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Herman Voaden
Herman Arthur Voaden, CM FRSA (19 January 1903 – 27 June 1991)[1] was a Canadian playwright.[2] Life and workBorn in London, Ontario,[1] he received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in 1923 and a Master of Arts degree in 1926 from Queen's University.[3] He also studied at the University of Chicago and at Yale University. His father, Dr. Arthur Voaden, pioneered vocational teaching in Ontario. His mother, Luisa Bale Voaden, was also a teacher. Voaden studied modern drama at Queen's University, 1920–1923, and wrote his 1926 Queen’s M.A. thesis on Eugene O’Neill.[4] In 1928 Voaden became head of the English department at the Central High School of Commerce (now the Central Toronto Academy),[3] where he worked for decades. In 1960 his work there was described as "pioneer[ing] in progressive education methods, including the 'play approach' to drama.'"[5] A member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation,[4] he ran for the House of Commons of Canada in the western Toronto riding of Trinity in the 1945 elections, 1949 elections, 1953 elections, and a 1954 by-election. He lost each time. Voaden was a member of Toronto's Arts and Letters Club, the Dominion Drama Festival, and a founding member and first president of the Canadian Arts Council (which became the Canadian Conference of the Arts in 1958).[1] As president of the CAC, he was one of several Canadian representatives to the first UNESCO conference, held in Paris in 1946. HonoursIn 1974, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor, "in recognition of his contribution to the performing arts as a playwright, producer and teacher, and his services in fostering support for all the arts and crafts".[6] He was made a Fellow in the Royal Society of Arts in 1970. Following his death, Queen's University created the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competition to honour new works by emerging playwrights.[7] Works
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