JOHN LAZARUS
Playwright: Trouble on Dibble Street
Besides being Prescott’s 200th birthday, 2010 also marks John’s 40th year as a professional playwright. His plays have been produced in most ofCanada’s major theaters, and in New York, London, Berlin, Venice, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, and elsewhere. Dreaming and Duelling was the first Canadian play produced by the Shaw Festival, and Babel Rap was for many years the most frequently produced play written in Canada. John’s children’s plays Not So Dumb and Night Light have won Jesse Richardson awards, Dreaming and Duelling has won a Chalmers Award, The Nightingale has won the World Gold Medal for Children’s Broadcasting, the radio version of Village of Idiots has won a Writers Guild Top Ten Award, and the National Film Board cartoon version has won numerous awards including the prestigious Fripesci Award at the Montreal Film Festival. Village of Idiots, Rough Magic and Meltdown have all been directed by Craig Walker for Theatre Kingston. John’s newest play, Old Enough to Kill, will be produced by Gnu Ground in Kingston next spring. John has taught at Studio 58, the Vancouver Film School, and the National Theatre School, and is currently an Associate Professor in the Drama Department at Queen’s University. He is thrilled to be working with old friends and new at this delightful festival, having been a loyal fan since the first season. John is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.
John lives in Kingston with his wife Lin. He has two daughters and three granddaughters in Vancouver.
Click here to watch an interview with John Lazarus