Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Ishmael, Marvin
Actor, playwright, and director Marvin Ishmael (b. January 8, 1951) graduated from Ryerson Theatre school in 1980 with a BFA. He has an MFA in Fine Arts for directing from York University in Toronto.
Ishmael was the first actor to speak on the stage of Earl Bales Park amphitheatre in Toronto as Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Skylight Theatre). His credits include Othello in Calgary's Shakespeare in the Park, Baal in Baal at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Caliban in The Tempest (Skylight Theatre), Victor Mehta in David Hare's A Map Of The World (Canadian Stage/National Arts Centre), Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol (Young People’s Theatre). He appeared on Broadway in Bombay Dreams as Madan, the only Canadian to play one of the leads.
As a playwright, he has written sixteen plays for adult and youth theatre. Two of his plays were nominated for Dora Mavor Moore Awards: Forever Free and Discovery. My Father My Hero received the Dora Award in 1996/97. He received a Chalmers Award in 1987 for Forever Free, the story of the first Africans in Jamaica and their fight for freedom. His other plays include A Cat and a Dog, a participation play for grades K-3, which was translated into French and performed by Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal: King Of The Hill, a participation play for Grades K-4, Yes We Have Canadian Heroes, Grades 4 -8 and Let Us Talk Caribbean, Grades 10-13.
He was the founder and Artistic Director of We Are One Theatre in 1986. His company was the first Canadian company of colour to be invited to the duMaurier World Stage Festival in 1992 with its presentation of Playboy of the West Indies. The play was later performed at Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg in 1995. His company was also the first company of colour to tour successfully into the USA with productions of Wipe that Smile by Kay Osborne, Comedy and Culture by Marvin Ishmael, and Duppy in the House also written by Marvin Ishmael.
He is currently Assistant Professor of Acting, The Academy for Performing Arts, University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Last updated 2021-02-04
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