# Mark Crawford (playwright)

Mark Crawford is a Canadian theatre actor and playwright. He is best known for his plays, The Birds and the Bees (2016) and The New Canadian Curling Club (2018), which have been widely produced across Canada.

## Personal life

Crawford is from Glencoe, Ontario, where he grew up on a farm. He graduated from the joint theatre and drama studies program offered by University of Toronto and Sheridan College in 2004.
Crawford is the partner of playwright and actor Paul Dunn.

## Career
### Acting

In 2011, Crawford played the dual role of Craig Donner / Grady in a production of The Normal Heart by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. He reprised his role when the production was remounted the following year at the same venue, due to popular demand.
In 2014, Crawford played Mr. Gilmer and Boo Radley in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird by the Young People's Theatre in Toronto.
In 2022, Crawford was cast in the Canadian premiere production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He played the Station Master, was a member of the ensemble, and an understudy for Ron Weasley.

### Writing

After being a stage actor for ten years, Crawford began writing plays which often combine social commentary with comedy.
Crawford's first theatrical play he wrote was Stag and Doe, which premiered at the Blyth Festival in 2014. It was written as a "love letter" to rural communities across Canada, and inspired by a stag and doe that was held for his brother.
His second play was called Bed and Breakfast, about a gay couple from Toronto who open a bed and breakfast in a small town. It premiered at the Thousand Islands Playhouse in 2015.
In 2016, Crawford's next play, The Birds and the Bees, premiered at the Blyth Festival. The play, which is a sex farce about beekeepers, has become one of the most widely produced plays across Canada.
In 2017, Boys, Girls and Other Mythological Creatures premiered. The original production was presented by Carousel Players, who toured the production to schools across Ontario. It is a youth play about a young child struggling with gender identity issues and acceptance. In 2017, the Niagara Catholic District School Board cancelled performances of the show at five of their schools because of concerns about the themes of the show.
Crawford's next play was The New Canadian Curling Club, which premiered at the Blyth Festival in 2018. The play is a comedy about new immigrants to Canada joining a curling team, which has since been produced across Canada.
In 2023, Crawford's play The Gig premiered at Theatre Aquarius. The play is about a drag queen who has been hired to put together the entertainment for a Conservative political candidate's campaign kickoff event.

## Theatre credits
### As performer

| Year | Production | Role | Theatre | Category |
| 2009 | The Tempest | Trinculo | High Park Amphitheatre | Canadian Stage Company |
| 2010 | The Waves | Neville | Toronto Fringe Festival | Toronto Fringe Festival |
| 2011 | The Normal Heart | Craig Donner / Grady / Orderly | Alexander Street Chamber Theatre | Regional: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre |
| 2012 | A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Francis Filchenkov | High Park Amphitheatre | Canadian Stage Company |
| 2012 | The Normal Heart | Craig Donner / Grady / Orderly | Alexander Street Chamber Theatre | Regional: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre |
| 2013 | Memorial | Dylan | Regional: Factory Theatre | Regional: Factory Theatre |
| 2014 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Mr. Gilmer / Boo Radley / Mob | Susan Rubes Theatre | Regional: Young People's Theatre |
| 2016 | The Winter's Tale | Clown / Gaoler | Regional: Coal Mine Theatre | Regional: Coal Mine Theatre |
| 2016 | Trompe-La-Mort, or Goriot in the 21st Century | Peter | Regional: Factory Theatre | Regional: Factory Theatre |
| 2017 | Measure for Measure | Elbow / Barnardine | Winter Garden Theatre | Regional: Groundling Theatre Company |
| 2018 | Prairie Nurse | Dr. Miles MacGreggor | Regional: Factory Theatre | Regional: Factory Theatre |
| 2022–2023 | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | Ensemble/Station Master, u/s Ron Weasley | Ed Mirvish Theatre | Mirvish Productions |

### As playwright

* Stag and Doe (2014)
* Bed and Breakfast (2015)
* The Birds and the Bees (2016)
* Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures (2017)
* The New Canadian Curling Club (2018)
* The Gig (2023)