Michel Marc Bouchard, OC CQ (born February 2, 1958) is a Canadian playwright.[1][2] He has received the Prix Journal de Montreal, Prix du Cercle des critiques de l'Outaouais, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award, and nine Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for the Vancouver productions of Lilies and The Orphan Muses.

Early life

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Born in Saint-Cœur-de-Marie, Quebec, he studied theatre the University of Ottawa.[3]

Career

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Bouchard made his professional playwriting debut in 1983 and since then has written more than 25 plays, including The Coronation Voyage (Le voyage du Couronnement), Down Dangerous Passes Road (Le chemin des Passes-dangereuses), and Written on Water (Les manuscrits du déluge).[1] In 1993, Bouchard and his theatre company Les deux mondes were awarded the National Arts Centre Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.[4]

His best-known work, the play Lilies, was produced as the movie Lilies by John Greyson; the film won a Genie Award in 1996.[5]

Bouchard's play The Orphan Muses (Les Muses orphelines), was adapted as a film in 2000 by Robert Favreau. His play The Madonna Painter (Le Peintre des madones) has been translated into English and in 2010 was being performed in Canadian venues and receiving favorable reviews.[6] It premiered in Toronto at the Factory Theatre, November 19, 2009.[7]

Bouchard's play Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme) premiered at the Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui in 2011. The play was adapted as a film in 2013 by Xavier Dolan.[8][9]

In 2012, Bouchard was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.[10] In 2021 he was named the recipient of Quebec's Prix Athanase-David for lifetime achievement in literature.[11]

His 2019 play La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s'est réveillé was adapted for television by Xavier Dolan as The Night Logan Woke Up.[12]

In 2023 he was named the recipient of the Blue Metropolis Violet Prize for LGBTQ writers.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Doucette, Leonard E. "Michel Marc Bouchard". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  2. ^ "Another career peak for Michel Marc Bouchard with Tom at the Farm". The Globe and Mail, J. Kelly Nestruck, April 10, 2015
  3. ^ "Michel Marc Bouchard". CEAD. Centre des auteur dramatiques. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Michel Marc Bouchard and Les Deux Mondes biography". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Q&A: The Girl King's Michel Marc Bouchard rules the stage, serves the screen". Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette, August 25, 2016
  6. ^ "Bouchard play paints bleak period in Canadian history Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine Screwed-up women difficult to like in catfight-filled Mrs. Klein" reviews by Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier November 19, 2010, accessed November 19, 2010
  7. ^ "The Madonna Painter: Small town drama" review by J. Kelly Nestruck in The Globe and Mail Nov. 24, 2009, last updated Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009 accessed November 19, 2010
  8. ^ "Xavier Dolan to adapt the Michel Marc Bouchard play Tom à la ferme". Montreal Gazette. 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
  9. ^ "Playwright Michel Marc Bouchard". CBC Radio, August 31, 2014
  10. ^ "Les récipiendaires de l'Ordre national du Québec" (in French). Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Government of Quebec.
  11. ^ Luc Boulanger, "Bouchard, Galipeau, Pintal et Rivard honorés". La Presse, October 29, 2021.
  12. ^ T'Cha Dunlevy, "Xavier Dolan reawakens fans' interest with first series". Montreal Gazette, December 2, 2022.
  13. ^ Jason Paré, "Michel Marc Bouchard: «j’ai le droit de parler de tout»". Métro, April 28, 2023.
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