Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Mitchell, W.O.
Writer born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan in 1914, died February 25, 1998; one of our national treasures.
He studied at the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta.
Aside from his many award-winning, critically-acclaimed and beloved works of fiction, he had also been a teacher and writer-in-residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and at several universities.
He had written extensively for the stage, radio and television in many cases adapting his fiction (ie: Jake and the Kid).
He was a Member of the Order of Canada and won the Chalmers Award for Back to Beulah (premiered at Theatre Calgary in 1976, directed by Guy Sprung and subsequently played in theatres across the nation). In 1997, an anonymous donor created an award for writers in his honour.
Mitchell's writing is earthy, sometimes salty, usually hilarious (with a huge dose of ironic, homespun humour) and without pretension. Mitchell was also capable of giving magnificent public readings of his work.
In 2002, an adaptation of his novel Who Has Seen The Wind? by Lee MacDougall was presented at Citadel Theatre .
His other plays include: The Day Jake Made Her Rain ( Alberta Theatre Projects , 1976, Douglas Riske ), The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon (Theatre Calgary, 1981, Rick McNair ), The Kite (Theatre Calgary, 1981, McNair)
(Additional information provided by Peter Neily and Anne Nothof)
Last updated 2009-04-24
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