Sean Devine (playwright)
Sean Devine | |
|---|---|
| Ottawa City Councillor | |
| Assumed office November 15, 2022[1] | |
| Preceded by | Keith Egli |
| Constituency | Knoxdale-Merivale Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 11, 1970 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Alexa Devine |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | Trend-Arlington, Ottawa |
| Alma mater | National Theatre School of Canada Marianopolis College |
| Occupation | Playwright, actor, politician |
Sean Devine (born June 11, 1970) is a Canadian politician, playwright, and actor. Devine currently represents Knoxdale-Merivale Ward on Ottawa City Council. His artistic career has spanned over three decades, including playwriting and directing, as well as acting roles on film and television. He has appeared in over twenty films and more than a dozen TV series.
Early life and education
[edit]Devine was born on June 11, 1970, in Montreal, Quebec. From 1987 to 1989 he attended Marianopolis College in Westmount. Afterwards, Devine studied from 1989 to 1992 at the National Theatre School of Canada.
Drama career
[edit]Devine served as the artistic director of Horseshoes and Handgrenades Theatre Company between 2004 and 2019.
Devine's 2011 play Re:Union was based on the real-life story of Norman Morrison, a Baltimore Quaker who self-immolated below Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's Pentagon office in 1965. The play imagines a meeting between Morrison's daughter Emily and Robert McNamara.[2] First produced in 2011, it was published by Scirocco Drama in 2013. At Ottawa's Magnetic North Theatre Festival in 2015, Re:Union won the Prix Rideau Award for Ottawa's Best Production.
Devine's next play, Except in the Unlikely Event of War, premiered in 2013, was a political drama and satire which discusses war and government manipulation of the media. It draws inspiration from The Report from Iron Mountain, a satirical book which asserted that the United States government believed war was necessary to maintain its power.[3][4]
Devine's 2016 play Daisy is a political drama set during the 1964 United States presidential election. The play depicts the events surrounding the presidential election and the controversial 'Daisy' advertisement of Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign.[5] Daisy premiered at Seattle's ACT Theatre in 2016. The play received the Broadway World Seattle Critic's Choice Award for Best New Play and was nominated for a Gregory Award for Best New Play. It was later published as a book by Talonbooks in 2017.
Devine's play, titled When There's Nothing Left to Burn was released in 2017. The play was by the events of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, and drew further inspiration from the 2012 Quebec student protests. It depicts ordinary citizens living in the midst of violent political upheaval.[6][7] The play won the University of Lethbridge's Fiction at Fifty competition.[8]
In 2017, Devine took a position with the Canada Council for the Arts, a federal government institution dedicated to funding the arts.
Politics
[edit]In 2015, Devine won the nomination for the New Democratic Party over PIPSC negotiator Denise Doherty-Delorme to represent the party in the 2015 Canadian federal election in Nepean.[9] Ultimately he placed third, losing to Chandra Arya of the Liberal Party. Devine's was again the NDP's candidate in Nepean in the 2021 Canadian federal election and focused on establishing relationships with communities who felt ignored by Arya such as the Tamil, Punjabi and Sikh members. On this occasion he again placed third, although he received twice the number of votes he had in 2015.[10]
Devine was successfully elected as city councillor for Knoxdale-Merivale Ward in the 2022 Ottawa municipal election, defeating real-estate agent James Dean, Myles Egli (brother of retiring incumbent Keith Egli), and conservative writer Joseph Ben-Ami. Devine's campaign emphasized the need for civility at city hall, improved public transit, and better natural disaster preparedness.[11]
Devine voted against "Landsdowne 2.0" project which proposed over $400 million dollars of taxpayer-funded subsidies for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park. The project was approved by a vote of 16 to 9.[12][13][14]
In 2024, Devine voted against reductions in the frequency of the O-Train. The service reductions were ultimately approved by city council.[15][16]
Personal life
[edit]Devine resides in the Trend-Arlington neighbourhood of Ottawa with his wife and four children. He previously served as the president of the Trend-Arlington Community Association. During his presidency, Trend-Arlington was severely affected by a tornado in 2018. Under Devine's leadership, the Community Association organized recovery efforts and received awards from the mayor's office and United Way for their work.[17][18]
Selected filmography
[edit]Televeision series
[edit]| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Disappearance | Stephen Price |
| 2014 | Intruders | Bill Anderson |
| 2013 | The Haunting Hour: The Series | Mr. Franklin |
| 2013 | The Killing | Dr. Andrew Newman |
| 2012 | Arctic Air | Rudy |
| 2008 | Supernatural | Gus |
| 2007 | Dragon Boys | Motel Manager |
| 2006 | Whistler | Mack |
| 2006 | Godiva's | Ben |
| 2006 | Masters of Horror | Hunter |
| 2005-2007 | The 4400 | P.J. |
| 2004 | Cold Squad | Dr. Alvin Whitehead |
| 2003 | Da Vinci's Inquest | Michael |
| 2002 | Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension | Bala & Dr. Darger |
| 2001 | Mysterious Ways | Scott Krotenko |
| 1998 | The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo | Rawls |
| 1997-1998 | Lassie | Officer Burdick |
Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Midnight Stallion | Donald Dupree |
| 2011 | Knockout | Jacob Miller |
| 2010 | Territories | Walter Sotos |
| 2009 | Kick Me Down | Gene |
| 2001 | XChange | Rix |
| 2000 | The Whole Nine Yards | Sgt. Buchanan |
| 1999 | Dead Silent | Dakins |
| 1999 | The Last Breath | Hammer |
| 1999 | Perpetrators of the Crime | Ed |
| 1999 | Quand je serai parti... vous vivrez encore | Major Denny |
Television films
[edit]| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mommy's Little Angel | Doyle |
| 2017 | Killer Mom | Detective Peters |
| 2003 | Wicked Minds | Julien |
| 2002 | The Rendering | Kip |
