The coaching studio of Danielle Irvine

Argument, performance & persuasion.

“More matter, with less art.” — Hamlet, Act II

Whether you're closing to a jury, taping for a series, or opening a season — the work is the same: say what matters, and make the room believe it. Coached one-on-one, online or in person, by one of Canada's most decorated directors.

Book a complimentary consultation See the coaching
Three rooms, one method

Every profession has a stage. Learn to hold yours.

Tiered pricing, deliberately: professional rates for professional stakes, artist rates for the community. All sessions available online or in person in St. John's, NL. Prices in CAD.

I

The Advocate's Studio

For lawyers & leaders

Rhetorical argument taught through Shakespeare — the texts trial advocacy was built on. Structure, presence, examination as scene work, and delivery under pressure. Danielle has taught argument to some of the country's top lawyers.

  • Discovery consultation (30 min)Free
  • Single intensive (90 min)$675
  • The Closing Argument — 5-session program$2,950
  • Firm workshop (half / full day)$3,500 / $6,000
  • Keynote or conference sessionfrom $4,000
II

The Audition Room

For actors — stage & screen

Prepare with a coach who worked in casting for over a decade — Frontier, Hudson & Rex, Republic of Doyle, Maudie. She knows exactly what the other side of the table is looking for, because she's sat there.

  • Audition prep session (55 min)$135
  • Self-tape review (48-hr turnaround)$75
  • Booking Ready — 4 sessions + a month of tape notes$495
  • Theatre-school prep — 3 sessions$375
III

The Rehearsal Hall

For theatre-makers

Acting, directing, and producing — with a founder of two theatre companies, a Stratford Birmingham Conservatory alumna, and eighteen years of university teaching. Mentorship for the artists building what's next.

  • Artist session (60 min)$110
  • Emerging artist / student rate$85
  • Director's mentorship (monthly)$295/mo
  • Company intensivefrom $1,200/day
Danielle Irvine, theatre director and coach, smiling in a rehearsal space
The coach

Danielle Irvine

For more than thirty years, Danielle Irvine has directed theatre of every size in every kind of venue — including a landmark production that ended 650 feet underground in a Bell Island mine. She has directed for the Stratford Festival's Birmingham Conservatory, led the National Theatre School of Canada's Shakespeare Project, taught at Memorial University for eighteen years, and studied with Peter Brook, Yoshi Oida, and Polly Teale.

Her casting credits span the best-known television made in this country. Since 2014 she has been Artistic Producer of Perchance Theatre, Newfoundland's open-air classical stage.

John Hirsch Prize for DirectingCanada Council for the Arts
King Charles III Coronation MedalHonouree
ArtsNL BMO Artist of the Year2016
Canadian Screen Award nomineeExcellence in Casting — Frontier
ArtsNL Artist's Achievement Award2019
Artistic Producer, Perchance Theatre2014 – present
Group programs

Learn in the room.

Live, small, and taught in real time — online or in St. John's. Self-paced editions will follow; the rooms come first. Join the list for founding pricing.

Flagship · For advocates · CPD-friendly

Rhetoric for the Modern Advocate — The Cohort

Six weeks, live: a weekly 90-minute seminar on classical argument through Shakespeare — half teaching, half workshop, with every participant directed personally. Sixteen seats.

$1,250 live cohort · join the list
For actors

The Self-Tape Room

A small-group intensive — three hours, eight actors. Bring a tape; leave with what casting actually sees, from the casting side of Frontier and Hudson & Rex.

$95 live · cap of 8
For theatre-makers

Making Theatre Happen

A one-day producing intensive, idea to opening night: budgets, grants, rights, and company-building — from a founder of Shakespeare by the Sea and Sweetline Theatre.

$249 live · one day
In their words

What the room says.

“Testimonial to come — a line from one of the lawyers Danielle has taught belongs here.”
— Partner, [Law Firm]
“Testimonial to come — a working actor Danielle has coached or cast belongs here.”
Danielle Irvine in the sunshine outside a St. John's row house
Begin

The consultation is free.
The difference isn't subtle.

Tell Danielle what you're preparing for — a trial, a tape, a season, a speech — and she'll tell you honestly whether she can help.

danielle@morematter.ca Book online

Online worldwide · In person in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador · Prices in CAD