Andrew Kushnir

{{short description|Canadian playwright and actor (born 1980)}}

Andrew Kushnir (born 1980) is a Canadian playwright and actor.[http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Kushnir%2C%20Andrew "Kushnir, Andrew"]. Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, March 5, 2019. He is most noted as co-creator with Damien Atkins and Paul Dunn of The Gay Heritage Project,"Gay Heritage Project has a bright future". Toronto Star, November 24, 2013. a theatrical show dramatizing aspects of LGBT history which was shortlisted for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2014.[http://www.thetheatrereader.com/blog/2014/11/4/tapa-announces-2014-dora-award-nominees "TAPA ANNOUNCES 2014 DORA AWARD NOMINEES"]. The Theatre Reader, June 2, 2014.

The artistic director of Project Humanity, a theatrical organization which uses the arts to raise social awareness, Kushnir specializes in verbatim theatre which addresses social issues by making theatrical presentations out of the real testimonies of people impacted by social issues. His plays have included Captain Princess,"For shame: Playwright takes on guilt and organized religion with musical flair". Edmonton Journal, November 25, 2006. foto, The Middle Place,"Shelter from the norm". National Post, February 22, 2011. Small Axe,"Project: Humanity play deserves to be seen". Toronto Star, January 25, 2015. Wormwood"Powerful play revels in deceptive simplicity". Toronto Star, November 20, 2015. and Towards Youth: A Play on Radical Hope."Theatre meets research project: Andrew Kushnir followed a professor around the world to write his latest play". The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2019. Towards Youth was published in 2022 by University of Toronto Press.{{Cite web |title=University of Toronto Press - Hope in a Collapsing World |url=https://utorontopress.com/9781487541200/hope-in-a-collapsing-world |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=University of Toronto Press |language=en-CA}}

He is currently playwright in residence at Tarragon Theatre. In 2023 he directed a production of Nick Green's Casey and Diana, a dramatization of the 1991 visit of Diana, Princess of Wales to Casey House, Toronto's HIV/AIDS hospice, for the Stratford Festival.Karen Fricker, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2023/06/10/my-mother-burst-into-tears-inside-casey-and-diana-the-most-moving-canadian-play-of-the-year.html "‘My mother burst into tears’: Inside ‘Casey and Diana,’ the most moving Canadian play of the year"]. Toronto Star, June 10, 2023.