Daniel Mroz
Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre
Member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and thereby authorized to supervise theses.
Office: 304C
Telephone: 613-562-5800, ext. 1265
E-mail: dmroz@uOttawa.ca
Reference
Daniel Mroz is assistant professor at the Department of Theatre of the University of Ottawa, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate theatre courses in English and French. He holds a PhD in the practice of interdisciplinary arts from the Doctorat en études et pratiques des arts of l'Université du Québec à Montréal (2005). Mroz apprenticed as a performer under Canadian director and acting teacher Richard Fowler and his company Primus Theatre from 1993 to 1997. Mroz is now the director of One Reed Theatre Ensemble, a Canadian company devoted to the creation of devised physical theatre that emerged from his work with four graduates of English Acting Program of The National Theatre School of Canada.
A long-time student of Chinese martial arts, Mroz has combined his martial movement training with the embodied approach to acting he learned from Primus Theatre. The resulting approach is called The Dancing Word, an integrated system of performer preparation and original performance composition. Daniel Mroz' principal area of activity is in research/creation, focusing on devising original performances and innovating in the pedagogy of performance training.
University degrees
2005 – PhD in études et pratiques des arts, Université du Québec à Montréal
1996 – MA in arts dramatiques, Université du Québec à Montréal
1993 – BA in Drama and Theatre, McGill University
Fields of interest
Scholary
- Anthropologie théâtral, Performance Studies and Ethnoscenology
- Embodied Philosophy, Human Kinetics and Cognitive Neuroscience as applied to Theatre and Performance
- Physical Culture and Performance in Asian and European Contemplative and Religious Traditions
Practical
- Acting and Performance (Movement, Voice, Composition and Interpretation)
- Directing (Devising original performance)
- Traditional Chinese Martial Arts and Physical Culture ( wushu and qigong )
- Contemporary Approaches to Martial Arts and Physical Culture
- World Music Singing and Contemporary Vocal Music
Awards and distinctions
2006 – Recipient, as director of One Reed Theatre Ensemble, of Now Magazine ( Toronto )'s acclamation of One Reed Theatre Ensemble as Toronto's Best Young Theatre Ensemble
2006 – Recipient, as director of One Reed Theatre Ensemble, of the Summerworks Festival Spotlight Award for the performance Nor The Cavaliers Who Come With Us.
2006 – Recipient, as director of One Reed Theatre Ensemble of citations for Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble for the performance Nor The Cavaliers Who Come With Us from Toronto's Now Magazine.
Research and publications
Scholarly
The Dancing Word, a book on the use of Chinese martial arts in actor training and performance creation for Rodopi Press' series Consciousness, Literature and the Arts. (accepted for publication)
Technique in Exile: The changing perception of taijiquan, from Ming dynasty military exercise to 20 th century actor training protocol, for Studies in Theatre and Performance (U.K.). (accepted for publication)
Speaking in a Visceral Language: From performer preparation to performance composition, for Theatre Research in Canada. (in press)
Practical
2006 – Leader of La Parole qui danse, a professional training master-class for actors sponsored by Théâtre la Catapulte, Ottawa.
2005 – Director of One Reed Theatre Ensemble's original performance Nor The Cavaliers Who Come With Us, a project sponsored by the National Theatre School of Canada's Cultural and Artistic Leadership Program.
2002 – Director, author, choreographer and composer of Peau de lune, a French language dance/theatre performance, premiered at the Catskill Festival of New Theatre in New York State.
1996-1999 – Co-founder, co-director and performer with La Compagnie du Pont-fleurs, an interdisciplinary performance laboratory based in Montréal, co-creator of the performances Le Jardin des poiriers, Le Sentier aux milles lanternes and La Croisée des magicians .
Upcoming
2007 – Director of One Reed Theatre Ensemble's new original performance It's Hard to Count To A Million.
Leader of The Dancing Word, a professional training master-class for actors sponsored by the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, Ottawa.
Current research projects
2006 – Collaboration with Dr. Pippa Hall, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, developing Palliative Care interactive educational materials and theatre/medicine interdisciplinary courses.
In the April of 2007 One Reed Theatre will be in residence at the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama at the University of Toronto. The ensemble will be performing Nor the Cavaliers Who Come With Us, offering practical artistic workshops for graduate students and beginning work on their next performance It's Hard to Count to A Million.
In May of 2007, traveling to Daqingshan Mountain in Shadong, China for a month of intensive training in Chen Taijiquan under Master Chen Zhongua.
