Finalist for the 2003 Governor General's Award for Drama (Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer prize)

Prok is a full-length drama by Brian Drader. The title is short for Professor Kinsey, the American scholar whose field studies ushered in the sexual revolution. In this fascinating memory play, his often-beleaguered wife Clara McMillan recalls the researcher's complicated double life as he gathers data for what will become the most controversial study of the 1950s.

Prok is bio-drama about the renowned sex expert Alfred C. Kinsey, his wife and partner Clara, their work, their relationship and the times they lived in. Into a world of seemingly complacent conformity, Professor Alfred C. Kinsey's 1948 publication Sexual Behavior in the Human Male exploded onto the scene and provided the spark that ushered in the sexual revolution. And Professor K, or "Prok", as he was known, had as many secrets as the subjects he interviewed for his groundbreaking studies…. In a weave of memory and real time, Kinsey's wife Clara recalls their life together; their first meeting, their wedding night, lovers, conflicts, Kinsey's work and his colleagues. Kinsey emerges as a complex individual – a renowned scientist and outwardly conventional family man who indulged his own dark private compulsions. Designed to provoke frank discussion, Prok is an intelligent three-hander that calls for one simple set and explores the ethics of science, the public vs. private self and the idea of memory as a construct.

Prok premiered in 2001 at Theatre Projects Manitoba in Winnipeg, and was performed in 2003 at the Brick Playhouse the Philadelphia, winning its New Play Award. It was also the winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Drama (USA) and the Theatre BC National Playwrighting Award.

Cast: 1 woman, 2 men

What people say:

"What makes Prok such an entertaining and thought-provoking work isn't so much its inherently interesting subject matter, but rather Brian Drader's examination of the personal motivations behind Kinsey's obsession with human sexuality." — Philadelphia Weekly

"Nothing short of electric... Particularly powerful when he holds forth that if people did not leave so much moral authority to church and state, they might bring out the best in themselves, reaching something akin to a state of grace through sexual freedom – a tremendous articulation of Kinsey's own life, and perhaps for society as a whole." — Uptown

About the Playwright:

Brian Drader is a Canadian actor, writer, dramaturg and artistic administrator. He has acted in over seventy professional theatre productions across Canada, as well as numerous films, television projects, and radio dramas. His plays have been produced in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He served as the Director of Playwriting at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montréal from 2004 to 2017, and is presently the Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Playwrights.