Vern Thiessen (born c. 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

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 ...

. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Thiessen studied at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. He later 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, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, where he obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree. Thiessen previously lived in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and was formerly a drama instructor at the University of Alberta. He is a past president of both the

Playwrights Guild of Canada Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) is a Canadian charity that works to advance the creative rights and interests of professional Canadian playwrights; promote Canadian plays, and foster community of writers. It was founded in 1972. History PGC has ...

and the Writers' Guild of Alberta. Thiessen is the recipient of numerous awards, including 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 awa ...

(''Einstein's Gift''), the

Carol Bolt Award The Carol Bolt Award is an annual Canadian literary award. Presented by the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the award is bestowed for a theatrical play premiere by a PGC member, judged to be the year's best. The award is named in memory of Canadian pl ...

for Best Play (''Vimy'') and the Sterling Award for Outstanding New Play (''Apple''). He has also received the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award and the Alumni Award of Excellence from the University of Alberta. He has been nominated several times for other awards including 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 to recipients. Anyone may nominate a qualified candidate for the Prize, and winners ...

, and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for ''Lenin's Embalmers''. Thiessen's work has been translated into several languages including German, French, Polish and Hebrew. His plays are performed regularly in Canada, the United States, the UK and Europe. He has also been produced in Australia and Asia. ''Shakespeare's Will'' has been produced twice at Canada's

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates 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 Shak ...

. ''Lenin's Embalmers'', ''A More Perfect Union'' and ''Einstein's Gift'' have been produced Off-Broadway. Thiessen has served as playwright in residence at the Citadel Theatre and Workshop West Theatre in Edmonton. He is currently an associate artist at Epic Theatre Ensemble. He is also project associate for the New Play Frontiers program at People's Light at Theatre in Malvern, PA. Thiessen is currently at work on several commissions for the

Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The E ...

(New York),

Touchstone Theatre Touchstone Theatre is a professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1976 by a group of University of British Columbia theatre graduates. Touchstone's focus is on the development and production of work by Canad ...

/Patrick Street (Vancouver),

Soulpepper Theatre Company Soulpepper is a theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario.Keith Garebian"Soulpepper Theatre" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', November 4, 2010. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatri ...

(Toronto) and Epic Theatre Ensemble (New York.) His plays are 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 ( ...

. From 2007 until 2014 he lived in New York City. He is married to novelist Susie Moloney. Vern served as artistic director of Work Shop West Theatre in Edmonton beginning in 2014. In 2014 he won 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 ...

for his theatrical adaptation of

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's novel ''

Of Human Bondage ''Of Human Bondage'' is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The novel is generally agreed to be Maugham's masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although he stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography; though much in it ...

''.

Theatrical works

* 1987: ''The Courier'' * 1990: ''The Resurrection of John Frum'' * 1996: ''Blowfish'' * 2002: ''Apple'' * 2003: ''

Einstein's Gift ''Einstein's Gift'' is a 2003 play written by Canadian playwright Vern Thiessen and published in 2003 by Playwrights Canada Press. Through the recollections of Albert Einstein, the play focuses on the life and career of German chemist Dr. Fritz H ...

'' * 2005: ''

Shakespeare's Will ''Shakespeare's Will'' is a play by Canadian writer Vern Thiessen. It was commissioned by Geoffrey Brumlik, then Artistic Director of the River City Shakespeare Festival in Edmonton as a performance vehicle for Jan Alexandra Smith and premiered ...

'' * 2006: ''Back to Berlin'' *2007: ''Vimy'' *2007: ''Bird Brain'' *2007: ''Rich'' (with composer Olaf Pyttlik) *2009: ''A More Perfect Union'' *2010: ''Lenin's Embalmers'' *2011: ''The Last Tree of Rapa Nui'' (with composer Olaf Pyttlik) *2012: ''Do Not Disturb'' *2014: ''Of Human Bondage'' (adaptation) *2019: ''Pugwash'' *2022: ''Bluebirds'' *2023: ''Icemen''

References

External links

Vern Thiessen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiessen, Vern 1960s births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Winnipeg University of Alberta alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta University of Winnipeg alumni Governor General's Award–winning dramatists 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Dora Mavor Moore Award winners 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian Mennonites Mennonite writers Year of birth missing (living people)