Dennis Foon

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Dennis Foon
Born
Detroit, Michigan
NationalityCanadian
Occupationplaywright, producer, screenwriter and novelist
Years active1976–present
Spouse(s)Jane Howard Baker (1975–1984) Elizabeth Dancoes (1984–present)
ChildrenRebecca Foon, Aliayta-Foon-Dancoes
Websitedennisfoon.com

Dennis Foon is a playwright, producer, screenwriter and novelist.[1]

He was co-founder and artistic director of Vancouver's acclaimed Green Thumb Theatre for 12 years, where he produced a body of plays that continue to be produced internationally in numerous languages and for which he has received the British Theatre Award, two Chalmers awards, the Jesse Richardson Career Achievement Award, a Governor General's nomination for Skin, the International Arts for Young Audiences Award, and in 2007, he was made a lifetime member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada for “his outstanding contribution to Canadian Playwriting and Theatre.”

His work in screenwriting continued his exploration into the psyche of youth with the CBC movie about an 11-year-old gang leader, Little Criminals, 1995, winner of multiple national and international awards; Life, Above All, a feature that received a ten-minute standing ovation at Cannes, was shortlisted for a 2011 best foreign language Oscar. He has won a Gemini Award, two Writers Guild of Canada Awards, two Leos, and numerous other international awards for his screenplays.

Foon was born and raised in Detroit but has worked and resided in Vancouver, Canada since 1973.

Theatre[]

During the first phase (1975–1978) of Foon’s career, his plays were more experimental in nature, using common children's themes, such as myth, folktales, and native legends. In 1978, Foon became conscious of the dearth of dramatic works that examined children’s lives and reflected their real concerns. Foon began to write, produce and direct new plays that investigated children’s worlds and focused on the concerns and plight of young audiences. As the drama critic Sarah Gibson-Bray states in “The Mirror Game: Reflections of Young Canadians in Dennis Foon’s Child Advocacy Drama”, “Foon’s most significant contribution to the arts in Canada has been as a pioneer playwright who has helped to forge a new, realistic, issue-oriented, dramatic and theatrical genre christened ‘child advocacy theatre.’”[2]

Some of Foon’s most influential works include New Canadian Kid (1981) (“not only a children’s classic, but a Canadian one as well”, Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia),[3] Skin (1984), Invisible Kids (1985), Liars (1986), Mirror Game (1988), Seesaw (1993), War (1994), Chasing the Money (2000), and Kindness (2008). These plays, based on Foon’s meticulous research and interviews with hundreds of young subjects, social workers, teachers, and police officers, have been enthusiastically received in Canada and around the world. The plays portray with compelling credibility and theatricality the increasingly perilous world of children who must endure systematic racism, school bullying, the trauma of divorce, and dysfunctional families.

In 1988, Foon left Green Thumb to pursue freelance writing and directing projects—including the dramaturgy and direction of Joan MacLeod’s Governor General’s Award-winning play, Amigo’s Blue Guitar; Rigtig Dansk Dreng at Taastrup Teater, Denmark; and Invisible Kids for the Unicorn Theatre, London, England.

Screenwriting[]

Dennis wrote the screenplay Life Above All, winner of the Prix Francois Chalais at Cannes and Oscar shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film. Multi-award-winning Indian Horse; A Shine of Rainbows (starring Aidan Quinn and Connie Nielsen premiered at TIFF and played at over 30 international film festivals winning 11 awards. He co-wrote Mina Shum’s feature Long Life (starring Sandra Oh; TIFF and Sundance). He’s received the Gemini Award, two WGC Awards, four Leos and the Robert Wagner Award for his screenplays, including Little Criminals, International Emmy Nominee White Lies, Torso (Gemini, Best Movie), The Terry Fox Story, and On The Farm. He has written over 60 hours of episodic television, including Cracked, Cold Squad, and 2030 CE (a series he created for YTV) and received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Maggie’s Secret. An internationally-produced playwright, his plays have received the British Theatre Award and a Governor General’s nomination. Sawah, winner of the CinemaEuropa Prize, is now on Netflix in 46 countries.

