Diane Flacks is a Canadian comedic actress, screenwriter and playwright.

Early life and education

Flacks was raised in the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

faith. Her early education took place in Jewish

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s. Flacks studied drama at Leah Posluns Institute in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. At twenty seven years old, she came out as a lesbian.

Career

Flacks began her acting career as a child, in a touring production of ''Cinderella'' where she played both the wicked stepmother and fairy godmother. As an adult, she has worked in Canadian and U.S. television, radio, news, and film before becoming an independent performance artist, playwright, and writer.

Theater

It appears that Flacks started her official career in media with theater. Flacks' early works include three one-woman stage shows that she wrote and performed herself: ''Myth Me'' (1991), ''By a Thread'' (1997), and ''Random Acts'' (1997). She co-created the Chalmers Canadian Play Award-nominated ''Theory of Relatives'' with

Daniel Brooks Daniel Brooks (born 23 June 1958) is a Canadian theatre director, actor and playwright. He is well known in the Toronto theatre scene for his innovative productions and script-writing collaborations. Early life Brooks was born in Toronto, Ontari ...

Leah Cherniak Leah Cherniak (born 1956) is a Canadian playwright, actor, and teacher. She is a co-founder of Theatre Columbus (now called Common Boots). Early life and education Cherniak graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA in 1979. She later s ...

, Richard Greenblatt, Leslie Lester, and Allan Merovit. She wrote ''Gravity Calling'' (1995) directed by Richard Greenblatt, co-wrote ''Sibs'' (2000) with Richard Greenblatt, and wrote ''Waiting Room'' (2015) directed by Richard Greenblatt. In 2000, Flacks performed in ''Smudge'', a play in one act written by

Alex Bulmer Alex Bulmer is a Canadian playwright and theatre artist. Bulmer is the co-founder of the theatre companies SNIFF Inc. and Invisible Flash. She wrote the play ''Smudge'' and was a writer for the 2009 Channel 4 series ''Cast Offs''. Early life and ...

and directed by

Alisa Palmer Alisa Palmer is a Canadian theatre director and playwright. She was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre from 1993 to 2001. Palmer is currently the artistic director of the English section of the National Theatre School of Canada. Early l ...

. In 2009, Flacks wrote and performed in the play based on her book ''Bear With Me'', directed by

Kelly Thornton Kelly Thornton (born 13 April 1997) is an Irish actress who began her career as a child actress. She is best known for her roles as Corrina Mallon in the 2015 RTÉ drama '' Clean Break'' and Emma in the film '' Life's a Breeze'' (2013), which ...

. In 2012, Flacks wrote the award-winning play ''Luba, Simply Luba'' for Ukrainian Canadian comedian

Luba Goy Luba Goy ( uk, Люба Ґой; born November 8, 1945) is a Canadian actress, comedian and one of the stars of ''Royal Canadian Air Farce''. Life and career Goy was born in Haltern, Germany, to Ukrainian parents and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Ca ...

. In 2017, she wrote and performed in ''Unholy'' (2017). Flacks has regularly performed at the

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

and the collective feminist

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

in Toronto. She served twice on the Nightwood Theatre board of directors.

Film

Flacks' best known performance is in the leading role of the lesbian film '' Portrait of a Serial Monogamist'' (2015). Prior to this, Flacks had performed as the main character's guardian angel in the sex comedy ''

Too Much Sex ''Too Much Sex'' is a 2000 Canadian sex comedy film directed by Andrew Ainsworth, produced by the Canadian Film Centre and starring Michael McMurtry, Janet Kidder ( niece of Margot Kidder) and Diane Flacks. Sky Gilbert and Christie MacFadyen ( ...

'' (2000).

Television

In the 1990s Flacks wrote for ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, ...

'' and was twice nominated for an Emmy for her work. Flacks began acting on television in 2001 in the comedy series ''The Broad Side''. She has co-written and starred in numerous television series since then, including '' P.R.'', ''

Behind the Scenes In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vi ...

'' and '' Listen Missy''. In 2016, Flacks wrote six episodes for the ''

Baroness Von Sketch Show ''Baroness von Sketch Show'' is a Canadian television sketch comedy series. It debuted on CBC Television on June 14, 2016. Produced by Frantic Films, the series is an all-female comedy series starring Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Bro ...

.'' She has also acted in episodes of ''

Walter Ego ''Walter Ego'' was a Canadian television sitcom pilot, which aired on CBC Television on January 3, 2005. The show starred Peter Keleghan as cartoonist Walter Davis, whose friends and family often provide fodder for his successful comic strip. T ...

'' and ''

Moose TV ''Moose TV'' is a Canadian television sitcom, airing on Showcase in the 2007-2008 television season. The series stars Adam Beach as George Keeshig, a Cree from the fictional community of Moose in northern Quebec, who returns home after a decade ...

''.

Writing

In 2005, MacMillan Stewart published Flacks' first book ''Bear With Me'', about Flacks' personal experience with pregnancy and new motherhood. In 2007, Flacks became a featured columnist with the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

.''

Radio

Flacks is a regular contributor for the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

show ''

Definitely Not the Opera ''Definitely Not the Opera'' (or simply ''DNTO'') was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, that aired on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied ove ...

''. For almost eight years she has also worked as a CBC Radio National Parenting columnist.

Recurring themes

In her own works, Flacks explores themes of Jewish identity, the relationship between women and religion, lesbian relationships, pregnancy, serious medical issues, and motherhood.

Awards and honors

*1994-1995 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program for the television show ''The'' ''Kids in the Hall'' *2014

Kobzar Literary Award KOBZAR Book Award is a biennial literary award that "recognizes outstanding contributions to Canadian literary arts by authors who develop a Ukrainian Canadian theme with literary merit". The prize is . It is awarded in one of several genres: liter ...

in collaboration with Andrey Tarasiuk and

for the play '' Luba, Simply Luba''

Personal life

Flacks was married to Janis Purdy and is now divorced. They have two children. Her older son received a Jewish education.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flacks, Diane Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian screenwriters Jewish Canadian writers Jewish Canadian actresses Canadian lesbian actresses Canadian lesbian writers Lesbian comedians LGBT Jews Canadian women comedians Canadian women screenwriters People from Lachine, Quebec Actresses from Montreal Comedians from Montreal Writers from Montreal LGBT dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century LGBT people