Diane Flacks

Last updated

Diane Flacks
Born
Lachine, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Writer, actor
Children2
Website www.dianeflacks.com

Diane Flacks is a Canadian comedic actress, screenwriter and playwright.

Contents

Early life and education

Flacks was raised in the Jewish faith. Her early education took place in Jewish parochial schools. [1] [2] Flacks studied drama at Leah Posluns Institute in Toronto. [3] At twenty seven years old, she came out as a lesbian. [2]

Career

Flacks began her acting career as a child, in a touring production of Cinderella where she played both the wicked stepmother and fairy godmother. [4] As an adult, she has worked in Canadian and U.S. television, radio, news, and film before becoming an independent performance artist, playwright, and writer.

Theater

It appears that Flacks started her official career in media with theatre. Flacks' early works include three one-woman stage shows that she wrote and performed herself: Myth Me (1991), By a Thread (1997), [5] and Random Acts (1997). [6] She co-created the Chalmers Canadian Play Award-nominated Theory of Relatives with Daniel Brooks, Leah Cherniak, Richard Greenblatt, Leslie Lester, and Allan Merovit. [7] She wrote Gravity Calling (1995) directed by Richard Greenblatt, [8] co-wrote Sibs (2000) with Richard Greenblatt, [9] and wrote Waiting Room (2015) directed by Richard Greenblatt. [10] In 2000, Flacks performed in Smudge, a play in one act written by Alex Bulmer and directed by Alisa Palmer. [11]

In 2009, Flacks wrote and performed in the play based on her book Bear With Me, directed by Kelly Thornton. [12]

In 2012, Flacks wrote the award-winning play Luba, Simply Luba for Ukrainian Canadian comedian Luba Goy. [13] In 2017, she wrote and performed in Unholy (2017). [14]

Flacks has regularly performed at the Tarragon Theatre and the collective feminist Nightwood Theatre in Toronto. [15] [16] She served twice on the Nightwood Theatre board of directors.

Film

Flacks' best known performance is in the leading role of the lesbian film Portrait of a Serial Monogamist (2015). [17] Prior to this, Flacks had performed as the main character's guardian angel in the sex comedy Too Much Sex (2000). [18]

Television

In the 1990s Flacks wrote for The Kids in the Hall and was twice nominated for an Emmy for her work. Flacks began acting on television in 2001 in the comedy series The Broad Side. She has co-written and starred in numerous television series since then, including P.R. , Behind the Scenes and Listen Missy . In 2016, Flacks wrote six episodes for the Baroness Von Sketch Show. [19] She has also acted in episodes of Walter Ego and Moose TV .

Writing

In 2005, MacMillan Stewart published Flacks' first book Bear With Me, about Flacks' personal experience with pregnancy and new motherhood. In 2007, Flacks became a featured columnist with the Toronto Star.

Radio

Flacks is a regular contributor for the CBC Radio show Definitely Not the Opera . For almost eight years she has also worked as a CBC Radio National Parenting columnist. [20]

Recurring themes

In her own works, Flacks explores themes of Jewish identity, the relationship between women and religion, lesbian relationships, pregnancy, serious medical issues, and motherhood.

Awards and honours

Personal life

Flacks was married to Janis Purdy and is now divorced. They have two children. [2] Her older son received a Jewish education. [23] [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luba Goy</span> Canadian actress and comedian

Luba Goy is a Canadian actress, comedian and one of the stars of Royal Canadian Air Farce.

Alisa Palmer is a Canadian theatre director and playwright. She was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre from 1993 to 2001. Palmer is currently the artistic director of the English section of the National Theatre School of Canada.

Richard Greenblatt is a Canadian playwright who currently lives in Toronto. He is best known for 2 Pianos, 4 Hands, which he wrote and performed with Ted Dykstra.

Patricia Ruth Hamilton was a Canadian actress who had an active career on stage, television, and film from the 1960s through the 2010s. She had a lengthy association as a stage actress with the Tarragon Theatre with whom she appeared in multiple world premieres of works by Canadian playwrights; including Judith Thompson's I Am Yours (1987) for which she won a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1988. She also appeared as a guest actress at other theaters in Canada and internationally including the American Shakespeare Theatre, the Stratford Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, and The Old Vic.

Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' original intention, Nightwood Theatre has become known for producing feminist works. Some of Nightwood's most famous productions include This is For You, Anna (1983) and Good Night Desdemona (1988). Nightwood hosts several annual events including FemCab, the Hysteria Festival, and Groundswell Festival which features readings from participants of Nightwood's Write from the Hip playwright development program.

Two Pianos Four Hands, also referred to as 2 Pianos 4 Hands, is a Canadian musical comedy play, written and originally performed by Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt. It follows Ted and Richard, two boys who aspire to become famous classical pianists. The play follows their journey from childhood, and as the boys grow older, their competitions and music auditions. Two Pianos Four Hands premiered at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto in 1996, and has since been staged on five continents and has been regarded as one of the most successful Canadian plays.

Susan G. Cole is a Canadian feminist author, activist, editor, speaker and playwright. She has spoken out on a number of issues, including free speech, pornography, race and religion. As a lesbian activist and mother, she speaks out on sexuality and family issues and is a columnist.

