Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Dixon, Sean
Playwright, novelist, actor, banjoist, graduated in 1988 from the National Theatre School of Canada, Montreal. In 1989 he was co-founder of Primus Theatre, Winnipeg. He has also been playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre.
His plays include: Dog Day (collective), Primus Theatre, 1989, directed by Richard Fowler; Falling Back Home, Exploded Satellite, Toronto 1990, directed by Greg Spottiswood; Alkoremmi (collective), Primus Theatre, 1991, directed by Richard Fowler; Six (writers' collective), Crow's Theatre, Toronto, directed by Denise Clarke; The End of the World Romance, Blyth Festival, directed by Greg Spottiswood; 1492, Theatre Columbus, Toronto 1992, directed by Leah Cherniak (Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee 1992, Best New Play); The Night Room (collective), Primus Theatre, 1993, directed by Richard Fowler; District of Centuries, Invisible City, Toronto 1995, directed by Peter Hinton (Chalmers Award nominee 1995); The Painting, Invisible City, 1995, directed by Tanja Jacobs; Falling Back Home, revised; Sam's Last Dance, Theatre Smith-Gilmour, Toronto, 1997, directed by Jim Warren; The Convict Lover (collective), Theatre Passe Muraille, 1998, directed by Layne Coleman; Billy Nothin' Skam, Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festivals 1999, directed by Amiel Gladstone (People's Choice Award - outstanding playwright, Vancouver Fringe 1999); The Finance Minister's Mother, Factory Theatre October Works Fest 1999, directed by Sue Miner; Love, the Flower, Under the Gun, Vancouver 1999, directed by Amiel Gladstone; The Courtship, Brief New Works, Calgary 2000, directed by Vanessa Porteous; Death of the Hired Man (collective), Blyth 2000, directed by Paul Thompson; Aerwacol, Skam, Victoria, Toronto, Vancouver 2000, directed by Ami Gladstone; The Epic Period, Factory Theatre, 2001, directed by Brian Quirt; The Outdoor Donnellys (collective), Blyth 2001, directed by Paul Thompson.
In 1997 Falling Back Home, directed by Brian Quirt for Artrage, was produced in Perth Australia.
More recently, A God in Need of Help, an imaginative story of the transportation of an altarpiece from Venice across the Alps, was produced at Tarragon (dir. Richard Rose). It was nominated for a Governor General’s Award. The Orange Dot premiered at Theatrefront in 2017 (dir. Vikki Anderson). Two city workers waiting for equipment to arrive so they can cut down a large tree blighted with termites talk, flirt, google with their smart phones, and argue, until their relationship turns into a gender war.
His radio plays The Running Woman, CBC radio out front, 2000; and The Golden Louis, CBC Radio Drama, were both directed by Sally Han.
Published works include: Aerwacol (greenboathouse books); AWOL: Three Plays for Theatre SKAM (Coach House Books); A God In Need of Help (Coach House Books); The Wilberforce Hotel (Scirocco); Jumbo (Scirocco); Orphan Song (Scirocco); five novels and a children’s picture book.
Last updated 2023-04-13
Since October 2002, Athabasca University has hosted the web site, with an editorial board of theatre scholars from across Canada.
To submit an entry, please consult the guidelines for submissions.
Email your submission to: Anne Nothof, Professor Emerita, Athabasca University.
The Encyclopedia collects and disseminates information on plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners. It does not respond to requests for information, auditions, bookings, or tickets.
The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.
