Lionel Walsh is an actor and director who teaches acting in the BFA in Acting programme. He is a Certified Teacher of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique (Michael Chekhov Association) and is founding Director of The Inspired Acting Lab, in which he and his Lab Assistants develop new exercises in Fantastic Realism. He has trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School, Russia.
July 2023, Directed Almost Maine by John Cariani. It was presented as a co-production with Heritage Colchester for two weeks in July; as a co-production with Northern Bruce Theatre (of which Lionel was Artistic Director) in Lion's Head for one week and at the Uxbridge Music Hall for one week. Three graduating BFA students were hired and two upcoming fourth year students, one in BFA who worked as an actor, and one in Concurrent BA Drama/ B.Ed as Stage Manager.
In 2019 Lionel founded the Northern Bruce Theatre Company, for which he produced and directed Salt-Water Moon in Windsor, Lion’s Head and Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Other recent directing credits include Choking the Butterfly, a co-production of The Inspired Lab and Rarely Pure Theatre, Toronto; Brave Hearts (Ryan Rep, Brooklyn, NY); Down Dangerous Passes Road (University of Windsor, Brighton Festival Fringe, UK); Afterplay (Alternative Theatre Works, Stratford),The Orphan Muses (Breathe Art Theatre Project, 2011), and Plaza Suite (Sunshine Festival). He also directed Summer and Smoke (Hilberry Theatre, Wayne State University).
As an actor, Lionel appeared most recently as Lyle in Whale Riding Weather at the 2009 Brighton Festival Fringe, and Plymouth Arts Festival. He also appeared as Luni-Mato in the award-winning film, Commedia Fantasia, for Gina Lori Riley Dance Enterprises; the film has had showings in Houston, New York City and Monte Carlo.
He has conducted workshops in Improvisation and in Michael Chekhov Acting Technique at universities, conferences, and in private studios in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain, and has coached professional productions with Rose Theatre and Shakespeare in the Square, Brampton, ON and the Hilberry Theatre, Wayne State University. He is a co-founder of Michael Chekhov Canada and founding Co-Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium, which offers a certificate in the teaching of Chekhov Technique through the University of Mount Union, Ohio. He also contributed a chapter to The Routledge Companion to Michael Chekhov and is co-author of “The Corridors Exercise: A Michael Chekhov-based Approach to Discovering, Experiencing, and Embodying Given Circumstances and Character” which is forthcoming in Theatre, Dance and Performance.
Lionel is a recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching, the Alumni Association Excellence in Mentoring Award, the Students of Dramatic Art Faculty Excellence Award, and an OCUFA Award nomination.
Memberships include the Canadian Actor's Equity Association; The Michael Chekhov Association; and, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (Member at Large Liaison to Focus Group Representatives, MAL-Operations, VP-Awards, VP-Conference 2015). Lionel is Associate Professor of Acting, and served as Interim Director of the Director of the School (2019-2020) and Director (2002-2012), Associate Dean, Academic and Student Affairs (2012 – 2014), and Assistant Vice-President, Student Recruitment (2015 – 2019).
Contact Information:
Room 206 Jackman Dramatic Art Centre
walsha@uwindsor.ca
519-253-3000 ext. 2029