Skip to Content

Susanna Fournier

Director

I had no intention of becoming a director, but my playwriting became so holistic I found myself authoring whole productions, not just texts. Directing has been an inevitable and welcome step in my evolution as an artist. Like my writing, my directorial focus is on how the configuration and integration of design, bodies, text, and space creates meaning. I’m drawn to artists and texts working viscerally with form and specialise in designing dramaturgical processes for new, interdisciplinary or genre-bending works. Having taught on camera performance for the last ten years, I have a deep understanding of the actor’s process and how to shape dynamic performances across mediums and styles. I’m indebted to the work and mentorship of Daniel Brooks and Kerr Wells, both of whom impacted my work deeply.

My first directing project was Matthew Mackenzie’s solo show, The Particulars, which played a sold out run at Winnipeg Fringe in 2010. I’ve directed dramaturgical explorations/been a core collaborator with Coleen MacPherson, Heidi Strauss, nevada jane arlow, Michael Martini, and most notably with ted witzel on our 7-part deconstruction of Frank Wedekind’s LULU plays of which I directed lulu v.4 // but you are not a dead woman. My solo directorial debut was my play, Four Sisters, at Luminato. I’m currently directing development processes with Curtis Campbell and Erum Khan. My latest production was Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis at Toronto Metropolitan University. I’ve been directing the development of my work, HEART/BODY with TO Live since 2021 and will direct my debut short film, Mya’s OK in fall 2025.

 

Signature Productions

Upcoming

  • HEART/BODY by Susanna Fournier (2027) - TBD

Past

  • 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane (2025) - School of Performance, Toronto Metropolitan University
  • Four Sisters by Susanna Fournier (2019) - The Theatre Centre x Luminato
  • GODEATER by nevada jane arlow (2018) - The Amy Project Workshop Series, Tarragon Theatre
  • lulu v.4 by but you are not a dead woman (2016) - Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
  • The Particulars by Matthew Mackenzie (2010) - Winnipeg Fringe 

Core Collaboration (co-directing + creating)

  • lulu v.7 // aspects of a femme fatale by Susanna Fournier, ted witzel, and Helen Yung (2018) - Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 

Dramaturgy

  • Erased by Colleen MacPherson (2019) - Open Heart Theatre
  • Landscape Grindr by Michael Martini (2018) - Playwright's Workshop Montreal
  • Baseline by Heidi Strauss (2017) - adelheid dance - The Citadel
(Praise for 4.8 Phychosis:)
 
Susanna’s production of 4.48 Psychosis was one of the most powerful and moving theatre experiences I’ve ever encountered over my many decades of art making.
Debashis Sinha
Siminovitch-winning Sound Artist & Designer 
(Praise for Four Sisters:) 
 
A radically different approach to storytelling.
José Teodoro
NOW Magazine 
(Praise for Four Sisters:)
 
Four Sisters stands as a thoughtful and moving, yet playful dystopian drama − stunningly staged by the playwright herself.
Kelly Nestruck
The Globe and Mail