Dora Award-winning actor, director, choreographer, educator and playwright Andy Massingham is upfront, personable, witty, and knowledgeable. He loves criticism although he doesn’t read reviews.

What brought him to this realization? Actors cannot sit in an audience without doing the same thing – critiquing and talking about the work of others.

He knows his stuff and what he wants when directing for the theatre. He shared a thought that all directors have probably felt: “As a director, the heartbreak of opening night is one of the deepest heartbreaks because you know that it’s over and the actors are going to go.”

Massingham is currently directing ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare’ (Abridged) (Revised) (Again) for Port Perry’s Theatre on the Ridge (TOTR), which will close out its 2024 season. A comedy encompassing Shakespeare’s 37 plays in two hours, he feels it’s a nice way to close out the summer season.

How did Andy hear about Port Perry’s Theatre on the Ridge?

The company’s Artistic Director, Carey Nicholson, took a course Massingham was teaching through his long-standing association with Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre. For the last 5-10 years, Andy has been doing weekend physical theatre workshops focusing on no dialogue, structure, and physical stories using clowns and various elements. The workshops mainly involve putting a show together without dialogue.

Massingham and Carey hit it off at that workshop:

“When she walked in, I didn’t know who she was. By the end of the weekend, she said she would love to talk to me about Theatre on the Ridge. The next year, I came out and did exactly that. We formed a one-hour theatre piece that was purely physical.”

Andy salutes Carey because she understands what he is doing regarding physical theatre.

To these other larger companies, like Stratford and Shaw, Andy would describe Theatre on the Ridge as an enclosure that is still open to the elements, which gives actors, directors, and designers a little freedom to throw some stuff out. When you’re going outside, you know there will be unlimited expectations. There’s a big difference in the summer between walking into a theatre and walking outdoors into a theatre.

Andy calls Theatre on the Ridge: “A mini-Stratford. If I were to describe [Ridge] to Antoni Cimolino [from Stratford], it’s a small setting under a big top. Intimate work can be done at [Ridge]. Clown work can be done [at Ridge]. It’s within that realm much like commedia dell’arte did over 500 years ago, and the original Stratford Festival did under the first tent many years ago.”

Andy says Carey is making bold choices under the usual summer stock realm. As he got to know her, Andy firmly stated that Carey was doing very clever programming. He pointed to this year’s slate—a Kat Sandler play, a musical, and a slapstick ‘Monty Python-like’ version of Shakespeare in one season. That’s a great season because Andy says this selection of plays appeals to everyone.

It might be a challenge to bring audience members from Toronto, Drayton, and Stratford to Port Perry, but that’s Andy’s dream. He wants audience members to know that Theatre on the Ridge is only an hour away but come here. It’s accessible. Massingham intends to shine a light on Port Perry. The town is beautiful, and the shows at Theatre on the Ridge are great.

Our conversation then veered to where Massingham completed his artist training. His response made it clear his wit is one of his personable qualities:

“I haven’t completed it yet. It’s still going on.”

We shared a good laugh before he continued.

Massingham graduated from George Brown Theatre School in 1985 and studied for two years with Richard Pochinko doing clown. Pochinko was Andy’s clown teacher at George Brown. Massingham has been working with teachers, dancers, and actors since then.

Andy calls himself an amateur, but he’s a lover of the form. To continue learning does not necessarily mean to keep taking courses. Andy continues meeting with artists over coffee and talking about things. When he worked at the Stratford Festival, he soaked up everything he could from the legends of working with Brian Bedford and Martha Henry:

“I sat in a rehearsal hall with these people and sponged everything I could. Musicians have to keep working with other musicians to keep their skills updated. The minute you start doing that, you extend your own language.”

Has Andy realized there is any difference between the theatre companies in downtown Toronto and the theatres in the outlying areas?

“Work is work, and I’ve become very pragmatic about it. I go where the work is. I like it. I’m happy seeing a show in a church basement or a hole-in-the-wall, as I am at Festival Theatre.”

He has performed on stages across Canada. What is the commonality between them? Everyone wants to hear a story and be entertained. It doesn’t matter where the story is told. Andy recounted how he learned much while touring a clowning show in Northern Ontario. The residents came out to see a show and didn’t care about a resumé or the theatre. They wanted a show. That’s all that matters, whether it’s Shakespeare, clown, modern dance, or jazz.

That’s been Massingham’s guiding light.

He’s plugged into the next generation of up-and-coming young artists and sees a huge fire coming up in them.

On a break, before rehearsals for ‘Complete’ continued, Andy shared his excitement for the show. Rehearsals for this actor-driven piece have been a ‘hoot.’ The text for ‘Complete’ was written for only three people, but five actors are present in the TOTR production. Immediately, they all knew there would be slicing and dicing, and that’s fine with Massingham because he loves re-visioning.

The first week of rehearsals saw everyone playing around with the text while the unique personalities of each of the performers shone through. Massingham said the five of them are like the Marx Brothers. They are completely different but have unique things about them.

The performers have gelled through the rehearsal process. Nicholson afforded an extra week of rehearsal, which Massingham called glorious. He says the actors are ready for an audience, terrified but ready, which is a good way to be. It’s show business.

He greatly encourages these five actors; They should all be working in the business now:

“Stratford. Hire these actors. These are solid, fantastic emerging artists.”

I have heard that the study of Shakespeare’s plays should either be removed or significantly curtailed.

Massingham’s response to that kind of thinking. He says he won’t get angry about it, but that’s a stupid idea and:

“I’ll never stop teaching it, and I don’t care what they say. That’s it. That’s inflammatory talk, and I don’t believe it at all.”

He then made a valid comment:

“If you’re studying music at Julliard in New York City and the decision is made to cut Mozart or Miles Davis,” doing that would be removing the centered structure of all modern music.”

Finally, what’s next for Andy Massingham once ‘Complete Works’ concludes its run?

He works at The Toronto Film School. He will be directing a show there in the fall, but he is always on the lookout. He hasn’t acted in over ten years but is looking to get back to it. He’s also starting work on a sequel to 2005’s ‘Rough House,’ a solo show based on the physical theatre and clown.

Andy Massingham has been a lifelong lover of the form. He thrives in the classroom with young minds and artists.

‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare’ previews August 8 and will officially open on August 9. Running until August 24, all performances will take place under the TOTR Tent at the Scugog Shores Museum, 16210 Island Road. For tickets, visit www.theatreontheridge.ca. email: boxoffice@theatreontheridge.ca or call (905) 242-9343.