David Diamond (theatre)

David Diamond is the Artistic and Managing Director of the Vancouver based company Theatre for Living (formerly known as Headlines Theatre) and the originator of Theatre for Living techniques. He was a founding member of Headlines Theatre (1981) and has been Artistic Director since 1984. Diamond is the author of Theatre for Living: the art and science of community-based dialogue, which has a foreword by renowned systems theorist Fritjof Capra, and was honored with the American Alliance of Theatre and Education 2008 Distinguished Book Award. In 2012 the book was published in German by Ibidem under the title Theater zum Leben and is also currently being translated into Spanish.[1]

Life and Work

Diamond grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba and received his BFA in acting from the University of Alberta in 1975 and immediately began working in the professional theatre. He moved to Vancouver in 1976. Diamond, along with documentary film maker Nettie Wild, was a founding member of the Vancouver Artists' Alliance. It was through this organization that he was introduced to the first members of Headlines Theatre.[2] Headlines Theatre began by making agitprop theatre, starting with their first production Buy, Buy Vancouver in 1981, inspired by the rental housing crisis they saw covering local newspaper headlines.[3]

Diamond is credited with writing many of the works produced by Headlines Theatre over the years including The Enemy Within (1986), No’ Xya (Our Footprints) (1987), The Dying Game (1998), Mamu (with Kevin Finnan) (1994) and Thirsty (with Kathryn Ricketts) (2002).

Diamond's theatrical practice, and the direction of Headlines' work, shifted after he was introduced to Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) by Brazilian Theatre artist Augusto Boal at TO skills sharing workshop in Paris in 1984.[4] After producing The Enemy Within (1986) Diamond began to move the company away from its roots making agitprop work in favor of what he calls a Power Play structure.[5] Power Plays are created by invitation, deep 'in community' and utilize the tools of TO practice to build a play over a 6-day workshop. After exploring TO techniques and the creation of Power Plays for many years in the late 80s/early 90s, Diamond began to redefine the language of his work, as a response to requests to do so from communities with which he was working, creating what is now defined as Theatre for Living.[6]

Diamond is also credited with directing almost all of the theatre company's mainstage projects, having developed a creation process that involves a week long "power play" followed by three to four weeks of creation and rehearsals with a cast and professional production team.

Diamond created Theatre for Living (TfL) through a merging of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, and his own lifelong interest in systems theory. “Theatre for Living approaches the community as a living organism and recognizes... when plays are created, they are made to help us investigate ways to change the behaviors that create the structure, not only the structure itself.” [7] He also facilitates TfL workshops around the world and has pioneered the development of live, interactive Forum television and web casting. As of early 2013 he has directed approximately 500 community-specific projects on issues such as racism, civic engagement, violence, addiction, street youth, intergenerational conflict and homelessness.

In 2010 Diamond traveled with the Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean as a Canadian Delegate in Africa.[8] Since 2013 he has been a visiting faculty member at the University of Innsbruck's MA Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation. Diamond is considered one of the most important peace thinkers for the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies.

Awards

Diamond is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Fraser Valley in 2001, the City of Vancouver's Cultural Harmony Award,[9] the Jessie Richardson Award for Innovation in Theatre,[10] an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Fraser Valley and the Otto René Castillo Award for Political Theatre.[11]

In September 2012, Diamond received the Vancouver 2012 Mayor's Arts Award for Community Engaged Art.[12]

References

  1. ↑ American Alliance for Theatre in Education Website "AATE Award Winners" Accessed: http://www.aate.com/?page=awardwinners#Dist_Book
  2. ↑ Mockler, Lynn. The Evolution of Headlines Theatre. P.6. Accessed Dec 4 2012 https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/8351
  3. ↑ Sandborn, Tom. “Headlines Theatre and The uncertain Arts of Democracy”, The Columbia Journal, Vol 9 no. 2 (April 2004), accessed: http://www.columbiajournal.ca/04-04/Headlines.html
  4. ↑ Diamond, David. "In This Moment: the Evolution of Headlines Theatre", CTR (Winter 2004) p. 117
  5. ↑ Graham, Catherine. "The Audience-driven Aesthetic of Recent Canadian Political Plays", CTR (Summer 2003), p 58
  6. ↑ Diamond, David. Theatre for Living: The art and science of community-based dialogue. Trafford Publishing: Victoria, 2007.
  7. ↑ Diamond, David. Theatre for Living: The art and science of community-based dialogue. Trafford Publishing: Victoria, 2007. P 38
  8. ↑ The Governor General Of Canada "Canadian Delegates on the visits to Africa" April 9, 2010. Accessed online: http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13584
  9. ↑ City of Vancouver Cultural Harmony Awards Website "Past Recipients" Accessed: http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/recipients.aspx
  10. ↑ Jessie Richardson Awards "Archives Winners and Nominees" Accessed: http://www.jessies.ca/A2009_10.htm
  11. ↑ Castillo Theatre Website "Past Recipients" Accessed: http://www.castillo.org/otto-past-recipients/
  12. ↑ City of Vancouver. "Community engaged Arts" Accessed January 4, 2013 http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/community-engaged-arts.aspx
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