Biography

David Diamond BFA, D.Litt. (Hon.)

As a Co-founder in 1981 and Artistic Director since 1984 of Theatre for Living (formerly known as Headlines Theatre) David has directed over 600 community specific theatre projects and trainings throughout Canada, the US and Europe, as well as in Namibia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Palestine and Singapore. Subjects range from violence in all its forms to addiction, inter-generational conflict, mental health, language reclamation, the legacy of Canadian Native Residential Schools and Reconciliation, homelessness, climate change, globalization, and species and habitat protection, to name just some. He has pioneered the development of live, interactive Forum television and web casting.

He is the originator of Theatre for Living, a merging of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, and his own life-long interest in systems theory. Theatre for Living recognizes communities are complexly integrated living organisms and invites them to engage in constructive social change, moving from various forms of violence to respectful engagement.

David is the recipient of many theatre and human rights awards, including an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of the Fraser Valley and the Otto René Castillo Award for political theatre. He is also a visiting Faculty Member, UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck in Austria and was Visiting Theatre Director at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta from 2013 to 2018.

He is the author of many published articles and Theatre for Living: the art and science of community-based dialogue (winner of the American Alliance of Theatre and Education 2008 Distinguished Book Award), which is also available in German (Theater Zum Leben) and Spanish (Teatro para la Vida).
- IMDb mini biography by: D. Diamond