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Drew Hayden Taylor

“I’ve spent too many years explaining who and what I am repeatedly, so as of this moment I officially secede from both races. I plan to start my own separate nation. Because I am half Ojibway and half Caucasian, we will be called the Occasions. And of course, since I’m founding the new nation, I will be a Special Occasion.” —Drew Hayden Taylor

Ojibway writer Drew Hayden Taylor is from the Curve Lake Reserve in Ontario. Hailed by the Montreal Gazette as one of Canada’s leading Native dramatists, he writes for the screen as well as the stage and contributes regularly to North American Native periodicals and national newspapers. His plays have garnered many prestigious awards, and his beguiling and perceptive storytelling style has enthralled audiences in Canada, the United States and Germany. His 1998 play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth has been anthologized in Seventh Generation: An Anthology of Native American Plays, published by the Theatre Communications Group. Although based in Toronto, Taylor has travelled extensively throughout North America, honouring requests to read from his work and to attend arts festivals, workshops and productions of his plays. He was also invited to Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in California, where he taught a series of seminars on the depiction of Native characters in fiction, drama and film. One of his most established bodies of work includes what he calls the Blues Quartet, an ongoing, outrageous and often farcical examination of Native and non-Native stereotypes.

Among Taylor’s many awards are: the Canada Council Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for Theatre (2009); the Governor General’s Award for Drama, Nominee (2006) In a World Created by a Drunken God; the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, Nominee (2005); James Buller Aboriginal Theatre Award for Playwright of the Year (1997) Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth; and the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Small Theatre Division (1996) Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth.

June 2013 : Meta-Talon: Drew Hayden Taylor’s Political Persuasions

May 2013 : 2013 Jessie Richardson Award Nominations for Talonbooks Playwrights

April 2013 : Drew Hayden Taylor on Urban Rush

April 2013 : God and the Indian at the Firehall Arts Centre

February 2013 : Drew Hayden Taylor Is Writer-In-Residence at Ryerson!

November 2012 : Weesageechak Begins to Dance XXV

June 2012 : Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for Drew Hayden Taylor

March 2012 : 400 Kilometres to Magnus

February 2012 : Drew Hayden Taylor on Studio 4 with Fanny Kiefer

January 2012 : 8th Fire: Drew Hayden Taylor

August 2011 : Anishnawbe Keeshigun pays homage to all First Nation peoples

March 2011 : Discovery Passages and Dead White Writer on the Floor Have Arrived!

March 2011 : Drew Hayden Taylor is on the CBC!

February 2011 : In a World Created By a Drunken God - A Scene from the Movie

January 2011 : Drunken God Visits Orangeville

January 2011 : National Program to Inspire Aboriginal Youth Achievement in Writing and Visual Arts

October 2010 : A Memorable Occasion

BOOK AWARDS

Winner of the 1996 Dora Mavor Moore Award Small Theatre: Outstanding New Play

BOOK AWARDS

Finalist for the 2006 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama

QUOTES OF NOTE

“Abstract theatre is not generally associated with comedy … but judging by the laughter issuing from the packed house at Magnus’ opening night of the show, it is also drop-dead hilarious.” — The Argus

QUOTES OF NOTE

"Drew Hayden Taylor has a deft touch for mixing comedy and commentary in an entertaining … form of social satire."
— Vancouver Sun

"…delivers the special combination of being gutbustingly funny while leaving you with deep realities to mull."

— Telegraph-Journal

QUOTES OF NOTE

Taylor’s…stories will make you cringe, cry, and when you really need it, laugh a little.
— Windspeaker

QUOTES OF NOTE

“This play displays a healthy sense of humor…If one needs an innocuous night of theatre, this can be taken as a series of funny events. Those hoping for something deeper can find allegories and metaphors pointing through history.”
– LA Splash

"Drew Hayden Taylor has produced an accomplished series of comedies about reserve life that are consummate in their dramatic mechanics … The Berlin Blues may be breezy sitcom, but it has a point to make and is masterfully done."
– Canadian Literature

QUOTES OF NOTE

“Drew Hayden Taylor adheres to the dictates of classic, riveting theatre by presenting stellar characters struggling with hardcore moral questions, while inviting the audience to continue the dialogue after the curtain has dropped … The presentation sure is masterful.”
— Quill & Quire

“Taylor … is a dramatist with a biting sense of humour and a keen eye for irony, particularly in his newly published play, In a World Created by a Drunken God … a play that is by turns quite sad, touching and thought-provoking … The play isn’t just full of funny faux pas or insults; it is a powerful story of two men confronted by the sins of their father, literally … In a World Created by a Drunken God tackles the thorny subjects of culture, morality and history to raise the more basic question of who we really are, apart from convenient labels and identity politics.”
— Surrey Now

“Drew Hayden Taylor has a deft touch for mixing comedy and commentary in an entertaining and all-Canadian form of social satire.”
— Vancouver Sun

“In Drew Hayden Taylor’s compelling drama, two half brothers meet for the first time. Jason is a half-native Canadian. harry is a non-native American. This well-crafted work pits exploitation and abandonment against privilege and comfort, in an ethical debate that surmounts stereotypes of status and culture.”
— 2006 Governor General’s Literary Awards Jury

“Taylor has succeeded in creating an intriguing and thought-provoking story, with in-depth characters and mind-wrenching questions.”
— The Multicultural Review

QUOTES OF NOTE

Sharply written. Warm and funny.
— Halifax Daily News

Drew Hayden Taylor is not only one of the funniest writers in Canada today, he’s one of the most astute as well. He’s got both common sense and a sense of humour. What a winning combination!
— CBC RADIO

QUOTES OF NOTE

“By turns thought provoking and hilariously funny, alterNatives unerringly skewers both liberal and Native stereotypes. Perhaps more importantly, alterNatives is a great read.” —Calgary Sun

“alterNatives is pure hilarity with some serious social punch.” —Scene

“Taylor, who has been accused of denigrating Native people on the one hand and ‘witless white-bashing’ on the other, has in alterNatives created a deft piece of Canadian social satire that should generate heated discussion.” —CBRA