Brian Drader

Brian is an actor, writer, dramaturg and artistic administrator. He has acted in over seventy professional theatre productions across Canada, as well as numerous films, television projects, and radio dramas. His plays have been produced in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Awards for his writing include the Herman Voaden National Playwriting Award, the Philadelphia Brick Playhouse New Play Award, and the Lambda Literary Award for Drama (USA). His play PROK was also nominated for the Governor General’s award and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year. Published work includes THE NORBALS, PROK and LIAR (Scirocco Drama), and CURTSY and TO BE FRANK (Signature Editions). A short film, IRIS AND NATHAN, won the National Screen Institute Drama Prize. Commercial engagements include writing the audio and video components for Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology (with Jodi Essery), and video components for Star Wars Identities (touring exhibitions; gsmprjcts/Lucas Films/National Geographic). Brian was the dramaturge for Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson One, which opened at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in June of 2013, and provided dramaturgical support for the 2017 revamp of the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa.  He served as the Director of Playwriting at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal from 2004 to 2017, and is presently the Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Playwrights.