Jason Sherman (1962- ), playwright, was born in Montreal, Quebec, but has lived in Toronto since 1969. After graduating from the Creative Writing Program of York University in 1985, Sherman co-founded What Publishing with Kevin Connolly, which produced what, a literary magazine that he edited from 1985 to 1990. Before establishing himself as a dramatist, Sherman's journalistic works such as reviews, essays, and interviews appeared in various publications, including The Globe and Mail, Canadian Theatre Review, and Theatrum. He edited two anthologies for Coach House Press: Canadian Brash (1991) and Solo (1993), and has been a playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre since 1992. Sherman's first professional productions were A Place Like Pamela (1991) and To Cry is Not So (1991), followed by The League of Nathans (1992, published in book form in 1996), which won a Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award (1993), and was nominated for the Governor General's Award. Since then, Sherman has produced a series of plays: What the Russians Say (1993), Field (1993), The Merchant of Showboat (1993), Three in the Back, Two in the Head (1994, won a 1995 Governor General's Award), Reading Hebron (1995, 1996, published in book form in 1997 and nominated for the Governor General's Award), The Retreat (1996), None is Too Many (1997), Patience (1998), It's All True (1999), and An Acre of Time (1999/2000).
The fonds consists of: manuscripts (1970-1999) and typescript drafts of Sherman's work and copies of scripts with revisions made during the production of his plays, including numerous short creative writings by Sherman during his years in the Creative Writing Program at York University, his earlier published essays and reviews, and his plays: Interrupt Us, The Serpent Woman, A Place Like Pamela, To Cry is Not So, The League of Nathans, Three in the Back, Two in the Head, The Retreat, Reading Hebron, and None is Too Many; what magazine files (1984-1990), including administrative and financial files, typescript copies of stories submitted to what, correspondence between the editor Sherman and the writers, as well as a series of writers' files arranged alphabetically with stories and clippings pertaining to particular authors.
Finding aid available.
Some restrictions on access.
Inventory number: F0191