Ethan Ryckman is a talented and versatile young Canadian director, known for his strange and thought provoking work both on stage and screen. With over five years experience directing, he’s established himself as a creative force, distinguished by his ability to infuse quick, smart, emotional storytelling with nuance and social commentary. Background: Ethan began his journey in the entertainment industry almost a decade ago, initially working as an actor before expanding the scope of his work. He discovered his passion for storytelling early on and developed his craft alongside some of the best young artists of our generation. He studied scene work under Melee Hutton and Ben Ratner, classical text with David Matheson, script work with Rosamund Small, and Improv at Second City, to list a few, before eventually breaking into the world of directing through the Toronto Fringe Festival with the premiere of his play, Wanda.

For the first half of his career his primary focus was on performance, during which time he was able to explore a wide range of artistry and style. He starred as Jay in the second run of Mark Crawford’s, Stag and Doe, Ebeneizer Scrooge in the LOT’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, and most recently as Malvolio in Twelfth Night, with Shakespeare in the park. Although, his favourite role to date would be that of Captain Drakken, in Pirate Life TO’s childrens show. Throughout his directorial career, Ethan has been fortunate to head projects for a number of festivals and forums, including: The Paprika Festival, The Erindale Beck Festival, The One Night Only Festival and The Toronto Fringe.