Grahame Renyk
Grahame Renyk
Lecturer
Dan School of Drama and Music
Faculty of Arts and Science
Faculties & Schools
renykg@queensu.ca
Homepage
Office: Theological Hall 303
ProfessorEveryone

Research Description

Grahame has variously directed, stage managed, written, and produced for a number of theatre companies. His ‘talent’ for switching hats is a result of his Queen’s education, where one minute he would be directing and the next he would be slapping paint on a set piece, or a fellow actor – but that’s a story for another time. He is a member of the Theatrefront ensemble (http://www.theatrefront.com), and has worked as a theatre reviewer for eye magazine in Toronto. Directing credits include How Paul Simon Saved My Life by Jodi Essery and Little Shop of Horrors (both in Kingston), Gathering Dusk, and Workshopping William: Shakespeare Unplugged, which he also wrote as the culmination of a six month exploration of Shakespeare and his works with a group of high school students in Lethbridge, Alberta. Grahame was the Assistant Director for Cloud Nine at Equity Showcase Theatre (directed by Daryl Cloran) and assistant director for two seasons with Theatreworks in Lethbridge, AB. He has taught for the performing arts programme at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, ON, and for the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. On the academic side, Grahame’s interests include theories of actor training, directing, cognitive studies, and musical theatre. He is in the process of completing his dissertation, which takes a cognitive studies approach to script analysis. His awards include a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and the Leslie Nielsen Award for research in performance studies. Grahame is a recipient of the Department of Drama’s Faculty Award of Excellence and is a 2009/10 nominee for the Frank Knox Teaching Award.  

Biography

Grahame Renyk returns to the Drama Department at Queen’s having graduated from these halls with a B.A.(Hon) i n Drama in 1998. He also holds an M.A. from the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama at the University of Toronto, and is currently completing his PhD dissertation in Literary/Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph.

When he is not teaching, Grahame works in the theatre, predominantly as an actor. Grahame has been a part of New West Theatre’s last two seasons, appearing in six productions for the Southern Alberta company. A member of Canadian Actor’s Equity since 2000, Grahame has also performed at the Weston Playhouse in Vermont, Great West Theatre and Theatreworks in Alberta (including the premiere of Conni Massing’s The Aberhart Summer), Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, and The Sunshine Festival in Orillia, among others. Locally, he appeared in Theatre Kingston’s Rough Magic (by John Lazarus) and The Master Builder (adapted by Craig Walker). Back when he was a student of this department, he appeared in the Queen’s Drama productions of Not Wanted on the Voyage and Our Country’s Good, Colour and Light’s Merrily We Roll Along, Cox/Davies’ Evita, and several Studio 102 productions. He also appeared with the Queen’s Players and in several productions with Queen’s Musical Theatre, winning an Edward Somppi Award in 1998 for his involvement with the club.