Djanet Sears
Encyclopedia
Djanet Sears is a Canadian
playwright, actor and director. She was born in 1959 in England
, to a Guyanese
father and a Jamaica
n mother. Sears was raised in England and Saskatoon
, Saskatchewan
. Her birth name was Janet — she added the D when she came across a town called Djanet
on a trip to Africa
.
Her play Harlem Duet won many Canadian awards, including four Dora Mavor Moore Award
s and a Governor General's Award for drama.
In addition to her writing, Sears also acts in theatre and film productions. She was also a founding member of Obsidian Theatre
, a Toronto theatre company that specializes in African and Caribbean Canadian drama, and is a professor at the University of Toronto
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
playwright, actor and director. She was born in 1959 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to a Guyanese
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
father and a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n mother. Sears was raised in England and Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. Her birth name was Janet — she added the D when she came across a town called Djanet
Djanet
Djanet is an oasis city in southeast Algeria. It is located in Illizi Province, 412 kilometers from Illizi. It is inhabited by the Kel Ajjer Tuareg people. It is the capital of Djanet District.-Transport:...
on a trip to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Her play Harlem Duet won many Canadian awards, including four Dora Mavor Moore Award
Dora Mavor Moore Award
The Dora Mavor Moore Award is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance, and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the award was established on December 13, 1978...
s and a Governor General's Award for drama.
In addition to her writing, Sears also acts in theatre and film productions. She was also a founding member of Obsidian Theatre
Obsidian Theatre
Obsidian Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company, which specializes in Black Canadian drama. The company is located in Toronto, Ontario. The declared mandate of the company is a threefold mission to produce plays, to develop playwrights and to train theatre professionals...
, a Toronto theatre company that specializes in African and Caribbean Canadian drama, and is a professor at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
Plays
- Afrika Solo (1987)
- Harlem Duet (1997) (won the Governor General's Award for English language dramaGovernor General's Award for English language dramaThis is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for English-language drama. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English language poetry or drama was divided.-1980s:*1981: Sharon Pollock, Blood Relations...
in 1998) - The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (2001)