Charlie Rhindress
Encyclopedia
Charlie Rhindress is an actor, playwright
and director living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia
and educated at Mount Allison University, he is a co-founder and former Artistic Director of Live Bait Theatre
, based in Sackville, New Brunswick. To date, Rhindress has written ten full length plays, including The Maritime Way of Life, which was nominated for a Canadian Comedy award as best new play, and Flying On Her Own, based on the life of Canadian singer/songwriter, Rita MacNeil
. The latter was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2008. He has also written or co-written more than thirty dinner theatre plays and two plays for teens. Rhindress has acted in films including Red Rover
and Black Eyed Dog, and at theatres across Canada. His directing credits include the premiere of Cathy Jones' one woman show, Me, Dad and the Hundred Boyfriends at Theatre Passe Muraille
in Toronto and The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) at Neptune Theatre
in Halifax, for which he received a Merritt award nomination as Best Director. He is currently Associate Artist at Neptune.
The Canadian Encyclopedia says that Rhindress's work "suggests that New Brunswick is fertile ground for popular comedy. Of particular note is Rhindress's The Maritime Way of Life (1999), a dark satire on traditional East Coast lifestyles and personalities. Despite its vicious sarcasm, extensive cross-dressing, and absurd humour, The Maritime Way of Life is very popular with Atlantic audiences."
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and director living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia
Amherst, Nova Scotia
Amherst is a Canadian town in northwestern Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.Located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, Amherst is strategically situated on the eastern boundary of the Tantramar Marshes 3 kilometres east of the interprovincial border with New...
and educated at Mount Allison University, he is a co-founder and former Artistic Director of Live Bait Theatre
Live Bait Theatre
Live Bait Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Sackville, New Brunswick, in Canada. Established in 1988, it continues to have a vested interest in supporting and encouraging both up-and-coming and well-known Maritime actors and playwrights....
, based in Sackville, New Brunswick. To date, Rhindress has written ten full length plays, including The Maritime Way of Life, which was nominated for a Canadian Comedy award as best new play, and Flying On Her Own, based on the life of Canadian singer/songwriter, Rita MacNeil
Rita MacNeil
Rita MacNeil, CM, ONS is a Canadian country and folk singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray the following year, although she has had hits on the country...
. The latter was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2008. He has also written or co-written more than thirty dinner theatre plays and two plays for teens. Rhindress has acted in films including Red Rover
Red Rover (film)
Red Rover is a 2003 horror / thriller film directed by Marc S. Grenier. It is about two siblings played by William Baldwin and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe who travel to their families old, ancestral estate upon the death of their father...
and Black Eyed Dog, and at theatres across Canada. His directing credits include the premiere of Cathy Jones' one woman show, Me, Dad and the Hundred Boyfriends at Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille
Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Canada.-Brief history:One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Garrard, who started the company out of Rochdale College.Its radical intention was create a...
in Toronto and The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) at Neptune Theatre
Neptune Theatre (Halifax)
The Neptune Theatre is the largest professional theatre company in Atlantic Canada with a capacity of 497 and is located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It performs a mixture of new and classical plays....
in Halifax, for which he received a Merritt award nomination as Best Director. He is currently Associate Artist at Neptune.
The Canadian Encyclopedia says that Rhindress's work "suggests that New Brunswick is fertile ground for popular comedy. Of particular note is Rhindress's The Maritime Way of Life (1999), a dark satire on traditional East Coast lifestyles and personalities. Despite its vicious sarcasm, extensive cross-dressing, and absurd humour, The Maritime Way of Life is very popular with Atlantic audiences."
Full length plays
- Guilty! The Story of the Great Amherst Mystery (1991, revised 1993)
- Elvis Presley Is Alive and Well and Living in Sackville (1992)
- Gates Motel (1994)
- Under the Night (1996) with composer/lyricist Dean Burry
- The Maritime Way of Life (1997, revised 1999)
- Flying On Her Own (2000, revised 2004) featuring the songs of Rita MacNeil
- Home and Away (2003) with composer/lyricist Dean Burry
- The Heart That Knows (2008) with composer/lyricist Dean Burry (adapted from the novel by Charles G.D. RobertsCharles G.D. RobertsSir Charles George Douglas Roberts, was a Canadian poet and prose writer who is known as the Father of Canadian Poetry. He was "almost the first Canadian author to obtain worldwide reputation and influence; he was also a tireless promoter and encourager of Canadian literature......
) - Ivor Johnson's Neighbours (2009)
- Boo (2009)