The Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies (CDTPS) proudly presents its 2025 Directors’ Showcase, a vibrant, Fringe Festival-style theatrical event featuring eight short plays directed by students in the DRM402 Advanced Directing course. This year’s showcase runs from Nov. 21 to 23 at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse.
The lineup includes:
Series A:
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang directed by Cici NIE Wenxi
Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen by Tennessee Williams, directed by Mila Frumovitz
Death and the Fool by Dario Fo & Franca Rame, directed by Nathan R. Belyea
Stop Kiss by Diana Son, directed by Kit Dixon
Series B:
This is a Play by Daniel MacIvor, directed by Sichun Xia
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, directed by Samuel Barnes
Members Only by Jane Cafarella, directed by Valeria Macgregor-Ordonez
Savage/Love by Sam Shepard, directed by Lev Tokol
Under the guidance of CDTPS instructors Leah Cherniak and Daniel Tessy, the eight student directors have spent the fall semester bringing to life an ambitious collection of plays that span genres, themes, and theatrical forms. The emerging directors have worked intensively with actors, designers, and production teams to translate their chosen texts into vivid, 10-minute performances. The result is a dynamic showcase that celebrates the creativity, experimentation, and collaborative energy at CDTPS.
“I hope they learn about the process of translating written works into live theatre and I hope they also bring something to the showcase based on inspiration and understanding,” says Cherniak. “They each have their own individual direction: what kinds of plays they’re interested in and what they add to it. There is a wide range of forms, styles, and content—it’s exciting to see the variety of plays that will happen.”
For Cici NIE Wenxi, directing M. Butterfly offered an opportunity to merge her academic background with her artistic vision. “It is a piece about Orientalism based on true historical events in the 1980s, which resonates with my background as an Asian person as well as a history and East Asian studies student,” she explains. “The play has a lot of possibilities for interpretation, and I wanted to challenge myself by exploring those complexities.”
Across all eight productions, collaboration has been at the heart of the creative process. Many of the student directors reflected on the importance of communication, trust, and teamwork in bringing their visions to life.
“I realized how essential communication is for a director,” says Sichun Xia student director of This is a Play. “Since this is my first time directing, I learned to trust my actors and crew. As long as we have good communication, they always bring pleasant surprises.”
“Actors can always surprise me with their insights in rehearsal, offering me possibilities I hadn’t thought of before,” student director NIE adds. “The challenge is finding a balance between my vision and their interpretation.”
Samuel Barnes, who is directing a scene from Macbeth by William Shakespeare, says the experience has deepened his understanding of leadership and collaboration.
“The most rewarding part is getting to lead a group of creatives. Growing up, I was never a strong leader. The Drama Centre has finally given me that opportunity,” he shares. “I hope the audience remembers how the performance made them feel.”
For all eight directors, the showcase has been both a creative culmination and a learning experience in teamwork, problem-solving, and artistic discovery.
“Even though these are short pieces, there is a lot that goes into them: lights, sound, production, and design,” says Cherniak. “The directors have worked really hard with lots of creativity and time, and the technical team has been incredible.”
The 2025 Directors’ Showcase highlights the range, passion, and imagination of CDTPS’ student directors, offering audiences an evening of theatre that is diverse, daring, and deeply human.
The Directors’ Showcase runs Nov. 21–23, 2025, at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. Visit uoft.me/ds2025 for tickets.