No better way to kick off 2024 than to grab yer best gals, a glass o’ wine and laugh your faces off with Elvira Kurt, Jennine Profeta, Karen Parker and ME!
Saturday Feb 3, 2024 – 8pm!
‘The Burning Season’ wins Best Original Screenplay at the 2023 Whistler Film Festival
4 DecThe Burning Season – a feature film written by Jonas Chernick and myself, won The Borsos Best Screenplay at the 2023 Whistler Film Festival!
We couldn’t be prouder of this wee indie film, shot in Sept of 2022 in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Being a writer/producer of this romantic drama was one of the hardest and emotionally difficult yet rewarding creative experiences of my life. Directed by Sean Garrity and starring Jonas Chernick & Sara Canning as traumatized lovers who just can’t quit each other, The Burning Season premiered at the Whistler Film Festival and is currently making its rounds in the festival circuit!
Back In Show Mode!
19 FebHas it been almost two years since I’ve updated this website? Um. Yes. I think we all know why. But the good news is, theatres are opening back up and I can not WAIT to do shows with Girls Nite Out again!
In the two years since updating this site I’ve completely forgotten how to link the shows in my calendar thingie on the side, so here’s the info below.
Saturday Feb 26th we are at The River Run Centre in Guelph:
And for International Women’s Day, we’re back at Theatre Collingwood for TWO SHOWS! Friday March 6th and Saturday March 7th. Both shows are sold out I believe, which is incredible. Last time we performed in Collingwood, we had what I’ll confidently say is one of the most incredible audience participation moments from a 96-year old woman who had LIVED A GOD DAMN LIFE!
Really hope she comes back!
If you haven’t been out to see live music, theatre, comedy or the arts – please treat yourself and support the performers. To say our industry got decimated is an understatement. Remember how much you relied on entertainment from your home during the pandemic – now we need you!
2020 Canadian Screen Award WINNER!
28 MayWell, hot damn if it isn’t my first Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing for Corner Gas Animated! Such a thrill to win. Such a bizarre thing to win while in my basement office drinking wine alone.
Many thanks to the entire Corner Gas Animated team. It was truly one of the best writing jobs I’ve ever had, and I’m not just saying that because it came with free breakfasts.
I remember vividly last year, being backstage of the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards as one of the writers of the show, thinking how funny it would be to win *next year* and purposely make my speech super short because I know how the producers are always worried about the show going too long. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that the following year, I would be nominated and win, but the entire show would get cancelled because of a world-wide pandemic which would result in me animating my dog to give my acceptance speech. (If you wanna see that acceptance speech, check out my twitter @dianafrancesvan because the video wouldn’t upload here for some dumb reason.)
Brent Butt also won for Best Performance and the show won for Best Animated Show. Feels like this show will have a long life on air and I wish everyone involved the best.
Girl’s Nite Out – St. Catherine’s (again!)
8 MarOh hello again, St. Catherine’s. Third year in a row we’ve brought in International Women’s Day with you! And apparently we’ve already been asked back for 2021! (Assuming there is a 2021.)
Don’t tell Evira I posted this picture cause she was having a day where her hair looked GREAT in person but weird in photos… according to her. But the day was extra special to me because…
… my biological father (who I just met in November) came to see me perform for the first time ever. I know he’s my daddio cause man do we ever have the same nose or what?
Dadsy even got to meet my super handsome fella-man. What a crazy-ass night.
2020 Writer’s Guild of Canada nomination!
4 MarWell holy hell this is grand news! Being nominated for a WGC Award is tickling me all kinds of pink cause it’s the peers, ya know? And to be nominated with two JANN’s and two Schitt’s Creek’s? That’s just the best.
Fun fact, the script I’m nominated for is called ‘Tag, You’re I.T.’ which features an animated cameo of my dog, Hunter in the opening scene…
AND… Hunter was also in the Season 2 finale of Schitt’s Creek! (And yeah, that’s me doing terrible background acting.)
So frankly, I think Hunter needs a cameo on JANN to round out the nomination good luck. He’s ready and willing to work:
2020 Canadian Screen Award nominations!
17 FebWhat the who? How exciting is this!
Nominated for my writing on Corner Gas: Animated AND the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards. Plus, both shows got their own nominations.
Congrats to everyone involved. There are always so many great minds on a single script. There’s no way I can take all the credit, but I will for sure buy a fancy dress and represent for both shows!
Girl’s Nite Out – Collingwood, Ontario
7 FebSo great to be back for the second year in a row at the Collingwood Legion for another sold out Girl’s Nite Out show on International Women’s Day weekend.
Shout out to our second-half talk show guest, 95 year-old Joyce who used to be a microbiologist. At 85 she got bored and started taking flying lessons. You know AS ONE DOES AT 85.
She could not for the life of her figure out what we wanted her to do in the ‘audience sound effects’ scene, but it was the best kind of gong-show.
Improv in Algonquin
13 SepSometimes you get asked to do an improv show with two of your best friends, Ashely Comeau and Karen Parker in weird-ass places. Like a camp in the middle of nowhere in September that you have to take a rickety boat to get to, filled with women, yoga and a lot of wine.
The weather is rainy and terrible and it feels like the beginning of a horror movie…
But then you realize you can do a show in matching plaid shirts and it all feels a little better…
And then the show is over and you’re drinking with a hundred wicked women and Karen gets this crazy cool shot…
And that’s when you realize your day job of making people laugh is pretty damn good.
Diana Frances 
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