Leah-Simone Bowen is a Canadian writer, producer, and director.

Personal life

Bowen was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. She is a first generation Canadian whose family is from Barbados. Bowen currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Work and education

Bowen attended the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

's theatre program. She was the artistic producer at

Obsidian Theatre Obsidian Theatre Company is a Canadian professional theatre company that specializes in works by Black Canadian artists. The company is located in Toronto, Ontario. The declared mandate of the company is a threefold mission: to produce plays, to ...

. In 2016 Bowen was appointed as the theatre grants officer for the Toronto Arts Council. In 2018 Bowen's book ''The Flood'' was published by

Playwrights Canada Press Playwrights Canada Press is a Canadian publishing house founded in 1984 by the Playwrights Guild of Canada. It was incorporated in 2000 as an independent company. Notable books *''The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God'', Djanet Sears ( ...

. The book is based on the history of the

St. Lawrence Market St. Lawrence Market is a major public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The public market is made up of two sites adjacent to one an ...

in Toronto, Ontario and the history of female prisoners in Canada.

Theatre

Bowen has served as playwirght-in-residence at a number of Canadian theatre companies including: the Blyth Festival,

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, Cahotts Theatre, Playwright's Workshop Montreal and Obsidian Theatre. She has been involved in a number of theatre productions including: * ''Treemonisha'' (2020), playwright * ''The Hallway'' (2015), playwright. * ''Nowheresville'' * ''Code Word: Time,'' playwright * ''The Postman'' (2015)'','' playwright. * ''The Hours That Remain'' (2012), assistant director. * ''Job's Wife'', Summerworks Festival (2009), Third Eye.

Podcasting

Bowen is the creator of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

podcast, ''Secret Life of Canada,'' which she co-hosts with

Falen Johnson Falen Johnson is a Mohawk and Tuscarora playwright and broadcaster from Canada. Personal life Born in 1982, Johnson is from Six Nations of the Grand River and graduated from the George Brown Theatre School in 2005. She is a member of the bear c ...

. This podcast focuses on little known parts of Canadian history and explores the histories of marginalized communities in Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Leah-Simone Living people 21st-century Canadian women artists University of Alberta alumni Year of birth missing (living people)