PARRSBORO, N.S. — The good ship Kipawo has a new captain.
Richie Wilcox, a multi-talented director, writer, creator and dramaturge, has been named the new interim artistic director at Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro.
“I have spent a good amount of time in Parrsboro over the past couple years and I am very excited to come back to this beautiful part of the province and get to work with the Ship and the people in the community,” said Wilcox, who replaces Jack Patterson.
Wilcox’s work has been seen across Canada and he has toured internationally, but he was drawn to Parrsboro by Ship’s Company Theatre.
“Started by Michael Fuller and Mary Vingoe 35 years ago, the Ship has a large history and holds an important place in this region and I am proud and honoured to come be a part of it,” said Wilcox.
The New Waterford native has spent the better part of the last decade co-creating, devising, writing and directing new works.
Wilcox spent his formative years doing shows at Festival on the Bay and what was then called UCCB and learned from the best of Cape Breton at that time. Wilcox moved off the island for his education and graduated from Dalhousie University with a BA in theatre and, moving further off, followed up with a masters in theatre directing from Texas State University.
He has worked with numerous theatre companies over the years.
Wilcox co-founded Angels & Heroes in his early career years in Halifax where he directed shows such as Fewer Emergencies, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek and Blackbird among many others.
He spent almost a decade working at Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre as a director and performer. For four years he served as an Artistic Associate for Theatre Outré in Lethbridge, Alberta where he directed UNSEX’d, Late Company, The Confession of Jeffrey Dahmer and more.
Presently, Wilcox is the artistic director of Halifax’s live art company Heist where he most recently performed in a tour of The Princess Show to Toronto, Victoria and Fredericton. He and his cohorts at Heist are also the creative team behind the award-winning sequel Princess Rules, the multimedia extravaganza Nation and his original show New Waterford Boy: A Ceilidh.
Back in 2007 Wilcox was given the Mayor’s Emerging Artist award and in 2018 he received the Merritt Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor for his work in Princess Rules. Wilcox is the editor of Daniel MacIvor: New Essays on Canadian Theatre and is in the midst of writing two new plays at the moment - one about death (Good Grief) and one about a famous basketball tournament (Coal Bowl Week).
Wilcox is no stranger to Ship’s Company Theatre as he was associate producer for the 2018 summer season and has performed New Waterford Boy twice in Parrsboro as part of the Second Stage series.
Ship's Company Theatre's board of directors Chair Mary McPhee shared the company's excitement with Wilcox’s appointment.
"We are incredibly fortunate to have Richie join us and guide the Ship through our next steps of artistic growth as a company, and we so look forward to the magic that Richie will foster in our future productions," McPhee said.
