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The creative source behind DrummerBoy Film Inc. is Dr. David Dawson. A graduate of the University of British Columbia medical school in Vancouver, Dawson is a board certified psychiatrist, a former chief of psychiatry at the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, and a professor of psychiatry at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Drawing much of his inspiration and ideas from his knowledge of medicine, psychiatry and his work with people with severe psychiatric disorders, Dawson has expanded beyond that to become a highly respected novelist, artist and screenwriter.

The author of four novels, Dawson was once described by Publishers Weekly as "a sure-handed competitor of Robin Cook". His novel, Double Blind, was described by that same publication as "a medical mindblower". Dawson's other novels are: The Intern, Essondale, and Last Rights. His novels have been translated into other languages and printed throughout Europe as well as being distributed in Canada and the United States.

Having been taught to draw by his mother when he was growing up in Victoria, British Columbia, Dawson began doing watercolour sketches of landscapes while on holidays which he then turns into large oils on his return. His work has been shown in Toronto, Victoria and Hamilton galleries prior to the opening of his own gallery. Since 1995, Dawson has been the co-owner of the Gallery on the Bay in Hamilton. Housed in an historic renovated factory building overlooking Hamilton Harbour, the gallery not only showcases Dawson's own works but that of many of the best artists in the area. It also serves as home and studio for Dawson and his family.

Writing stage and screenplays arose out of Dawson's desire to present relevant psychiatric information in a more compelling manner. In 1989, he was at the annual community advisory board meeting of the Ontario Psychiatric Hospitals and offered to write a play when the organizers wanted to do something interesting and different for the conference. After listening to the usual lectures, the participants returned to the auditorium to be presented with his play about a young girl developing schizophrenia, performed by amateur actors.

The play was well received and was turned into a video called Who Cares. It was shown at the same conference the following year and at the International Schizophrenia Conference in Vancouver in 1990 and the Canadian Psychiatric Association meeting in 1990. Who Cares brilliantly outlines the dilemma that family and health care workers face when trying to obtain treatment for someone who is irrational and psychotic.

Dawson then wrote and produced Manic - a drama dealing with the onset of bipolar disorder in a husband and father and the impact that has on the family. This one hour drama was broadcast on T V Ontario (TVO), the public educational network, for five years running. Its star, well known Canadian actor Ron White, received a Gemini nomination for best actor for his depiction of the husband. The film also stars the highly acclaimed actress, Fiona Reid. Ms Reid is probably best known for her starring role opposite the late Al Waxman in the long running Canadian Broadcasting Corporation sitcom, the King of Kensington. However, Ms Reid is a noted stage actress who has been featured in productions at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-On-the-Lake and for the Canadian Stage Company in Toronto.

Dawson next wrote the film script for Drummer Boy. Believing that Hollywood and the film industry had depicted schizophrenia in a poor and inaccurate light, Dawson wanted to do a film that properly depicted this disease and helped to alleviate the fear and stigma associated with it. Many films, he said, have entertained people while at the same time helping to make their viewers more aware of the true nature of the medical condition and the humanity of the people who suffered with it.

There are many examples of this from Hollywood but certainly Rainman is one example of a film that audiences enjoyed but that also went a long way to explain autism. Similarly My Left Foot demonstrated that people with cerebral palsy can accomplish and are not developmentally delayed as was often erroneously believed. Schizophrenia, unfortunately has never been presented properly. Its victims were usually depicted as deranged killers who needed to be locked away.

Dawson, however, was slightly ahead of his time and had difficulty finding backing for the film. Fortunately, A Beautiful Mind did come out of Hollywood and, despite its inaccuracies in portraying the disease, it went a long way towards opening the doors for other films on this topic.

However, before embarking on a major feature film, Dawson wanted to learn as much as he could about filmmaking and, in particular, the new technology of digital film making. In order to do that, he wrote a one hour drama featuring an actor describing his life with schizophrenia. The film, My Name is Walter James Cross, stars Canadian actor Marcel Aymar talking to the audience as he contemplates taking all his pills at once. Produced for a mere $10,000, the film has been sold to TVO and is being marketed to other broadcast areas.

With a shoestring budget of money put up by small investors who have an interest seeing Drummer Boy produced, Dawson's film was shot over the summer of 2002 in Hamilton.

PLAYS, SCREENPLAYS, FILM, VIDEO BY DAVID LAING DAWSON

• My Name is Walter James Cross 1 Hour screenplay, produced in 2001 by Drummer Boy Productions.
• Shrinks 7 episode documentary series for television, in development.
• Drummer Boy Full length screenplay.
• Stray Dogs Full length screenplay, in development.
• Mother's Boy Full length screenplay, in development.
• The Three Harolds Full length screenplay, optioned by Pat Ferns Productions.
• The Waiting Room One half hour 1 Act play, written, directed and produced for The
  International Gerontology Conference 1994.
• Manic Written by David Dawson and Alex Chapple. A one hour dramatic
  film, made for TV Ontario, 1993.
• Who Cares? Written by David Dawson and Alex Chapple. Half hour dramatic
  video, 1990.
  
• Whose Mind is it Anyway? 50 Minute one act play, written and produced, Hamilton Place,
  Hamilton, 1989.

NOVELS

• The Intern Macmillan of Canada, 1996 (illustrated by the author)
• Essondale Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, 1993
  Rowahlt, Germany, Artia, Denmark
• Double Blind St. Martin's Press, New York, NY., 1992
  Macmillan of Canada
  Klim, Denmark; FRJALS Fjolmidlyn HF, Iceland; Rowohlt, Germany; Bzztoh, The Netherlands; Chivers Press, England; Forlag, Sweden; Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Norway; Edition Du Seuil, Paris, France; Worldwide Library, New York
• Last Rights St. Martin's Press, New York, NY., 1990
  Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, 1990
  Klim, Denmark; FRJALS Fjolmidlun HF, Iceland; Rowohlt, Germany; Bzztoh, The Netherlands; Chivers Press, England; Forlag, Sweden; Edition Du Seuil, Paris, France; Worldwide Library, New York

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