Stephen Atkins

Doctoral Candidate (PaR Drama) - University of Kent

My research is centered on actor training methodologies and developing a framework for integrated rehearsal, training and devising.

Master of Arts - Simon Fraser University

My thesis was practice-based and involved writing for stage and screen. The final project was an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula with elements of physical theatre and references to the AIDS epidemic prevalent in the 1990s. A secondary project included a TV series pilot and bible which got some attention in Hollywood, but did not go forward.

Bachelor of Arts - Simon Fraser University

Interdisciplinary Theatre and Performance. The School for Contemporary Arts was an interdisciplinary curriculum requiring undergrads to take a set number of courses in another fine arts discipline. Aside from acting, which was Grotowski-based, I took three levels in Arts In Context. This was n interdisciplinary art history course that examined the socio-political context of art in periods from Medieval to Postmodern.

Diploma - Dr. E. P. Scarlett High School

Special interests and extracurricular activities included Art, Drama, Jazz Choir, Chess and RPG Clubs. Excelled in Drama, Art and English.

Michael Chekhov Technique Intensive

This week-long intensive was co-taught by Lisa Dalton, founding member of the National Michael Chekhov Association (USA) and Janice Orlandi of the Actor's Movement Studio (USA).

Rasa Boxes Intensive

This week-long intensive was taught by master teacher Michele Minnick (USA) with Janice Orlandi of the Actor's Movement Studio (USA).

Atlantic Acting School Summer Intensive

This month-long intensive featured the Practical Aesthetics technique forged through the partnership of David Mamet and William H. Macy. Other classes included The Viewpoints with Kelly Maurer from SITI Company and Voice with Francine Zerfas from Tisch School of the Arts.

Robert McKee's STORY Seminar

This three-day intensive covered the main elements of McKee's STORY fundamentals.

IUGTE Meyerhold's Biomechanics Intensive

This intensive was taught by Russian director Sergei Ostrenko and featured the foundations of biomechanics while learning the étude of Throwing A Stone and physical compositions.

SITI Company Summer Intensive

This six-week intensive featured SITI Company's signature combination of Suzuki Actor Training, The Viewpoints and Composition. The ensemble composed elements associated with SITI's Under Construction which they later performed at the Louisville Humana Festival.

Sanford Meisner Center

This five-week intensive was taught by Martin Bartlett and Alex Taylor of the Sanford Meisner Center, the original home of Meisner Technique in L.A.. The classes took place in the home of Sanford Meisner and Jimmy Carville on the secluded island of Bequia in the Carribbean.

Computer Programming & Logic - BCIT

This was a basic computer course covering logic, psuedocode and computer program flowcharts.

Canadian National Voice Intensive

This five-week intensive is an immersive experience in Shakespearean text, Linklater-Berry-Fitzmaurice voice practices and physical acting.

Faculty Member

Designed and delivered courses in Acting, Movement, Voice, Performance History and Interdisciplinary Studies. Served two years as department coordinator, 2 years as a university senator and directed over a dozen department productions.

Drama/English Language Teacher

Created and delivered classes to students learning English as another language. I used Improvisational Drama and Storytelling exercises to help students learn English contextually.

Curriculum Consultant

Designed a curriculum for a youth theatre school located in central Beijing.

Physical Performance Teacher

Taught a movement class based in The Viewpoints to a mixed class of dancers and Actors from the Academy of Dramatic Art.

Artist In Residence

Duties included delivering performance workshops to high school students.

Director of a Non-Profit & Registered Charity

Human Theatre started off as a non-profit society. We hosted international intensives for the purpose of training professional actors. Operations changed over the years to include public performance art. Responsibilities included reporting to the board of directors, financial statements and annual filings. Organised and delivered five international training intensives with American, Australian and New Zealand-based teaching companies. Produced several Public Performance Art events which included performances by general public.

Locations

I was an on-set and office PA in the locations department for Season One of the American TV series Psych.

Web Site Designer

Variously self-employed and contracted by companies in Canada, Turkey and the USA. In the "wild west" years of the internet, many common practices and tools had to be self-taught and built in-house. I worked on some of the newest concepts in a completely new medium. Highlights include...

Designing and eventually project managing the first website for HSBC in Buffalo NY, and technical writing for e-commerce and CMS software.

Creating the first TV series website in Canada that cast content from the weekly show (Alive! with Joyce Resin).

Actor

Highlights include:

The City and The City. This live theatre adaptation of the China Meiville novel was part of the 2017 PuSh International Festival. All audience members were given a radio and a separate channel. Through dialogue fed to them by radio, they played dozens of roles, fleshing out this expansive sci-fi who-dunnit.

Disney's High School Musical. This pre-Glee production featured a large cast of alumni from Capilano University. I played Coach Bolton.

The Dinosaur Party. This was a six-month tour for Green Thumb Theatre for Young People. We played to locations so remote we had to fly into a few in a Cessna plane.

External Voice Instructor

I was a teaching assistant and eventually an external voice instructor.

Drama Teacher

Created and delivered an interdisciplinary summer curriculum for three different age groups (5-7, 8-11, 12-14). Working with a music teacher and a visual arts teacher, we assembled an integrated curriculum culminating in a performance of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky that involved all age groups.