Alec Butler

Alec Butler (born 1959 in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian playwright, filmmaker, novella writer, poet and performer. Born Intersex and raised as a female, he was known as Audrey and identified as a butch lesbian before coming out as transgender in 1999, and currently identifies as intersex, two-spirit and non-binary. Alec was given the spirit name "Whitewolf" by a Two-Spirit Cree Elder in 2010.

Alec was nominated for the Governor General's Award for English drama in 1990 for his play Black Friday? He has also worked on artistic projects with The 519 Church St. Community Centre as their first artist-in-residence. He was named one of Toronto's Vital people by the Toronto Community Foundation in 2006.

In November 2011, Alec's collected films were inducted into the University of Toronto's Women and Trans Center's video library, and his most recent film "My Friend Brindley" was launched at their Trans-Film Screening Series.

Alec recently finished his first novella "Rough Paradise" which was shortlisted for a novella writing contest sponsored by Quattro Books, Toronto.

In August 2012 attended screenings of 6 of his films at the Entzaubert DIY Queer Film Fest in Berlin, Germany where he gave an artist's talk and facilitated a workshop called "Creating your own reality".

In May 2013. four of Alec's films were screened at TranScreen, the International Transgender Film Festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands where "Misadventures of Pussy Boy" won best short/audience favorite award.

Plays

 * Shakedown
 * Cradle Pin
 * Radical Perversions: 2 Dyke Plays (1990)
 * Black Friday? (1990)
 * Claposis (1990)
 * Hardcore Memories (1993)
 * Medusa Rising (1996)
 * Ruf Paradise (2003)
 * Trans Cab (2005)

Films

 * Trans Mission: Get yer motor runnin ' , one trans man, 2Spirit show at A-Space, Toronto 2003
 * Misadventures of PussyBoy: First Love / Sick / First Period(screened at many queer film and video festivals, First Love won the Charles Street Award for emerging video and film makers in 2002 at the InsideOut Festival)
 * Audrey's Beard(named one of the top ten films about transitioning by Curve magazine)
 * Unstoppable: 5 Seconds of Fame, commissioned by Toronto's Pride Committee for Pride Toronto, 2007
 * My Friend, Brindley (artistic documentary about human rights activist and painter, Kathleen Brindley)
 * Darla's Goodbye, short film based on short story of the same name published in Red Light:Superheroes, Saints and Sluts
 * Trans Cabaret: the video

Literary Works include the novellas "Rough Paradise", and "Butterscotch Palace" as well as poetry including "Stolen Land", "Silverback" and "Confession". Alec has articles published in "Queers Were Here"(2016) and "Any Other Way: How Toronto Got Queer"(2017). Alec is currently pursuing a degree in Indigenous Studies and Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto.


 * For more detailed descriptions of plays, films, reviews and photos see: www.alecbutler.com AlecButler.com