Djanet Sears facts for kids

Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright. She is famous for her plays about Black Canadian experiences. She has written and edited many popular dramas. Some of her well-known plays include Afrika Solo, Harlem Duet, and The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God.

Her plays often explore themes of race and gender. They also use songs, rhythms, and choruses inspired by West African traditions. Djanet Sears cares a lot about keeping the history of Black theatre alive. She helped start groups like the Obsidian Theatre and the AfriCanadian Playwrights Festival.

Early Life and Education

Djanet Sears was born in 1959 in England. Her father was from Guyana, and her mother was from Jamaica. She lived in England until 1974.

Her family then moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in Canada. In 1975, they settled in Oakville, Ontario. Her birth name was Janet. She added the "D" to her name after visiting West Africa. She found a place called "Djanet" there, which inspired her to change her name. This was a way to honor her African roots.

Sears studied at York University. In 1999, she earned an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre. She also studied at the Canadian Film Centre and New York University.

Her Career in Theatre

After a trip to West Africa, Djanet Sears wrote her play Afrika Solo. It was first performed in 1987. This play led to many other full-length plays, like Double Trouble and Harlem Duet.

Sears is not just a writer for the theatre. She also acts, directs, and edits. She has edited several books of Canadian African plays. These books are called Testifyin': Contemporary African Canadian Drama.

Sears helped create the AfriCanadian Playwrights Festival in 1997. This festival brings together plays focused on African experiences on the Canadian stage. It was held in Toronto in 2003 and 2006. Sears is also a founding member of the Obsidian Theatre. This theatre group produces plays by authors of African descent who live or work in Canada.

Sears has also taught drama as a professor at University College, University of Toronto. She has held other important roles too. These include international artist-in-residence at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre. She was also writer-in-residence at the University of Guelph. And she was playwright-in-residence at Nightwood Theatre.

Her Famous Plays

• Afrika Solo is mostly a one-woman show. It also has a two-man chorus. This play is partly about Djanet Sears' own life. It tells the story of a young woman trying to find herself. She learns new things along the way. The main character, Djanet, and her experiences are key to the play.
• Harlem Duet is inspired by Shakespeare's famous play Othello. This play is set at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Boulevards. Sears chose this location to help the audience understand race in Canada. These streets were well-known to North American audiences. The story follows Othello and Billie. Their marriage is falling apart. Othello starts to prefer a white identity. This is mainly because of his relationship with a white woman named Mona. The story shows a picture of North America where white culture is dominant.
• The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God follows a character named Rainey. She is an African-Canadian doctor. The play shows her struggles while living in Western Ontario. Rainey deals with losing a close family member. She also faces a failing marriage and tension with her father. Her father, even though he is old and sick, wants to keep his ethnic pride strong in his community.
• Who Killed Katie Ross
• Double Trouble
• The Mother Project

Awards and Honours

Djanet Sears has won many awards for her plays.

• Her play Afrika Solo won the International Armstrong Award for Outstanding Radio Play in 1991. It also won the Silver Prize at the International Radio Festival of New York in 1991.
• Her play Harlem Duet has won several Dora Mavor Moore Awards.
• The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God was a finalist for the Trillium Book Award in 2004.

Sears has received many other honors, including Canada's top literary award.

• She won The Governor General's Literary Award in 1998.
• She won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award in 1998.
• She received the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award in 2004.
• She won The Harry Jerome Award in 1998.
• She also received the Phenomenal Woman of the Arts Award.
• She won the Timothy Findley Award in 2004.

Directing Her Own Plays

Djanet Sears has also directed many plays.

• The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God, Mirvish Productions, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (2003/2004)
• Harlem Duet, Blue Heron Theatre, New York, NY. (2002)
• The Wonder of Man, Nightwood Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1992)
• Dark Diaspora... in Dub, Toronto Fringe Festival, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1990)
• Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots, Groundswell, May Works and From the Ground Up, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1989)
• Ella and Jennifer, Groundswell, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1989)
• A Streetcar Named Desire, Canadian Actor's Equity Association, Talent over Tradition, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1989)
• CopperTin Can, Groundswell, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1988)
• Shakes, Cabaret Productions, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (1982)