Shawn Hitchins Explained

Shawn Hitchins
Children:1
Birth Date:4 June 1980

Shawn Hitchins is a gay Toronto-based comedian,[1] author, and actor. He is known for his red hair and for sharing his experience as a sperm donor to a lesbian couple.[2]

Early life

Hitchins was born in Egypt, Ontario.[3] In 2000, Hitchins briefly attended an acting program at George Brown College.[4]

Career

In 2005, Hitchins spent a summer performing in with the drag trio The B-Girlz in Provincetown, Massachusetts.[5]

In 2010, Hitchins appeared as a panelist on MTV (Canada) 1 Girl 5 Gays.

In 2011, Hitchins debuted his first one-man show called Survival of the Fiercest at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he made an offhand joke about the need for redheads to have a "Ginger Pride Walk."[6] In 2013, he returned to the UK to host the Ginger Pride Walk in Edinburgh, Scotland which gained international media attention on BBC News,[7] The Guardian,[8] CNN,[9] Raidió Teilifís Éireann,[10] The Globe and Mail.[11]

In 2013, Hitchins debut his second one-man show called Ginger Nation at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[12] The show recounts Hitchins' experience donating sperm to a lesbian couple as well as memories from adolescence, brushes with celebrity, and pride in his ginger hair. It received unprecedented media coverage for the festival and the show was later brought to Canada, the United States.[13] In 2015, Ginger Nation received top hit at the 25th Atlantic Fringe Festival.[14]  In 2016, Hitchins adapted the live show into a concert film, which screened at the 2017 InsideOut Film and Video Festival,[15] the 2017 Cucalorus Film Festival,[16] and the 2018 SF Indiefest.[17] Huffington Post described the film as "vastly entertaining."

In 2017, Hitchins released his debut memoir A Brief History of Oversharing,[18] published by ECW Press.

Personal life

In 2012, Hitchins welcomed a daughter after becoming a sperm donor for two close lesbian friends.[2]

Books

Filmography

Documentary

Films

Television

TV Mini-Series

TV Series

Notes and References

  1. News: Shawn Hitchins: Ginger Nation. Time Out New York. December 21, 2017. en.
  2. Web site: Experience: I was a sperm donor for my friends. Hitchins. Shawn. August 17, 2013. The Guardian. January 18, 2018.
  3. News: It's always a great day in Egypt, Ont.. July 27, 2017. TVO. January 18, 2018. en.
  4. News: Former George Brown theatre students allege they were humiliated, abused by faculty CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 18, 2018. en-US.
  5. News: A Brief History of Oversharing: One Ginger's Anthology of Humiliation Quill and Quire. October 17, 2017. Quill and Quire. January 18, 2018.
  6. News: How Shawn Hitchins' Ginger Pride jokes ignited red-hot passion. CBC Radio. January 18, 2018. en.
  7. News: Comedian leads Ginger Pride Walk. BBC News. January 18, 2018.
  8. News: How Shawn Hitchins' Ginger Pride jokes ignited red-hot passion. CBC Radio. December 21, 2017. en.
  9. News: Apparently This Matters: Gingers take to the streets . Jarrett . Bellini. CNN. January 18, 2018.
  10. News: March held in Edinburgh to demonstrate against gingerism. August 10, 2013. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. January 18, 2018. en.
  11. News: Talking Points: Disney sinkhole, Ginger Pride Walk, picking up the cheque. January 18, 2018.
  12. News: Ginger quest. January 14, 2015. Xtra. January 18, 2018. en-US.
  13. News: Shawn Hitchins Brings GINGER NATION to The Duplex Tonight. BWW News Desk. BroadwayWorld.com. December 21, 2017. en.
  14. Web site: Shawn Hitchins scores top hit at Fringe Festival with Ginger Nation. September 14, 2015. The Chronicle Herald. en. December 21, 2017.
  15. News: Spite and sperm donation: One comedian's misadventures in bringing his story to the screen CBC Arts. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 18, 2018. en-US.
  16. Web site: BEYOND THE REEL: Anghus reviews a broad bunch of films showing at Cucalorus 23 "Your Alternative Weekly Voice". www.encorepub.com. en-US. January 18, 2018.
  17. Web site: Powering Through An Identity Crisis. Heymont. George. January 15, 2018. HuffPost. en-US. January 17, 2018.
  18. Book: Shawn, Hitchins. Brief history of oversharing : one ginger's anthology of humiliation. 9781770413269. Toronto. 985966403. 2017.

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