Mike McPhaden (born February 9, 1972) is a Canadian actor, playwright and television writer and producer,[1] most noted for his work on the television series Corner Gas Animated and Jann.

Theatre career

Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba,[2] he began his career doing sketch and improvisational comedy with the Higher Than the Ground comedy troupe,[3] and began to have stage acting roles in the late 1990s,[4] later branching out into writing with his stage play Poochwater premiering at the 2000 SummerWorks theatre festival.[5] The play was inspired in part by rummaging through his grandfather's possessions after the older man's death, and discovering a stash of old electronics textbooks from his grandfather's service as a radio operator during World War II.[6] He returned to SummerWorks the following year both with his own play, Flight 198, and as an actor in Shawne McKeown and Marilo Nuez's play North East Side Story.[2]

After Poochwater received a followup staging at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2002,[7] McPhaden won two Dora Mavor Moore awards in 2003, for Outstanding New Play, Independent Theatre and Best Leading Actor, Independent Theatre.[8] The play received another follow-up production at Passe Muraille in 2005 due to its popularity.[9]

He also received a nomination for Best Original Play, General Theatre in 2007 for Noble Parasites,[10] and a second nomination in the independent theatre category in 2009 for The Gladstone Variations, a collaboration with Brendan Gall, Rick Roberts and Julie Tepperman.[11]

Television work

After noting as early as 2005 that his Dora award for writing Poochwater had opened far more professional doors for him than his award for acting in it did,[12] he enrolled in the television writing program at the Canadian Film Centre in the 2006-07 cohort,[3] and had his first television writing credits on the series Taste Buds. He is now associated principally with television writing and production,[3] although he has continued to appear in occasional guest acting roles.

As a television writer he was a Canadian Comedy Award nominee for Best Writing in a Television Series at the 12th Canadian Comedy Awards for his work on the writing team for Men with Brooms,[13] a WGC Screenwriting Award nominee in 2018 for Bruno & Boots: This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall[14] and in 2020 for Jann,[15] and a Canadian Screen Award nominee as a producer of Jann at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.[16]

Personal life

He is married to actress Christine Horne.

References

  1. ↑ Matthew Sorrento, "Practicable Jokes in Macdonald Hall: An Interview with Mike McPhaden". Film International, March 30, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Robert Crew, "Nerd takes off at SummerWorks fest ; Flight 198 opens at Factory stage tonight". Toronto Star, August 2, 2001.
  3. 1 2 3 Greg David, "Mike McPhaden: What the Wizzle". TV, eh?, September 14, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Good ideas left stranded". Toronto Star, April 18, 1999.
  5. ↑ Kate Taylor, "The mysterious Mr. Poochwater". The Globe and Mail, August 9, 2000.
  6. ↑ J. Kelly Nestruck, "Theatre for channel-flippers: Fast-paced comedy for those who 'watch CP24 to unwind'". National Post, February 5, 2009.
  7. ↑ Kate Taylor, "Poochwater smart and delightful". The Globe and Mail, November 12, 2002.
  8. ↑ Robert Crew and Christopher Hutsul, "Tarragon shows no mercy ; Takes 13 of 18 Dora awards in its theatre division Nothing for Mirvish, CanStage, Passe Muraille". Toronto Star, June 24, 2003.
  9. ↑ Kamal Al-Solaylee, "An original returns to light up the stage". The Globe and Mail, February 7, 2005.
  10. ↑ Kenneth Jones, "Toronto's Seussical and We Will Rock You Are Top Getters in Dora Nominations". Playbill, June 8, 2007.
  11. ↑ Robert Cushman, "The play is the thing, not artificial categories; Dora stipulations make for some odd award nominees". National Post, June 27, 2009.
  12. ↑ Kamal Al-Solaylee, "Poochwater revisited". The Globe and Mail, January 28, 2005.
  13. ↑ Sam Mooney, "Canadian Comedy Awards Nominees Announced". Mooney on Theatre, June 10, 2011.
  14. ↑ Regan Reid, "Kim’s Convenience, Alias Grace scribes up for WGC Awards". Playback, February 28, 2018
  15. ↑ Greg David, "WGC Screenwriting Awards 2020 finalists announced". TV, eh?, March 5, 2020.
  16. ↑ Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
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