Vern Thiessen (born c. 1964) is aCanadianplaywright.
Born inWinnipeg,Manitoba, Thiessen studied at theUniversity of Winnipeg and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. He later attended theUniversity of Alberta, where he obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Thiessen previously lived inEdmonton,Alberta and was formerly a drama instructor at the University of Alberta. He is a past president of both thePlaywrights Guild of Canada and theWriters' Guild of Alberta.
Thiessen is the recipient of numerous awards, including theGovernor General's Award for English-language drama (Einstein's Gift), theCarol Bolt Award for Best Play (Vimy) and the Sterling Award for Outstanding New Play (Apple). He has also received the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award and the Alumni Award of Excellence from the University of Alberta. He has been nominated several times for other awards including theSiminovitch Prize in Theatre, and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award forLenin's Embalmers.
Thiessen's work has been translated into several languages including German, French, Polish and Hebrew. His plays are performed regularly in Canada, the United States, the UK and Europe. He has also been produced in Australia and Asia.Shakespeare's Will has been produced twice at Canada'sStratford Festival.Lenin's Embalmers,A More Perfect Union andEinstein's Gift have been produced Off-Broadway.
Thiessen has served as playwright in residence at the Citadel Theatre and Workshop West Theatre in Edmonton. He is currently an associate artist at Epic Theatre Ensemble. He is also project associate for the New Play Frontiers program at People's Light at Theatre in Malvern, PA.
Thiessen is currently at work on several commissions for theEnsemble Studio Theatre (New York),Touchstone Theatre/Patrick Street (Vancouver),Soulpepper Theatre Company (Toronto) andEpic Theatre Ensemble (New York.) His plays are published byPlaywrights Canada Press.
From 2007 until 2014 he lived in New York City. He is married to novelistSusie Moloney.
Vern served as artistic director of Work Shop West Theatre in Edmonton beginning in 2014.[1]
In 2014 he won theDora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play for his theatrical adaptation ofW. Somerset Maugham's novelOf Human Bondage.
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