Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Fielden, Charlotte
Playwright, author, actor, born in Toronto, Ontario June 5, 1932, and currently resident there.
Charlotte Fielden began her theatrical training at the age of seven, and received her ARCT (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) in theatre arts in 1955. During her four years at the University of Toronto, she played leading roles at Hart House Theatre under the direction of Robert Gill, and the title role in Miss Julie under the direction of Leon Major. She also played Jessica in The Merchant of Venice at the Stratford Festival under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie. There she met the mime Marcel Marceau and went to Paris where she attended his School of Mime. On her return to Canada, she settled in Montreal, raised a family, and continued to work as a mime and actor, including the role of Susie the Mouse in CBC-TV’s Chez Hélène.
She has conducted Theatre and Mime Workshops in Toronto elementary Schools; and Mime classes and productions at La Jeunesse Musicale, Orford, Quebec, in the 1970's. She was also founding artistic director of Melanie Theatre in Montreal where she wrote, workshopped, and produced her plays and other new Canadian plays at Centaur Theatre. These include The Honeymoon (1976), and Summer Holidays (translation/ adaptation from Serge Sirois' French original, 1976).
She has written for stage, television, radio, and film. One Crowded Hour, her first published play, performed in both English and French, won the National Playwriting Competition for Women in 1976.
Saving Angel was staged at the University of Toronto, (OISE) in 2006 and enjoyed a staged reading at the Actors' Centre in London, England. She wrote the book and lyrics for the musical, Storyville,with music by Ian McAndrew in 2007.
She is a founding member of both the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Writers Union of Canada.
She is the author of four novels: Crying As She Ran; Palatine Hill (recently adapted for stage as The Matriarchs of Palatine Hill); Messages Like Memories; An Age Without a Name. She has also published a mystery novel, The Wolves of Positano (2010), and two sequels: The Story of Marly Mansion and The Somerset Strangler, as well as Travelling Together, a contemporary fable about a special tree and a woman on a healing journey.
Her short stories are published in the collection A Thin Place (2006); and her poetry in A Fragrance of Thyme (2008) and Beads on a Fragile String (2011). A third poetry collection Beholder was released in 2015.
Last updated 2020-12-03
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