Fonds - Rex Deverell fonds

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Rex Deverell fonds

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Fonds

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Date(s)

  • 1956-1989 (Creation)

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Physical description

5.46 m of textual records and other material

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Name of creator

Biographical history

Rex Deverell was born in Toronto on July 17, 1941, and was raised in Orillia, Ontario. In 1960 he moved to Hamilton to attend McMaster University and McMaster Divinity College, gaining his Bachelor of Arts in 1963 and a Bachelor of Divinity in 1966. He attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City during 1966-67 and was granted a Master of Sacred Theology degree before serving as pastor at the Edward St. Baptist Church in St. Thomas, Ontario from 1967-1970. He married Rita Shelton on May 24, 1967. They have one son, Shelton Ramsay Deverell, born in 1974. Since 1970, Rex Deverell has worked as a playwright in Toronto and Regina, serving as resident playwright at the Globe Theatre in Regina, 1975-1989. He is the author of fifty stage plays and collective creations as well as numerous radio plays, and television and film scripts. His plays have premiered in Banff, Regina, Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto, Hamilton, and Chester, New Jersey, and many toured Saskatchewan with the Globe Theatre School Tour. Several of his plays have been published including two anthologies: 'Deverell at the Globe' (NeWest Press, 1989), and 'Plays of Belonging' (Playwrights Canada Press, 1997). Among several awards he has won, he received the 1978 Canadian Authors Award for the play 'Boiler Room Suite' and the 1986 Major Armstrong Award for 'The Riel Commission'. His radio plays, dramatizations, and commentaries have appeared locally and nationally on CBC Radio, and he has recently begun to write opera libretti. He was a founding member and president of the Playwrights Union of Canada, and has been associated with various provincial and national organizations including the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, the Guild of Canadian Playwrights, ACTRA, and the Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre. Rex Deverell has lived in Toronto since 1989.

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Scope and content

Fonds consists of personal and professional papers documenting the career of playwright and pastor Rex Deverell, 1956-1989. The records are arranged in the following series: Personal; Financial Records; General Correspondence; Globe Theatre; Pastoral Career/Religious Interests; Plays by Rex Deverell; Plays by Others; Professional Activities and Interests; Professional Associations; Publications; Writings by Rex Deverell; Writings by Others; and Tapes. The bulk of the fonds consists of background material, correspondence, notes, reviews, scripts, drafts, musical scores, songs, programs, audio tapes, photographs, printed copies, and other records relating to the writing and production of Deverell's many stage plays and TV/film plays, as well as his articles, early writings, poetry, radio commentaries, and short stories. Also of interest are the General Correspondence series which includes correspondence with several writers and theatre companies; the Globe Theatre files; the Pastoral Career/Religious Interests series which contains general files, sermons and notes, and other records relating to Deverell's pastoral life; and the Professional Activities and Interests and Professional Associations series which include records pertaining to the many conferences, workshops, and organizations with which he was involved. Small quantities of personal and family correspondence and photos are also present.

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Restrictions on access

One file of correspondence with Rita Deverell is confidential.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Audiotapes may not be broadcast without permission from the rights holders.

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Inventory and photo index are available.

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Includes 32 photographs, 22 audio cassettes, 1 slide, and 7 oversize items.

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