Overview:
This four-month project focuses on both the art and craft of theatre directing. The director is a storyteller, a collaborator and the leader responsible for every aspect of a show from start to finish. Participants will learn to develop artistic vision, collaborative techniques, practical staging skills and be part of the exciting new Spring on Stage Play Festival touring at the end of April 2027
Applying:
The Director’s Bootcamp welcomes applicants…
With recent theatre experience who will enroll in the bootcamp and direct a short play for the play festival.
Or
Who may or may not have recent theatre experience but will enroll in the bootcamp and be part of the festival other than as a director.
Space is very limited.
Application deadline Oct 31, 2026 Fee: $350
To apply or get more information please contact Tanya at SylvanLakeTheatre@gmail.com
Location/Dates
Sylvan Lake:
Jan/Feb 2027 (2 classes per/week) Directing Fundamentals
Red Deer:
March- (2 classes/week) prepping for auditions/casting and rehearsal
April - Schedules are set by the directors with occasional class meetings
April 29, May 1-2 Tentative Performance dates for Red Deer, Sylvan Lake, Lacombe
Meet The Team
Tanya Ryga- Directing teacher
Tanya has always loved theatre and spent years as a professional actor, singer and producer touring Canada with original productions. Doing often leads to teaching, and Tanya spent 28 years teaching for the theatre program at Red Deer College (now Red Deer Polytechnic). Favourite courses to teach? Acting, Voice and Directing. Best times? Working with actors on projects and shows. As Artistic Director of Sylvan Lake Theatre she enjoys continuing to create side by side with her former students (now colleagues) and the many new talented actors, directors and playwrights emerging in the region.
Katherine Orsten -Director Mentor:
Katherine Orsten is the Executive Director of Red Deer Players Society. She is an award-winning playwright, director, and performer, who grew up in Sylvan Lake, studied theatre in Red Deer and Toronto, and now practices throughout the Central Alberta region. Her education focused on the creation of new theatre “from scratch, with ingredients you probably have around the house”. Her favorite projects are plays that are written locally, cast locally, and performed locally.
Jeremy Robinson- Festival Coordinator
Jeremy Robinson is the current Artistic Producer of Central Alberta Theatre. He was a graduate of RDC’s Theatre Arts Program as well as the Motion Picture Arts Program. He also holds a BA in English from the University of Calgary. For over ten years, Jeremy worked as a performer, director, and head writer for Against the Wall Theatre’s Bull Skit Comedy. His other credits as a director include It’s a Wonderful Life: Radio Play (Ignition Theatre), as well as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Central Alberta Theatre). Jeremy is an accomplished playwright, with his most recent work After the Garden being featured in Red Deer Players’ Breaking Cover series.
Tanya Directing The Country Wife (RDC) with Jenn Ryder Shaw and Taylor Chadwick
~Costumes by Carrie Hamilton
View from the Director’s chair - with Tom Bradshaw, Jerry Leif Ackerman, Richard Doran, Brock Beal, Starlise Waschuk and Robyn Jeffrey.
Tanya directing Bottoms Up (10-Minute New Play Festival -SLT) with Layne Zazalak and donkey.
A Christmas Carol ~set design-Carrie Hamilton, director-Tanya Ryga
