Layne Coleman is a Canadian actor, playwright and theatre director, most noted as a former

artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...

director of

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Gar ...

. Originally from

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

, he first became prominent as a cofounder and artistic director of the 25th Street Theatre in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

in the 1980s."Coleman, Layne"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', June 22, 2015. He briefly stepped in as interim artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille in 1991 following the departure of Brian Richmond, holding the role for about a year before he was succeeded by Susan Serran in early 1992; he stepped in again as interim artistic director in 1997 after Serran left, and was named the permanent artistic director the following year. Coleman established an early success when Michael Healey's ''

The Drawer Boy ''The Drawer Boy'' is a play by Michael Healey. It is a two-act play set in 1972 on a farm near Clinton, Ontario. There are only three characters: the farm's two owners, Morgan and Angus, and Miles Potter, a young actor from Toronto doing resea ...

'', the first play he booked for the theatre, went on to become one of the most critically and commercially popular Canadian plays of the decade. Coleman held the role with Theatre Passe Muraille until 2007. In addition to 25th Street Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille, he has also directed plays for

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would e ...

Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

and the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

Acting

Coleman’s stage roles as an actor have included productions of ''

Lips Together, Teeth Apart ''Lips Together, Teeth Apart'' is a play by American playwright Terrence McNally. The play, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1991, concerns two straight couples who spend a weekend in a gay community. Plot A gay community in Fire Island provides a ...

'' and '' Oleanna'' at

, ''The Life and Times of Mackenzie King'', ''Inquest'', ''Adult Entertainment'', ''The End of Civilization'' and '' Escape from Happiness'' at

, ''

The Ecstasy of Rita Joe ''The Ecstasy of Rita Joe'' is a drama by George Ryga. The play, in two acts, premiered at the Vancouver Playhouse, November 23, 1967. It was directed by George Bloomfield. The play has an important place in the history of modern Canadian theat ...

'' for the Western Canada Theatre Company, ''Goodness'' for Volcano Theatre and ''Heaven Above, Heaven Below'' with Theatre Passe Muraille. He has also had supporting or guest roles in the television films ''

War Brides War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II. Among the largest and best documented examp ...

'',Ned Powers, "25th Street director stars in CBC drama". ''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'', September 19, 1980. ''Ready for Slaughter'', ''Best of Both Worlds'', ''A Matter of Sex'', '' The Marriage Bed'', ''

Glory! Glory! ''Glory! Glory!'' is a 1989 televangelism comedy film directed by Lindsay Anderson and starring Ellen Greene that originally aired on HBO in two parts. Plot A radio preacher's operation is controlled by his honest but bland son. When the preach ...

'' and ''

Giant Mine The Giant Mine was a gold mine located on the Ingraham Trail, north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Giant Mine was within the Kam Group, a part of the Yellowknife greenstone belt. Gold was discovered on the property and mineral claims ...

'', the television series ''Harvest'', ''

Night Heat ''Night Heat'' is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. ''Night Heat'' was the first Canadian original drama series that was also ...

'', '' Street Legal'', '' E.N.G.'', ''

Wind at My Back ''Wind at My Back'' is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of ''Anne of Green Gables'' and ''Road to Avonlea''. The ser ...

'' and '' This Is Wonderland'', and the theatrical films '' Humongous'' and '' Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe''.

Writing

As a playwright, his plays have included ''Blue City Slammers'', ''Tijuana Cure''Robert Crew, "Layne's play sadly misses Carole". ''

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 pa ...

'', March 13, 2009. and ''Highway 63''. Coleman cowrote the screenplays for the film adaptation of ''

Blue City Slammers ''Blue City Slammers'' is a 1987 Canadian drama film directed by Peter Shatalow."Blue City hits a bland slam". ''Toronto Star'', April 29, 1988. Based on the theatrical play by Layne Coleman, the film centres on the personal and sport lives of th ...

'' (1987)"Blue City hits a bland slam". ''

'', April 29, 1988. and '' The Shape of Rex'' (2013), with the latter film serving as his own directorial debut.

Awards

He received several Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations for his performances in ''The Al Cornell Story'', ''Public Lies'', ''As I Lay Dying'' and ''The Walls of Africa''. He has won two honorary Doras, including the George Luscombe Award for mentorship in 2005 and the Silver Ticket for outstanding contributions to the development of Canadian theatre.Richard Ouzonian, "Write-in vote for Evil Dead Dora upset; Musical is favourite of city's audiences though it wasn't one of the jurors' picks". ''

'', June 26, 2007.

Personal life

He was married to writer Carole Corbeil;"A very personal family drama"
''

'', October 4, 2008. his theatrical play ''Tijuana Cure'' is about her treatment for and death of cancer. Their daughter,

Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and actress. Her 2008 play, ''Scratch'', was nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2009, was a prizewinner in the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competitio ...

, is an actor and playwright.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Layne 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian male screenwriters Canadian theatre directors Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Male actors from Saskatchewan Film directors from Saskatchewan Writers from Saskatchewan People from North Battleford Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian artistic directors