Lara Macgregor is an actor, director, dramaturg, photographer and performance coach in New Zealand.
Education
editMacgregor studied acting in New York City with Uta Hagen, Anthony Abeson and Tony Greco and subsequently worked for ten years as an actor in the U.S.[1]
She holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Directing from The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney and has directed over 40 productions throughout America, Australia and New Zealand.[1]
Directing career
editIn 2009, Macgregor was appointed Associate Artistic Director at the Court Theatre in Christchurch, New Zealand. She directed a number of plays at The Forge, as the Court's studio theatre was known for a time, including (in 2009) Dave Armstrong's The Tutor (a New Zealand comedy, and the first production at The Forge)[2] and Dean Parker's The Perfumed Garden (2010).
In 2010, she was appointed Artistic Director at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin, a position she held until late 2015.[3] Since that year, she has worked as a freelance director at the Court Theatre, and for Wow! Productions in Dunedin, for whom she directed Annie Baker's Pulitzer prize-winning play The Flick.[4]
Macgregor's productions at the Fortune Theatre include:
- God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (2011)[5]
- Five Women Wearing the Same Dress by Alan Ball (2011). Also at Court Theatre.[6]
- The Truth Game by Simon Cunliffe - a New Zealand premiere (2011)[7]
- A Short Cut To Happiness by Roger Hall (2011)[8]
- Red by John Logan (2012)[9]
- In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)) by Sarah Ruhl (2012)[10]
- Heroes by Gerald Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard (2012)[11]
- Play by Samuel Beckett (2012)[12]
- Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron (2013)[13]
- Tribes by Nina Raine (2013)[14]
- Book Ends by Roger Hall (2014)[15]
- The Caretaker by Harold Pinter (2014)[16]
- Ladies' Night by Anthony McCarten and Stephen Sinclair (2015)[17]
- Punk Rock by Simon Stephens (2015)[18]
- Winston's Birthday by Paul Baker (2016) (Also at Court Theatre)[19]
For the Court Theatre, at The Forge, Macgregor has directed:
- Poe by Jeff Clark (2009) (aka A True Account of the Regrettable Circumstances and Mysterious Demise of Edgar Allan Poe.)[20]
- My Name Is Rachel Corrie by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner (2009)[21]
- The Tutor by Dave Armstrong (2009). Also at Fortune Theatre.[22]
- The Perfumed Garden by Dean Parker (2010)[23]
- On the Rocks by Amy Rosenthal (2010)[24]
- Saving Grace by Duncan Sarkies (2010)[25]
At Court Theatre MainStage, Macgregor has directed:
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens (2017)[26]
- Venus in Fur by David Ives (2017)[27]
- Elling by Simon Bent (2019)[28]
At Circa Theatre, Wellington, she had directed:
- Bone by John Donnelly (2008)[29]
Acting career
editMacgregor has played leading roles in many productions at the Court Theatre, including Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (2016), Thilde Forster in Michelanne Forster's Don't Mention Casablanca (2010), When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell (2014) - all three directed by Ross Gumbley;[30][31][32] M'Lynn in Steel Magnolias (2017, director Gregory Cooper),[33] Annie Wilkes in Misery (2018, director Dan Bain)[34] and Fran in Things I Know To Be True by Andrew Bovell (2021, director Shane Bosher).[35] The latter play had a season at Circa Theatre in Wellington, where Macgregor has also appeared in Di and Viv and Rose by Amelia Bullmore (2020, directed by Stephanie McKellar-Smith)[36] and Burn Her by Sam Brooks (2019, directed by Katherine McRae).[37] She played Rosemary in John Patrick Shanley's Outside Mullingar (2015, Fortune Theatre, director Lisa Warrington).[38]
She has appeared in a number of film and TV shows, including Clickbait (Netflix, 2021), an eight-part thriller miniseries,[39] and This Town (2020).[1]
Awards and nominations
edit- Best Director for Play (Beckett) 2012, Dunedin Theatre Awards
- Outstanding Contribution of the Year (2015), Dunedin Theatre Awards
- Director of the Year, Punk Rock (2015), Dunedin Theatre Awards Wilkes
- Director of the Year, The Flick (2019), Dunedin Theatre Awards
References
edit- ^ a b c "Lara Macgregor". The Court Theatre. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews - Theatreview". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ McAvinue, Shawn (11 September 2015). "Curtain falling for Fortune director". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "THE FLICK - Significant issues smuggled in under the seemingly innocuous dialogue". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "God of Carnage - How grown up are the grown ups?". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress - Hotshot entertainment in provocation to blandness". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "The Truth Game - Truth will out in newspaper game". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "A Shortcut to Happiness - Heart-warming entertainment". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "RED - Always absorbing, at times electrifying; seriously impressive". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play - Charming naivety brings laughter and hope". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "HEROES - A joyous celebration of life mixing pathos and gallantry". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "PLAY - Starkly memorable". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE - Sartorial sassiness". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "TRIBES - Funny, daring, hopeful, insightful". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "BOOK ENDS - Erudite camaraderie often biting as well as funny". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "THE CARETAKER - Interpretation of Pinter classic a triumph". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "LADIES NIGHT - Audience response verges on ecstatic". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "PUNK ROCK - A chance to understand them: so beautiful, so evil, so vulnerable". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "WINSTON'S BIRTHDAY - Truths emerge from sniping and witty repartee". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "A True Account of the Regrettable Circumstances and Mysterious Demise of Edgar Allan Poe - Entertained by Poe's predicament". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "My Name Is Rachel Corrie - A living force in a cocoon of real words". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "The Tutor - A very polished and refreshingly vigorous home-grown comedy". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "The Perfumed Garden - Imagination and skill brings principled perspective to New Zealand's place in world affairs". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "On The Rocks - Honest insights and humour as Lawrentian ideals face practical realities". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Saving Grace - Comedy sits uneasily with the shattering outcome". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME - Thoroughly believable parallel realities". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "VENUS IN FUR - Challenges met with controlled intensity". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews - Theatreview". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Bone - A rich experience of three lives". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "MACBETH - Grimly satisfying". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Don't Mention Casablanca - Sentiment and substance with stylish production elements". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING - An intensely absorbing experience". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "STEEL MAGNOLIAS - Distinctive and engaging characters". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Stephen King's MISERY - A deeply satisfying triumph". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE - Truth-bomb depth-charges compel our empathy". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "DI AND VIV AND ROSE - Twists and turns of life-enriching relationships explored and celebrated". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "BURN HER - Distils the big themes of political intrigue with insight, flair, withering wit and a welcome humanity". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "OUTSIDE MULLINGAR - Delightfully memorable characters". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ^ "Lara Macgregor appears in Netflix series, Clickbait". 6 September 2021.