John is a freelance Stage Manager and LX Designer newly based in London, England. He is from Nova Scotia, Canada and studied at Grenfell Campus of Memorial University in Newfoundland for 4 years. He then moved to Toronto in 2015 and worked for a number of independent theatre companies as a stage manager, lighting designer, and other roles as needed. He also worked at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre as the assistant box office and front of house manager.
Some of his recent credits include: Stage Manager + Technician for Ismailova Theatre of Dance, Production Manager for the multi Dora nominated Tough Jews by Storefront Theatre, and Stage Manager & LX Designer for Dear Uncle Wish and Happy Family (Toronto Fringe Festival.)
A bit more about me …
My name is John C J Murphy and I grew up in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. As a kid I fell in love with theatre after seeing shows which my father took me to see. The only way to see theatre in my community was to drive two hours to go to Halifax, which was tragic for a theatre kid like myself. We made the trip only once a year as it was expensive. Right away I was fascinated by how the shows were put together and what was going on behind the scenes. I wanted to know more about it. Over the course of high school the community put on a couple of plays and I took advantage of the opportunities as much as I could but they were few and far between.
After high school I went to the Grenfell Campus of Memorial University in Newfoundland and studied stagecraft. I was finally in a community who loved theatre as much as I did and I was allowed to explore and dive right in. During my program I got to work with some great people who taught me a lot. I worked with Linda Moore, Vickie Marston, Jerry Etienne, Michael Waller, Susan Jennings, and many others who taught me in all aspects of technical theatre. I got to assistant lighting design, be head of props, choreograph, stage manage, and edit sound. I also studied dance for four years at Dance Studio West and starred in productions with the local community theatres. As a part of my program I got to direct my own show which I titled Just Dance. And thanks to Grenfell I got to study in London, England for two months.
After graduating I moved to Toronto to live and work for four years. In Toronto I started working with independent theatre companies doing stage management, lighting & sound design, and other jobs as needed. I worked with companies like Storefront Theatre, The Toronto Fringe Festival, and Education Arts Canada. I was also the Assistant Box Office and Front of House Manager at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Working at Buddies let me make a lot of connections with Toronto theatre makers and taught me a lot about the administrative side of theatre.
After four years I decided I wanted to explore some more and take a chance so I moved to the UK! In England I hope to make more connections and further develop my skill set.
To contact me you can email me at john_murphy13@hotmail.com or call/text me at 17096383913.
John C J Murphy 