Michael Lewis MacLennan (born June 5, 1968) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

playwright, television writer and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

, best known as a writer and producer of television series such as '' Queer as Folk'' and ''

Bomb Girls ''Bomb Girls'' is a Canadian television drama that debuted on January 4, 2012, on Global and Univision Canada in Spanish. The plot profiles the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II, beginning in 1941. ...

''. As a playwright he is a two-time nominee for the

Governor General's Award for English-language drama The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided. Because the awar ...

, and the only playwright to win the

Herman Voaden Playwriting Competition The Herman Voaden Playwriting Competition is a biennial literary award, presented by Queen's University at Kingston, Queen's University to plays by Canadian playwrights."Workshops focus on two winning plays". ''Kingston Whig-Standard'', August 16, ...

twice.

Career

Born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, MacLennan began his career as a stage actor. In his first theatre role at age 13, he was cast to play a woman, and later in his career he produced a short performance piece about his fear at the time that his parents would see the play and realize that he was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. He moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1986 to study English at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

."Musing on a Queer Career". ''

Victoria Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily C ...

'', July 2, 2003. His first full-length play, ''Beat the Sunset'', premiered at the Victoria Fringe Festival in 1993. It was later staged in Vancouver in 1995, winning MacLennan a Jessie Award for outstanding emerging playwright and the Theatrum National Playwriting Competition."Cruise-ship boors inspire playwright". ''

'', February 22, 1995. His second play, ''Leaning Over Railings'', premiered in 1995. His 1996 ''Grace'' won the Theatre BC National Playwriting Competition, and has been produced across Canada and internationally. During this era, he also wrote a number of short one-act plays, including ''Wake No Clocks'' and ''Come On!''. He then began to study screenwriting at the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...

, although he continued to write plays during this time. He won the Herman Voaden Playwrighting Competition in 1998 for his play ''The Shooting Stage'', and in 2001 for ''Last Romantics''. Both plays were later nominated for the Governor General's Award for English drama, ''The Shooting Stage'' at the 2002 Governor General's Awards and ''Last Romantics'' at the 2003 Governor General's Awards. He began his television career as writer and story editor for

Sullivan Entertainment Kevin Roderick Sullivan (born c. 1955) is a Canadian writer, director and producer of film and television programs. Kevin Sullivan is best known for detailed period movies such as the ''Anne of Green Gables'' series of films, his movie adaptati ...

's television series ''

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 ...

'', '' Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series'' and '' Super Rupert''. He then became a writer and co-executive producer on ''Queer as Folk'', writing 14 episodes over four seasons. Concurrently with the final season of ''Queer as Folk'', he co-created and produced the Citytv dramedy series ''

Godiva's ''Godiva's'' is a Canadian television comedy-drama series created by Michael MacLennan with Julia Keatley of Keatley Entertainment. It debuted on Bravo! and Citytv in 2005 and was celebrated for its intelligent, fast-paced depiction of young C ...

'' in 2005. In 2006, he created a theatrical adaptation of

Douglas Coupland Douglas Coupland (born 30 December 1961) is a Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller '' Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'', popularized the terms ''Generation X'' and ''McJ ...

's novel '' Life After God'', resulting in Coupland inviting him to write and coproduce the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

adaptation of Coupland's novel '' jPod''. He was cocreator and executive producer of ''

'', which premiered in 2011."'Making pies to making bombs'; Drama looks at lives of women during wartime". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', December 29, 2011. His other credits as a writer and producer have included ''

The Guard The Guard may refer to: * ''The Guard'' (TV series), a Canadian drama series portraying about the Canadian Coast Guard * ''The Guard'' (1990 film), a 1990 Soviet film about a soldier who kills his entire unit * ''The Guard'' (2001 film), a 2001 ...

'', ''

Being Erica ''Being Erica'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC from January 5, 2009, to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as ''The Session'', but was later retitled ''Bein ...

'', '' Flashpoint'', '' Bitten'' and '' The Fosters''.

Plays

*''Beat the Sunset'' () *''Grace'' *''The Shooting Stage'' () *''Last Romantics'' () *''Life After God''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclennan, Michael 1968 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male screenwriters Canadian gay writers Canadian LGBT screenwriters Writers from Vancouver Canadian television writers Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights LGBT producers Canadian television producers University of Victoria alumni Canadian Film Centre alumni 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male television writers Gay screenwriters Gay dramatists and playwrights