Joan MacLeod (born 1954) 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.Joan MacLeod
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, 2013. She is best known for her award-winning plays of the 1990s, particularly ''Amigo's Blue Guitar'' (1990) and ''The Hope Slide'' (1993). Raised in North Vancouver, MacLeod studied creative writing 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 ...

and the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

. She later joined the playwrights unit 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.

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 anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

."Victoria-based playwright Joan MacLeod wins lucrative Siminovitch Prize"
'' The Western Star'', November 8, 2011. She remained with Tarragon for six years as a 'playwright in residence'. She returned to British Columbia in 1992, where she has taught creative writing at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and Kwantlen College. Since 2004, she has been a professor at the University of Victoria."Playwright Joan MacLeod wins $75K Siminovitch Prize"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

, November 7, 2011.

Awards

She won 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 ...

at the

1991 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1991 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10,000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada."First novel earns top literary honor". ''Windsor Star'', December 4, 1991. The winners were selected by a panel ...

for ''Amigo's Blue Guitar''. She was shortlisted for the same award at the 1995 Governor General's Awards for ''The Hope Slide'' and ''Little Sister'', and at the 2009 Governor General's Awards for ''Another Home Invasion''. She won the

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of $25,000, and wa ...

in 1993 for ''The Hope Slide'', was shortlisted for the

Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in Toronto theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to prese ...

in 1990 for ''Amigo's Blue Guitar'', and won the Jessie Richardson Award and the

Betty Mitchell Award Betty Mitchell Awards were created in 1998 to celebrate and honour outstanding achievement in Calgary's professional theatre community. It is commonly called the Betty Award and is named for Calgary theatre pioneer Dr. Betty Mitchell. Awards The ...

in 2001 for ''The Shape of a Girl''. MacLeod won the

Siminovitch Prize in Theatre The Siminovitch Prize is Canada's largest theatre award recognizing excellence in mid-career directors, playwrights and designers. $100,000 is awarded annually, and for recipients, who are given the public recognition and financial resources, it i ...

in 2011.

Plays

*''Jewel'' (1987) *''Toronto Mississippi'' (1987) *''Amigo's Blue Guitar'' (1990) *''The Hope Slide'' (1992) *''Little Sister (1994) *''2000'' (1996) *''The Shape of a Girl'' (2001) *'' Homechild'' (2006) *''Another Home Invasion'' (2009) *''The Valley'' (2013) *''Gracie'' (2017)

References

External links

Joan MacLeod
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacLeod, Joan 1954 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Governor General's Award-winning dramatists University of British Columbia alumni University of Victoria alumni Academic staff of the University of Victoria Writers from Vancouver