Tamara Bernier Evans is a Canadian actress, musician, producer and director.

KOBZAR Book Award is a biennial literary award that "recognizes outstanding contributions to Canadian literary arts by authors who develop a Ukrainian Canadian theme with literary merit". The prize is CA$25,000. It is awarded in one of several genres: literary non-fiction, fiction, poetry, young readers' literature, plays, screenplays and musicals. The award was established in 2003 by the Shevchenko Foundation and the inaugural ceremony was held in 2006.

<i>Portrait of a Serial Monogamist</i> 2015 Canadian film

Portrait of a Serial Monogamist is a Canadian romantic comedy film, which premiered on the LGBT film festival circuit in 2015 before going into general theatrical release in 2016.

Kim Renders was a Canadian writer, director, actor and designer and a founding member of Nightwood Theatre, the oldest professional feminist theatre company in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Codrington</span> Canadian actress and playwright

Lisa Codrington is a Canadian character actress and playwright. She is most noted for her role as Gail on the comedy series Letterkenny and her theatrical plays Cast Iron, which was a nominee for the Governor General's Award for English-language drama at the 2006 Governor General's Awards, and Up the Garden Path, which won the Carol Bolt Award in 2016.

Ellie Moon is a Canadian-British actress, playwright and screenwriter.

Astrid Janson is a Canadian set designer and costume designer. Best known for her work in theatre, she has also designed for television, opera, dance, film and exhibitions.

Andrea Donaldson is a Canadian theatre director and dramaturge. She is the current artistic director of Nightwood Theatre and was formerly the program director of Nightwood's Write From the Hip program.

Kate Lushington is a Canadian theatre artist and teacher. From 1988 to 1993, Lushington was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre. Lushington has worked with The Clichettes and is the writer of The Apocalypse Plays: A Legacy Project.

Diane Roberts is an interdisciplinary theatre creator. Roberts was a founding member of Obsidian Theatre. Roberts was an artistic co-director of Nightwood Theatre, the artistic director of Urban Ink Productions, and a co-founder and artistic director of Boldskool Productions. She is the creator of the Arrivals Legacy Project.

Alex Bulmer is a Canadian playwright and theatre artist. Bulmer is the co-founder of the theatre companies SNIFF Inc. and Invisible Flash. She wrote the play Smudge and was a writer for the 2009 Channel 4 series Cast Offs.

Audrey Dwyer is a Canadian writer, actor, and director. She is a former associate artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. She wrote the 2018 comedy, Calpurnia.

Leah Cherniak is a Canadian playwright, actor, and teacher. She is a co-founder of Theatre Columbus.

References

  1. Flacks, Diane (January 20, 2017). "Is Religion Open to Women?". Intermission. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Ghert-Zand, Renee (December 3, 2010). "Writer and Actress Diane Flacks on How "It Gets Better"". Forward. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  3. "Diane Flacks Biography". Internet Movie Database. 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  4. "Bad Time Buddies: Diane Flacks". NOW Toronto. November 1, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  5. "By a Thread: Diane Flacks". 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  6. Friedlander, Mira (December 20, 1997). "Random Acts". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  7. Chapman, Geoff (March 8, 1994). "One-man show in running for Chalmers play prize". Toronto Star . p. F5 via ProQuest.
  8. "Gravity Calling". Tarragon Theatre. 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  9. "Sibs". Marquis Literary. 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  10. "Waiting Room". Tarragon Theatre. 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  11. Crew, Robert (December 10, 2000). "Smudge". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  12. Lawrence, Mark Andrew (January 7, 2009). "Nightwood Offers Toronto Premiere of 'BEAR WITH ME' 1/7". Broadway World. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  13. Fein-Goldbach, Debbie (May 17, 2012). "Luba, Simply Luba: simply fine". NOW Toronto. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  14. Maga, Carly (January 19, 2017). "Unholy a passionate debate about women and religion: review". The Star. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  15. Scott, Shelley (1997). "Collective creation and the changing mandate of Nightwood Theatre". Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches Théâtrales Au Canada. 18 (2).
  16. Garebian, Keith; Kareda, Urjo (September 3, 2008). "Tarragon Theatre". Historica Canada. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  17. Salazar, Jade (February 9, 2016). "Portrait of a Serial Monogamist: A Coming-of-Middle-Age Film We Can All Relate To". taggmagazine. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  18. "Too Much Sex". Internet Movie Database. 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  19. "Baroness Von Sketch Show". Internet Movie Database. 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  20. "Diane Flacks: Radio". Diane Flacks. 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  21. "Diane Flacks". The Emmys. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  22. Leslie Ferenc (March 6, 2014). "Luba Goy wins Kobzar Literary Award". The Star. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  23. "Lesbian actor and Orthodox rabbi address the elephant in the room". CBC Radio. September 15, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  24. Goldberg, Susan (March 12, 2012). "Same-Sex, Interfaith and Procreating". Interfaith Family: Supporting Interfaith Families Exploring Jewish Life. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.