Writer in Residence: David French
By Marissa Reaume
Lance Writer
November 21, 2007
 In the 1950’s, an Grade 8 boy discovered his passion for writing after reading Mark Twain’s famous novel, Tom Sawyer. That boy was Canadian author, David French. When asked how Twain sparked his interest in writing, French recounts, “I think it was the first book I read in which I identified completely with the protagonist. I was Tom. I understood him. I’d done comparable things and felt exactly the way he did. It shocked and excited me that a writer could write a story about me a hundred years before I was born.”
Now, roughly half a century after turning the pages of Tom Sawyer, French is one of Canada’s most popular and critically-acclaimed playwrights. Among his best known works are the semi-autobiographical Mercer plays: Salt-Water Moon, Leaving Home, Soldier’s Heart, and Of the Fields, Lately. Leaving Home was named one of Canada’s 100 Most Influential Books (Literary Review of Canada) and one of the 1,000 Most Essential Plays in the English Language (Oxford Dictionary of Theatre). A recent revival of Leaving Home by Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre played to sold-out houses and was nominated for five Dora Mavor Moore Awards.
Leaving Home is close to French’s heart because it depicts a Newfoundland family immigrating to Toronto, much like French’s family did during his childhood. Produced over 30 years ago, Leaving Home examines physical and spiritual dislocation making it a timeless entity in Canadian theatre. In the words of French, “The immigrant’s story is the great story of the twentieth century. When I wrote the play, I intended only to write a play about one specific family, my own. I had no idea it would resonate the way it did. I remember when it was done off Broadway at the Theatre of the Riverside Church, up near Harlem. The director said to me one day, ‘The most amazing thing is happening. Black families from Harlem are coming to see the play two or three times. They told me they identify with the characters.’ They’re going through the same things coming from the South to New York City as the Newfoundlanders were going through in Toronto. The way to get the universal, of course, is through the particular. And the way to get the abstract is through the concrete.”
Born in Coley’s Point, Newfoundland, French spent much of his life in Toronto, and now serves as Writer in Residence at the University of Windsor. The School of Drama’s University Players will perform French’s play Jitters in February, 2008. This play confirms French’s internationally celebrated reputation as a playwright of the first rank. Extremely witty, and utterly hilarious, Jitters was influenced by French’s past acting career and involvement in Canadian theatre. It is a play within a play portraying a theatre group awaiting a New York producer on opening night. It captures interactions between writers, actors, producers, and stagehands involved in the play.
“It was 1977, just before rehearsals were to start at the Tarragon Theatre for my translation of [Chekhov’s] The Seagull, directed by Bill Glassco. Bill and I went to New York to see some plays. One of the plays we saw on that trip was David Mamet’s A Life In The Theater, a two-character play. It was at the Theater De Lys down on Christopher Street in the Village. When we left the theatre that day, we walked up the street, not speaking. Finally, Bill said, ‘Well, what did you think?’ I said, ‘I didn’t care for it.’ He said, ‘Neither did I.’ He said, ‘You know what? You could write a better play about the theatre than that.’ I said, ‘You think so?’ He said, ‘Sure.’ Bill was like that. Always encouraging. Anyway, I went back to Toronto and immediately began making notes for Jitters, inspired by what Bill and I went through putting on my first play, Leaving Home, at the Tarragon.” According to French, Jitters is a realistic portrayal of the Canadian Theatre community. Although many of his characters were influenced by real people, their personalities have been inflated for comedic effect.
French believes aspects of himself arise in all his plays. “I put a lot of myself in each character, plus what I know about people from observation and experience. But ultimately, all the characters are the playwright. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about an 80 year-old woman or a five year-old girl or a 10 year-old boy or a 50 year-old man, they’re all the playwright.”
While French is known for his plays, he occasionally dips his pen into the ink of other forms. Currently, he is writing a thriller novel set in a fictitious town on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. “Bad things are happening there,” he says. “Scary things.” He is also working on a new play set in Uxbridge, a small town outside of Toronto. When asked whether Windsor might influence his writing, he replied, “You’re influenced by everything you read and every person you meet and all the things you go through in life, day by day, including the places you live. Everything influences you.”
While Windsor’s impact on David French’s writing is undetermined, the work of aspiring Windsor writers can be critiqued by David French. As the University of Windsor’s 2007-2008 Writer in Residence, French will evaluate manuscripts in all genres submitted to the English department. “I see people one-on-one and I try to help them in any way I can with whatever they happen to bring in. Sometimes they simply want to talk about a problem they’re having with a particular piece. That’s basically what I do.”
French’s services are available to all University students and all citizens of Windsor. To make an appointment, contact Heather Patterson, Secretary, English department, at 591-253-3000 ext. 2288, or englishmail@uwindsor.ca.
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