Between getting her degrees at Harvard and Yale, working with the Lead Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, working at the Supreme Court of Canada, and traveling to Zambia to assist on legal cases, one has to wonder how director Tegan Shohet managed to fit her passion for theatre into her numerous ambitious pursuits.

Shohet is directing the Toronto premiere of Frank McGuinness’ play Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, a three-man play that explores the relationship between an American, a Brit, and an Irishman trapped in a hostage situation. In Shohet’s words, the play is about “how they use humour, courage, and their imaginations to cope with a terrible crisis.” Featuring three of Canada’s finest theatre actors, R.H. Thomson, David Ferry, and Ryan Hollyman, Shohet says Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me “isn’t so much about (the characters’) captors, as it is about their journeys, and how reflective they are on their own lives.”

Shohet first became interested in theatre while attending high school in her native Montreal. While pursuing undergraduate studies at Harvard, she directed, produced or acted in well over a dozen productions, including roles in both classical and contemporary dramas.  She also attended summer school at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was a member of Soulpepper’s Training Company in 1999.  Her interest in producing the McGuinness work was the result of seeing the work produced as a university student in the United States. “I saw it in the basement of my res,” she recalls, “and here it was, a bare bones set, but I fell in love with the play.” Shohet was attracted to both “the harrowing subject matter –these men who are in an ultimately awful position, they have no contact with the outside world, they’re lonely and bored” and what she sees as McGuinness’ talent for turning that grimness into “something entertaining and heartbreaking.” The contemporary feel of the 1992 work still resonates too, especially in light of the recent hostage-taking drama in Mumbai, and the kidnapping of CBC journalist Melissa Fung. “I find it frightening,” the 29-year-old director says, “how topical (the play) feels.”

But instead of preaching to audiences, Shohet hopes viewers will come away from Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me with more subtle ideas. “I’m hoping for a couple of things,” she says thoughtfully, “first, appreciating the value and importance of friendship in coping with awful situations. In the current economy, people are coping with tremendous amounts of anxiety. There are various ways people cope with adversity and developing the kinds of friendship that support you, so that if you have a bad day, they can come through for you.” The second thing Shohet thinks audiences will take away from the production is a deeper appreciation of the value of humour in bad times. She calls the characters in the work “wonderfully funny men. Part of how they cope is calling on their sense of humour.” The director relates a story shared with Thompson, Ferry, and Hollyman during rehearsals, and related novelist Horace Walpole’s quip that “the world is a comedy to those that think, and a tragedy to those who feel.” Chuckling at the memory, she says, “we play off those sorts of things” and notes the ways in which the nationalities of each character shapes their respective senses of humour, and their response the other characters’ humour.

“There’s lots of tension between the Irishman and the Englishman,” Shohet explains, “so each has a different sense of humour, and neither finds the other funny. But by the end, they share a laugh together. Over the course of many months in (the timeframe of) the play, they bridge those gaps. Laughter has a way of translating across cultural differences.”

While it’s been her experience to work on shows with a large female cast and crew, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me has given her the chance to work with more men, including three mainstays of the Canadian theatre scene. “I didn’t let myself feel intimidated,” she says, “they’re very good actors, and have been very gracious. I feel lucky they signed on to do it.”

Having honest male feedback has been hugely helpful in the rehearsal process too. “To translate what seems natural or normal for me isn’t normal for them,” she explains, “and it would be a shame to have such extremely talented people here and not rely on their expertise and advice. I’ve tried to be very collaborative, open to any ideas they have. For instance, at certain moments, I’ll say “A touch would be natural here,” but I feel like for guys, that (act) is more loaded. It’s been interesting negotiating that, and staying true to what they feel, and to what is a male experience.”

There’s no denying Shohet’s experience in the world of law prepared her well for working in theatre. “I really wouldn’t have thought about before,” Shohet admits, “but law is very precise. If you pick one word rather than another, if you call something “A” and not “B”, there are real-life consequences for people. It’s forcing me to think precisely: “what does this choice mean, and not that choice?” I wouldn’t have thought that ahead of time. Law is good at focusing your mind, at making conscious, thoughtful decisions. Making one choice over another will make a difference for an audience, and an actor, in terms of interpretation and meaning.”

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December 4 to 13, 2008, Berkeley Street Theatre
Monday to Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m.
Single tickets: $15 - $30, Monday: PWYC
http://www.watchovermeshow.com