Peter Cockett is an actor, director, and writer, and Associate Professor in the Theatre and Film Studies program, McMaster School of the Arts. He specializes in teaching acting, and devised theatre development and production. He has directed and/or created 15 mainstage productions with students at McMaster, including: carried away on the crest of a wave (David Yee), Demos Kratos (Marilo Nûnez), cas9 (Cockett), Women and Servants (Lope de Vega) and lady in the red dress (David Yee). He has also facilitated and dramaturged over 60 student-led fourth year devised productions, presented annually in the department’s Honours Performance Series. Current research projects include: Agile Filmmaking, a community project that applies devised theatre techniques to the creation of fictional video content arising from the lived experience of community participants; and Engendering the Stage, a Performance as Research project that investigates the performance of gender on the stages of early modern Europe and the impact of that research on directing and casting practices today. Cockett continues to work as a professional actor when schedules allow, recent credits include: Frankie Drake Mysteries, American Gods, Private Eyes, and Murdoch Mysteries. Past and ongoing research on Performance as Research in Early Modern theatre history and digital publication: Performing the Queen’s Men (SHRRC-funded) Queen’s Men Editions (SHRRC-funded), and Linked Early Modern Drama Online (SHRRC-funded).
