Herman Voaden - A Biographical Outline
| 1903 | Born January 19, in London, Ontario to Dr. Arthur Voaden and Louisa Bale Voaden. Siblings: Carl, Fred and Violet. |
| 1910 | Voaden family moves to St. Thomas, Ontario. |
| 1917 | Herman portrays Shylock in an excerpt from The Merchant of Venice at the annual St. Thomas Collegiate school concert in the St. Thomas New Grand Opera House. |
| 1920 | Graduates from St. Thomas Collegiate. Enters Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. |
| 1923 | Receives B.A (Honours) in English and History from Queen's University. Medalist in English. |
| 1924 | Receives Teaching Certificate from College of Education, Toronto. |
| 1926 | Receives M.A. from Queen's University. Thesis on American playwright Eugene O'Neill. |
| 1927 | Meets Violet Kilpatrick. Begins Doctoral programme at the University of Chicago and position as head of the English Department at Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Vocational School. Founding of the Drama Club of Sarnia. |
| 1928 | Founding of the Sarnia Drama League (SDL). Completes first play The White Kingdom. Accepts position as the head of the English Department at the Central High School of Commerce (CHSC) in Toronto, Ontario. |
| 1929 | Completes Northern Storm. |
| 1930 | Completes Western Wolf. Collaborates with Lowrie Warner on Symphony. First play anthology Six Canadian Plays is published. Attends Yale University until spring 1931. |
| 1931 | Completes Wilderness at Yale. Writes most of Earth Song. |
| 1932 | Completes and produces Earth Song at Sarnia Drama League. Rocks written and produced at CHSC. |
| 1933 | Travels to Europe and the Orient. Writes Hill-Land. Begins involvement with the Dominion Drama Festival (DDF). |
| 1934 | Establishes the Play Workshop. Hill-Land premieres at CHSC. |
| 1935 | June 21, marries Violet Kilpatrick, at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Toronto. |
| 1936 | Completes and produces Murder Pattern at the Play Workshop. The Play Workshop acclaimed as best drama school in Toronto by theatre critic Lawrence Mason. Directs critically acclaimed Canadian premiere of T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral at Queen's University and Massey Hall, Toronto. |
| 1937 | Travels to England and Europe. Completes adaptation of Maria Chapdelaine. Begins writing Ascend As the Sun. |
| 1938 | Produces Maria Chapdelaine. |
| 1939-1941 | Completes writing Ascend As the Sun. |
| 1942 | Collaborates with Godrey Ridout on Ascend as the Sun for the Play Workshop at Hart House Theatre. Begins composing libretto for Frederick Jacobi's opera The Prodigal Son, completing the work in 1944. |
| 1944 | Participates in the "March on Ottawa" and the establishment of the Canadian Arts Council (CAC), later renamed the Canadian Conference on the Arts (CCA). |
| 1945 | Runs in first federal election as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). Begins two-and-a-half year term as the founding President of the CAC. |
| 1946 | As CAC President, Voaden is an official delegate to the first UNESCO Conference in Paris. |
| 1949-1950 | Assists in the CAC submission to the Massey-Levesque Royal Commission. |
| 1956 | Assists in the CCA submission to the Royal Commission on Broadcasting. |
| 1960 | Last produced drama, Emily Carr premieres, featuring Amelia Hall in the title role, and is directed by William Angus at Queen's University. |
| 1964 | Retires from teaching at CHSC. |
| 1965 | Receives the English Centennial Award. |
| 1966 | Becomes National Director of the CCA (until 1968). Assists in the CCA submission to the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Emily Carr performed at the MacPherson Playhouse, Victoria, as part of the British Columbia Centennial Celebrations. |
| 1968 | Begins two-year term as President of the Canadian Guild of Crafts. |
| 1970 | Made a Fellow in the Royal Society of the Arts. |
| 1974 | Made a Member of the Order of Canada. Is rediscovered by Canadian theatre historians through his participation in the "Canadian Theatre Before the Sixties" Conference organized by the University of Toronto Graduate Centre for Study of Drama and York University. |
| 1975 | Look Both Ways and Murder Pattern are published. |
| 1976 | The Playwrights Co-op publishes Earth Song. |
| 1977 | Receives the Queen's Jubilee Medal. |
| 1984 | December 9, death of Violet Voaden, one week before her 83rd birthday. |
| 1987 | Receives the Theatre Ontario Maggie Bassett Award. Heinar Piller produces Murder Pattern at George Brown Theatre, Toronto. |
| 1988 | Receives Honourary Doctorate from Saint Mary's University, Halifax. |
| 1989 | Receives a Diplome d'honneur from the Canadian Conference of the Arts. |
| 1990 | Heinar Piller produces Murder Pattern at George Brown Theatre, Toronto. |
| 1991 | Died June 27, in Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, aged 88. Rocks revived at the University of Toronto Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, directed by Pamela McKay. |
| 1992 | Equity Showcase Theatre revives Murder Pattern, directed by Brian Quirt. |
| 1993 | A Vision of Canada: Herman Voaden's Dramatic Works 1928-1945 published posthumously. |
| 1996 | Staged reading of Murder Pattern at the Shaw Festival Royal George Theatre, directed by Denis Johnston. |
| 1997 | CBC Radio broadcasts Shaw Festival Murder Pattern production. First bi-annual Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition at Queen's University. Abbedan Theatre production of Hill-Land, University of Alberta, directed by David Owen. |
| 2000 | Revival of Rocks at A.Y. Jackson Secondary School, Toronto, directed by Pamela McKay. |
More specific information is provided on the following pages:
- Education and Teaching
- Chronology of Dramatic Works
- List of Productions
- Published and Edited works
- Associations and Political Activities
- Violet Kilpatrick Voaden
- Photo Gallery
Also available is the finding aid for his fonds in the York University Archives, including the file list of personal materials within this fonds.
Last Updated 2000/10/10