ROSS MANSON
Director/Dramaturge
Ross Manson (director and dramaturge) is an award-winning director, and the founding artistic director of Volcano – an independent theatre company based in Toronto. Volcano is mandated to cross borders of all kinds in its work: disciplinary, cultural, and geographic. Over The past 20 years, Ross Has directed and/or co-created shows that have toured around the world, and won or been nominated for over seventy local, national and international awards. He is the founder of the Volcano Conservatory (a professional training program for alternative performance), and co-founder, with Deborah Pearson, Of InForming Content (an Initiative to wed experimental theatre making with expert academic research). His work is featured in the award-winning documentary film Goodness In Rwanda – an exploration of Volcano’s tour to Rwanda of Michael Redhill's play on genocide (the Only Canadian Production to ever win the Best Of Edinburgh award). Information about the many shows he has worked on can be found at www.volcano.ca.
NOW Magazine cover story 2003
https://nowtoronto.com/news/cover-story-ross-manson
“We’ve inherited a method of work here that’s part history, part England, part budget. It’s very efficient — but it can hem you in artistically.”
The Scientific Director 2005
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/arts/the-scientific-director/article4117853/
Manson's approach strives to create what he calls "cognitive dissonance" … "It's a way of getting around forgetfulness." Thematically, he is fascinated with the notion of prophecy and legacy -- "how actions in the present moment will affect the future and whether we think about that."
Preparing a Century of Song 2016
https://pushfestival.ca/preparing-a-century-of-song-an-interview-with-ross-manson-by-roxanne-duncan/
“The trust that evolves in collaborating with a team over many years is enormous. And because so much of what we do is experimental, and often quite fragile, trust helps us make the right decisions.”
In Conversation: Odile Gakire Katese and Ross Manson 2019
“I believe that everything is story. We are made up of stories, the stories that we carry around in our heads invent us and put the world around us into reality.”