Joe Norman Shaw was born in Anderson, Indiana, in 1957 to Norman and Mary Shaw. In 1966 he moved to Elgin, Illinois, and began acting at Kimball Jr. High School. In 1972 the family moved to the east end of Toronto (Scarborough), where Joe continued to act in plays, perform dramatic monologues and was active on the wrestling team at West Hill Collegiate Institute. After graduating from the Drama Department, University of Guelph, in 1981, Joe moved back to Toronto to pursue his career. His early work was in the theater and included an apprenticeship at The Shaw Festival (1985)and two seasons with the Stratford Festival ('87-'90). While in Toronto Joe appeared in numerous productions of new plays on the edgier side. In 1991 he moved to Vancouver, where he began to work more extensively in film and TV, and began to teach acting and directing for the stage. His directorial debut was "The Zoo Story" for the Vancouver Fringe. In 1994 he moved to Calgary, where he continues to work as an actor on stage and in film and TV projects, primarily shot in Alberta. He is also co-director of Company of Rogues Actors Studio and Artistic Director of Rogues Theatre. Recently he completed his MFA in Directing at the University of Calgary, where he often offers his services as an instructor, as well as for the Department of Theatre at Mount Royal College.
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