Michel Marc Bouchard, (born February 2, 1958) is a Canadian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. He has received the Prix Journal de Montreal, Prix du Cercle des critiques de l'Outaouais, 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 to present experiences o ...

, 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 ...

, and nine

Jessie Richardson Theatre Award The Jessie Richardson Theatre Award (commonly known as the Jessie Awards) is given to recognize achievement in professional theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Jessies are presented by the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society, at an annu ...

s for the

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 cit ...

productions of ''Lilies'' and ''The Orphan Muses''.

Early life

Born in Saint-Cœur-de-Marie,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, he studied theatre the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

Career

Bouchard made his professional playwriting debut in 1983 and since then has written more than 25 plays, including ''The Coronation Voyage (Le voyage du Couronnement)'', ''Down Dangerous Passes Road (Le chemin des Passes-dangereuses)'', and ''Written on Water (Les manuscrits du déluge)''. In 1993, Bouchard and his theatre company Les deux mondes were awarded the National Arts Centre Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. His best-known work, the play ''

Lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

'', was produced as the movie ''

'' by

John Greyson John Greyson (born March 13, 1960) is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and Activism, political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely affiliated group of filmmakers to ...

; the film won a Genie Award in 1996. Bouchard's play ''The Orphan Muses (Les Muses orphelines)'', was adapted as a film in 2000 by

Robert Favreau Robert Favreau (born July 9, 1948) is a Canadians, Canadian film director and film editor. His film ''Les muses orphelines'' earned him Genie Award and Jutra Award nominations for Best Director. His follow-up feature, ''A Sunday in Kigali, Un ...

. His play ''The Madonna Painter'' (''Le Peintre des madones'') has been translated into English and in 2010 was being performed in Canadian venues and receiving favorable reviews. It premiered in Toronto at the Factory Theatre, November 19, 2009. Bouchard's play ''Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme)'' premiered at the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui in 2011. The play was adapted as a film in 2013 by

Xavier Dolan Xavier Dolan-Tadros (; born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian filmmaker and actor. He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films. He first received international acclaim in 2009 for his feature ...

. In 2012, Bouchard was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. In 2021 he was named the recipient of Quebec's

Prix Athanase-David The Prix Athanase-David is a literary award presented annually by the government of Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares b ...

for lifetime achievement in literature. His 2019 play ''La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s'est réveillé'' was adapted for television by Xavier Dolan as ''

The Night Logan Woke Up ''The Night Logan Woke Up'' () is a Canadian thriller drama limited television series created, written and directed by Xavier Dolan.T'Cha Dunlevy"Xavier Dolan reawakens fans' interest with first series". ''Montreal Gazette'', December 2, 2022. Ad ...

''. Bouchard has also written the libretti for three operas. *''Les Feluettes'' is based on his play of the same name (''

'' in English). The music was composed by Kevin March, and the opera was a co-commission and co-production of

Opéra de Montréal LOpéra de Montréal () is an opera company in Montreal, Canada. It performs at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980 as a company focused on productions in French. Hi ...

and

Pacific Opera Victoria Pacific Opera Victoria is a professional Canadian opera company in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia. It designs, builds, and stages original opera productions at the Royal Theatre (Victoria, British Columbia), Royal Theatre wit ...

. The world première production was presented in Montreal in May 2016 and in Victoria in April 2017. *''La beauté du monde'', produced by Opéra de Montréal, with music by Julien Bilodeau, premièred in November 2022. *''La Reine-garçon'', based on Bouchard’s 2012 play ''Christine, la reine-garçon'', was co-commissioned and co-produced by Opéra de Montréal and the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

, with music composed by Julien Bilodeau. It was staged in Montreal in February 2024 and in Toronto a year later. In 2023 he was named the recipient of the Blue Metropolis Violet Prize for LGBTQ writers. ''

We'll Find Happiness ''We'll Find Happiness'' () is a Canadian drama film, directed by Léa Pool and slated for release in 2025. The film stars Mehdi Meskar as Saad, a gay man from Morocco who has come to Canada as a refugee; when his Iranian boyfriend (Aron Archer) f ...

(On sera heureux)'', Bouchard's first original screenplay not adapted from one of his own theatrical plays, went into production in 2024 under the direction of

Léa Pool Léa Pool C.M. (born 8 September 1950) is a Canadian and Swiss filmmaker. She has directed several documentaries and feature films, many of which have won significant awards including the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, and she was the first wom ...

,Charles-Henri Ramond
"Léa Pool tourne L’habit du héros"
''Films du Québec'', July 30, 2024. and is slated for release in 2025.

Notes

External links

Michel Marc Bouchard

Fonds Michel Marc Bouchard (R14198)
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

*(in Ukrainian
Том на фермі
K.
Видавництво Анетти Антоненко
2017 *(in Ukrainian
ХРИСТИНА, дівчина-король
K.
Видавництво Анетти Антоненко
2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Michel Marc 1958 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Canadian gay writers Writers from Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Gay dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people Governor General's Award winners Prix Athanase-David winners 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male screenwriters Canadian LGBTQ screenwriters