the point or level at which something begins or changes

Mark Cassidy is a Toronto-based director, writer, performer who has a reputation for creating adventurous, thought-provoking theatre. As co-artistic director of Threshold, Mark has devised and directed a number of innovative projects including, As I Lay Dying, In The Language of Love, White Buildings, Beautiful Losers, That Time, Howl, The Hairy Ape, Forms of Devotion, Terror, and Kafka and Son.  Mark has also been a collaborator on new work with many independent artists and companies including: Amir Al-Azraki, Subtle Vigilance Collective, Nomanzland, Platform 9, Optic Heart Theatre, Erika Batdorf, Young People’s Theatre, New Adventures in Sound Art, Anita Majumdar, Puppetmongers Theatre, Shadowland Theatre, Te Amim Music Theatre, DMT Productions and Theatre Direct.  Mark also teaches and offers workshops in schools, workplaces, prisons and other community settings.

 

Mark has been nominated for two Dora Awards for Outstanding Direction, the John Hirsch Award in directing and for the Siminovitch Prize for Excellence in Theatre Directing.  Mark’s play Kafka and Son (created with Alon Nashman), was selected for the Soho Playhouse NYC Fringe Series in Oct. 2017 after a successful run at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe.  This show also received an Outstanding Production Award at the Prague Fringe Festival 2013, and garnered Best of the Fringe recognition in Ottawa, Montreal, London, Winnipeg and Edmonton. In 2014, Mark was invited to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa with Kafka and Son. Mark’s play Emily’s Piano, based on the children's novel by Quebec writer, Charlotte Gingras, received its world premiere as part of YPT’s 2014/15 season. Mark performed his theatrical memoir, Allistonian Brockvillian Dionysian, at the Gladstone Hotel, Monarch Tavern and Free Times Café in Toronto and at the RCHA Club in Kingston, the Albion Hotel in Guelph and The Porch & Pint in Peterborough. In September 2017, Mark directed the world premiere of Robert Fothergill's, Let's Go, a prequel to Waiting for Godot at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. In Nov. 2022 Mark premiered a new piece, Late Nights with Mark the C. as part of CFRC's Shortwave Theatre Festival. Original projects in development include Jet Black Blood Red--a choral piece in response to a sudden death,  Vuca Dreams-- an interactive exploration of leadership in volatile times, and I Make the Weather, a two character play performed by six actors.  Check out some responses to Mark's work here.