Dr. Michael Devine
Position: Professor
Office: BAC 435
Email: michael.devine@acadiau.ca
Website: www.catt-international.org
Research interests: A professional director, playwright, actor, dramaturg and essayist, Michael is the founder/director of the Centre for Alternative Theatre Training (CATT). His performance training and creation methodology, BoxWhatBox, has featured at nine international theatre festivals and twenty-three countries on five continents. He has directed at national and independent theatres in Canada, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, in nine languages.
Teaching: Michael is a professional polymath, with extensive professional and teaching experience in performance, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, dramatic theory, dramatic literature and theatre history. A five-time winner of teaching awards at York University and Acadia, Michael teaches all over the world through his innovative performance methodology, BoxWhatBox.
Selected Publications and Honours:
Books: Playing Outside the Lines was published in 2022 by FriesenPress. The book comprises a first collection of Michael’s plays, all of which have been produced at professional stages internationally. The BoxWhatBox Book: Acting for the 21st Century was published in 2023 by FriesenPress. A step-by-step introduction to the BoxWhatBox process of creating performance and training polycultural actors, The BoxWhatBox Book contains case studies of created plays and lesson plans for actor training workshops, as well as insights into the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of the actor. Michael has published articles in national and international journals such as Canadian Theatre Review, Theatre Research in Canada, and the Central European Journal for Canadian Studies, and appeared as a keynote speaker and presenter at international conferences.
Courses Recently Taught: Theatrical Unrest (as Theatre History), Theatre Ideas, Playwriting, Performance 1-6, Introduction to Theatre, Dramaturgy, Production Direction.