Books[]

In the 2000s, wanting to delve still deeper into the psyche of youth, he began to work in fiction with the novels Double or Nothing, Skud (winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Book Award), and the trilogy, The Longlight Legacy, which has been published in Dutch, German, French, and Russian. “... a significant work of speculative fiction ... that should be included in any serious collection of such books.” —Resource Links, 02/07 “a remarkably imaginative future time that still manages to be rooted in our own world ... a powerful story...” Quill & Quire, 12/06

Awards[]

  • Leo Award, Best Screenplay "On the Farm" (2016)
  • Leo Award, Best Screenplay "Life Above All" (2011)
  • Leo Award, Best Screenplay (with Vic Sarin & Catherine Spears) "A Shine of Rainbows" (2010)
  • AATE Distinguished Play Award "Kindness" (2009)
  • Lifetime Membership, Playwrights Guild of Canada (2007) for his "outstanding contribution to Canadian Playwriting and Theatre"
  • Red Maple Honor Book The Dirt Eaters (2004) [4]
  • Sheila A. Egoff Award (BC Book Prize) Skud (2004)
  • Writers Guild of Canada: Top Ten Award Torso (2003)
  • Robert Wagner Award, best screenplay, White Lies Columbus Int'l TV Festival (1998)
  • Career Achievement Award, Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (1998)
  • Gemini Award, best writing in a Dramatic Program Little Criminals (1997)
  • Writers Guild of Canada, Top Ten Award Little Criminals (1997)
  • Leo Award (British Columbia Film Award), for best screenplay, Little Criminals (1996)
  • Chalmers Award for The Short Tree (1995)
  • Scott Newman Award for Maggie's Secret (1990)
  • AYA (International Arts for Young Audiences) Award (1989)
  • Chalmers Award for Skin (1987)
  • British Theatre Award for Invisible Kids (1986)
  • Jessie Awards: director of four plays receiving "Best Production for Young Audiences" at the Vancouver Theatre Awards. One Thousand Cranes (1984); Not So Dumb (1985); Skin (1986); Night Light (1987)
  • CBC Literary Award for The Short Tree and the Bird That Could Not Sing (1985)
  • Hopwood Award, Fiction. University of Michigan (1972)
  • Writers Digest Award (1973)[1]

Plays[]

  • Isolation (2020)
  • Scar Tissue (2012)
  • The Dead Line (2011)
  • RICK, The Rick Hansen Story (2010)
  • My Acid Trip (2008)
  • Chasing the Money (2008)
  • Kindness (2007)
  • Sunspots (1995)
  • War (1994)
  • The Short Tree and the Bird That Could Not Sing (1994)
  • Seesaw (1993)
  • Mirror Game (1988)
  • Zaydok Game (1987)
  • Bedtimes and Bullies (1987)
  • Liars (1986)
  • Afternoon Tea (1986)
  • Invisible Kids (1985)
  • Skin (1984)
  • Children's Eyes (1983)
  • Hindsight (1983)
  • Feeling Yes, Feeling No (1982)
  • Trummi Kaput (1982)
  • New Canadian Kid (1981)
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1981)
  • The Windigo (1979)
  • Raft Baby (1978)
  • Heracles (1978)

Books[]

  • The Longlight Legacy
    • The Keeper's Shadow (2006)
    • Freewalker (2004)
    • The Dirt Eaters (2003)
  • Skud (2003)
  • Double or Nothing (2000)
  • Am I the Only One? A Child's Book on Sexual Abuse (1987)
  • The Short Tree and the Bird that Could Not Sing (1986)

Films[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b ABC Book World: Dennis Foon
  2. ^ (Canadian Children’s Literature, 82: 22, 1996. 40-56)
  3. ^ "Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - New Canadian Kid". www.canadiantheatre.com.
  4. ^ "The Dirt Eaters awards and nominations". Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2009-01-11.

External links[]

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