| 2001 | The Royal Scandal | Timothy Carter |
| 2001 | Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story | Hindmarsh |
| 2000 | Race Against Time | Kilroy the Bounty Hunter |
| 2000 | Task Force | Pierre Bluteau |
| 1999 | Revenge of the Land | James McCann |
Electoral record
[edit]| Candidate | Popular vote | Expenditures | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||
| Sean Devine | 4,812 | 39.20 | – | |||||||||
| James Dean | 2,564 | 20.89 | +1.05 | |||||||||
| Myles Egli | 2,051 | 16.71 | – | |||||||||
| Joseph Ben-Ami | 1,426 | 11.62 | – | |||||||||
| Michael Wood | 1,228 | 10.00 | – | |||||||||
| Peter Westaway | 118 | 0.96 | – | |||||||||
| Peter Anthony Weber | 77 | 0.63 | -1.99 | |||||||||
| Total valid votes | 12,276 | 97.47 | ||||||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined votes | 318 | 2.53 | ||||||||||
| Turnout | 12,594 | 45.55 | ||||||||||
| Eligible voters | 27,650 | |||||||||||
| Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.) and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. | ||||||||||||
| Sources: | ||||||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Nepean | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Chandra Arya | 29,620 | 45.1 | -0.8 | $109,271.27 | |||
| Conservative | Matt Triemstra | 22,184 | 33.7 | +0.2 | $75,325.90 | |||
| New Democratic | Sean Devine | 10,786 | 16.4 | +3.3 | $12,498.65 | |||
| People's | Jay Nera | 1,840 | 2.8 | +1.8 | $0.00 | |||
| Green | Gordon Kubanek | 1,318 | 2.0 | -4.3 | $786.11 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 65,748 | – | – | $121,196.92 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 419 | |||||||
| Turnout | 66,167 | 70.85 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 93,391 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[19] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Nepean | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Chandra Arya | 34,017 | 52.42 | +25.32 | $180,234.39 | |||
| Conservative | Andy Wang | 23,442 | 36.13 | -14.89 | $160,893.69 | |||
| New Democratic | Sean Devine | 5,324 | 8.20 | -9.62 | $23,472.19 | |||
| Green | Jean-Luc Roger Cooke | 1,513 | 2.33 | -1.70 | $14,291.13 | |||
| Independent | Jesus Cosico | 416 | 0.64 | – | – | |||
| Independent | Hubert Mamba | 69 | 0.11 | – | $1,309.19 | |||
| Independent | Harry Splett | 66 | 0.10 | – | – | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Tony Seed | 41 | 0.06 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 64,888 | 100.00 | $219,121.45 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 262 | 0.40 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 65,150 | 78.52 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 82,976 | |||||||
| Liberal notional gain from Conservative | Swing | +20.10 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[20][21] | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Mark Sutcliffe laces up for new political marathon". CTV Ottawa. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ Colenbrander, Ariane (October 24, 2011). "Reviewed: Sean Devine's Re:Union". vancouverscape.com. VancouverScape. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ "Except In The Unlikely Event of War". DHNews. December 19, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Colin (November 18, 2013). "Except in the Unlikely Event of War overflows with intelligence and wit". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ Saxburg, Lynn (December 3, 2021). "Theatre review: Daisy is wordy but well-paced chronicle of manipulative advertising". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ Fominoff, Lara (November 1, 2017). ""When There's Nothing Left To Burn" portrays lives of those caught in violent political conflict". Lethbridge News Now. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ Kiriakopoulos, Rebecca (April 14, 2018). "The Gladstone set to stage Ottawa playwright's dark political drama". Centretown News. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "Drama Mainstage - When There's Nothing Left to Burn by Sean Devine". University of Lethbridge. University of Lethbridge. 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ Seymour, Andrew (August 19, 2015). "The Gargoyle: NDP chooses Sean Devine in Nepean". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ "Liberal candidate Chandra Arya secures third straight win in Nepean riding". ottawacitizen. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- ^ "Sean Devine will fill Knoxdale-Merivale's seat at the council table". CBC News. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Skura, Elyse (2023-11-09). "Lansdowne 2.0 gets city council's stamp of approval". CBC News. Ottawa. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Raymond, Ted (2024-04-17). "Council approves crucial procedural step for Lansdowne 2.0 plan". CTV News. Ottawa. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Glass, Marlo (2023-11-10). "How Ottawa's councillors voted on Lansdowne 2.0". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Wilimek, Andrew (2024-09-18). "Ottawa city council narrowly votes down restoration of off-peak LRT service". The Fulcrum. Ottawa. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ Crawford, Blair (2024-09-18). "Ottawa city council says no to shorter LRT wait times, here's why". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ "Trend Arlington Community Association receives Mayor's City Builder Award". March 27, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ @DevineSean (15 May 2019). "I'm very proud that I'll be accepting a Community Builder of the Year Award tomorrow from @UnitedWayOttawa" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Nepean, 30 September 2015
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
- 1970 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century Canadian politicians
- Anglophone Quebec people
- National Theatre School of Canada alumni
- 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights
- Canadian male television actors
- Canadian male film actors
- Male actors from Montreal
- Male actors from Ottawa
- Politicians from Montreal
- Politicians from Ottawa
- Writers from Montreal
- Writers from Ottawa
- Canadian theatre directors
- Canadian actor-politicians
- New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
- Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament
- Ottawa city councillors