David Diamond is a founding member and current Artistic Director (since 1984) of Vancouver’s Headlines Theatre, which was renamed Theatre for Living in 2013. David has a BFA in Theatre, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Fraser Valley. He has directed over 550 community-specific projects on issues such as racism, civic engagement, violence, addiction, street youth, intergenerational conflict, and homelessness. His work has received multiple awards and international recognition, taking him around the world, and he pioneered the development of live, interactive Forum television and web casting.
David 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 also a Visiting Faculty Member at the Master of Arts Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and Visiting Theatre Director at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta.
Links and Publications
Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of community-based dialogue (Book on Diamond’s inaugural Theatre for Living approach, 2007)