Richard Wolfe is a Vancouver-based theatre director and dramaturg who has directed, developed and produced a wide variety of live art in a wild selection of venues, often in sticky circumstances (and that doesn’t only refer to dive bar floors).
Don’t touch anything in his kitchen. He now has all the cooking implements necessary and a strategic path towards success for making you something tasty. Just don’t touch anything when he’s preparing it.
Watch your toes when his cat is around. He once described it as a creature “with a runway look and a barnyard personality.”
Born in Saskatchewan, he has lived on both the Best and Left Coasts. But formally educated in SK and BC – the Halifax chapter was “life experience.”
Richard is the Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Pi Theatre. What is an “artistic director?” Obviously, in his case, it’s a deep knowledge of theatre history and current practice, refined flexibility in working with actors and designers, even more strategy than he brings to the kitchen, and steel-trap memory for what’s in each of 175 bankers’ boxes. Beyond those niche skills, however, he exhibits an expansive curiosity about the cultural, social and political zeitgeist from select media sources and random conversations with strangers. Shopping for a new air fryer at various price points? Hit him up. He probably has the research done.
-Written by a friend
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Which ’hood are you in?
I’m lucky enough to live in the Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver. It got its name in 1888 and 130 years later the soul has yet to be drained out of it. It’s the best. A true neighbourhood. If you want to live life with an urban pulse in Vancouver, Main Street has a beating, vibrant heart. You can eat, drink, listen and think with live music venues, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, furniture shops, gyms, pet food stores, microbreweries, lots of self-help joints, an improv comedy centre, coffee, coffee, coffee, hidden galleries, secondhand book stores … the list goes on.
What do you do?
I buy groceries on the day I eat them (mostly). I cycle and listen to music while rolling along. Yes, I know. I know. I try to keep my cat amused. Generally, I marinate in live art and feel at home in social spaces. Engaging with artistic expression keeps my heart open to new ways of knowing and seeing. I’m privileged to have worked in the professional theatre for most of my life. I’ve been with Pi Theatre for a few years now. The company is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. No, I haven’t been at Pi the whole time. Check out the website to get a sense of the tone of the company. Maybe it’s for you!
What are you currently working on?
We just ran a brand-new piece that Pi produced and I directed called A Taste of Hong Kong. It stars the multi-talented Derek Chan, who is also the Artistic Director of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre Company. At A Taste of Hong Kong, you actually get to eat real HK food as the lead character takes you on a journey through the social, political and culinary world of the city. The show is written by Anonymous. Try and guess why.
Where can we find your work?
A Taste of Hong Kong was presented at the Cultch until March 15. If you’re in Toronto in May, you can see it at Theatre Passe Muraille. Pi Theatre and almost all the other theatre companies in town are basically nomadic. The venue-based companies are few and far between. If the only theatre you see is at the Arts Club or Bard on the Beach, you’re missing out on what this city has to offer. I know it can feel like it’s hard to know where to go or what to see, but you’re reading the Vancouver Guardian, so you’re on the right track. You can also check out the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (GVPTA). Ditch the screen and go see some great stories done live – just for you!
