A woman with blonde hair, tied back. She wears makeup and earrings. She also wears a collared denim shirt.

Denise Clarke
playwright, director

Denise Clarke is a choreographer/theatre artist working in Calgary and is the Associate Artist and a permanent member of the One Yellow Rabbit (OYR) Theatre Ensemble where several of her plays have been produced. From 1997-2019 Clarke was the Director of the OYR Summer Lab Intensive. Today she directs the Beautiful Young Artists program which provides training and mentoring while introducing emerging local artists to the OYR stage.

Clarke also works as a free-lance choreographer and director. She has choreographed for Theatre Calgary, Citadel Theatre, the Canadian Opera Company, Shaw Festival ,and Canadian Stage and directed several productions outside of her OYR work. 

Clarke is the recipient of numerous awards including the Lieutenant Governor General Distinguished Artist Award and The Calgary Mayor’s Distinguished Artist Award. She was appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada and also recognized by the University of Calgary with an Honorary Doctorate. In 2018 Denise wrote and launched The Big Secret Book, An Intense Guide To Creating Performance Theatre.

For Peggy Baker Dance Projects: Denise was commissioned by Peggy to write and direct Radio Play.