support for the arts, Moore is however confident in her belief that there does exist a supportive arts-going population in Nova Scotia. On that matter, regarding her recent production, Portia White: First You Dream, she explains that, while it was a risk to Ago public@ with a call for financial support, she was reassured, along with Eastern Front Theatre, by the strong response from those that gave and those who attended the several sold-out performances.

With a sharp mind and a wealth of experience behind her, Moore is an asset to the Arts community in Halifax and to the wider Canadian scene in general... as she prepares to whisk off to Ontario for work with the Shaw Festival, she remains committed to the community and home to which she has dedicated so much effort.

From an interview with Linda Moore, Director, March 2004

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Audio Clips

	Moore on Halifax arrival, early projects and companies, the Gargoyle Puppet Theatre
	Moore on early work with Halifax Independent Theatre, directing Beckett...
	Moore on working with the "world" of the play, text and language...
	Moore on directing, working with actors and designers...