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| The identities of the
Winning and Finalist Playwrights were revealed on Friday, November 8, 2002 on Granville
Island in Vancouver BC at the Opening Reception for BACKSTAGE
2002. The Jurors for this year's Competition noted that it was a strong field of entries and that several plays beyond those selected as the three Category winners and seven Finalists were worthy of production consideration and that they would encourage all playwrights to continue writing and developing their works. The results were as follows: |
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| CATEGORY WINNERS | (See Winners'& Finalists' bios linked here) | |
| Full Length Winner ($1500 Air Canada Jazz Cash Award) | ||
| * | fury by Gordon Portman, Toronto, ON | |
| Synopsis:
Psychological study of a taboo relationship between a woman and a younger man, told in
court room scenes. Jurors' comments included: "Very theatrical...well drawn characters...should be quite thought provoking" "...wow, what a great premise, gripping, terrible...issue-related socially involved story...Lots of tension. Pacing is good. The stakes keep rising...The ending is brilliant." "Theatrically, this is a dazzling piece of work, a director's dream...The playwright isn't afraid of high emotion and uses wonderfully precise language to shape it and keep it true." |
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| One Act Winner ($1000 Cash Award) | ||
| * | Catherine's Pillow by Corrina Hodgson, Vancouver, BC | |
| Synopsis:
On a night of steady downpour, six characters face the agonizingly reluctant nature of
human beings to change. A lover's quarrel, a dozen eggs and the prom - Catherine's
Pillow examines the nature of love in a slowly shifting society. Juror's comments included: "Well drawn characters...good flow, reasonably crisp dialogue, quite economical" "Good social issues dealt with in an interesting situation...good easily told story line. Very accessible. Nice relationship arcs and predicaments" "Sweet, funny and graceful...the script feels fully imagined...the playwright makes some interesting choices...lovely, smart". |
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| Special Merit Winner ($750 Cash Award) | ||
| * | Bone Cage by Catherine Banks, Truro, NS | |
| Synopsis:
This is a play about the personal and social consequences of being a paid worker in the
devastation of the natural world. Juror's comments included: "Poetic, somewhat surreal telling of events in a rite of passage story...Poetry adds a sense of theatricality...Well drawn, strong individuality and some quirkiness...dialogue is crisp and has good flow" "Powerful. Gripping. Raw...This script feels like it has just oozed into existence, newly born on the page, with vitality and urgency" "very powerful, clear-eyed piece of work...subtly poetic dialogue, acute observation and imaginative, sly plotting...leaves one with the taste of a rich and real experience". |
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| FINALISTS | (Alphabetical order by title) | |
| * | Beggers
Would Ride by Peter Zednik, Vancouver BC Synopsis: An alternative theatre company gets more than it bargained for when it recruits a professional businessman to the board of directors to help with fundraising. |
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| * | Crazy
For Life by Victoria Maxwell, North Vancouver BC Synopsis: This play is about living with mental illness. Based on a true story, it's a compelling and hilariously irreverent look at the spiritual and emotionalodyssey that takes one woman from a tiny Kitsilano neighbourhood to an ashram in India to the psych wards of Lion's Gate Hospital, and just about everywhere in between. |
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| * | The
Middle Path by M. Akira Klippenstein, Burnaby BC Synopsis: This is the story of a succession struggle in a Japanese swordfighting school in 1543. Hideo has been visited twice by the same dream of defeating the Master in a duel, thus succeeding him. ...but ought he trust the dream to turn out true? |
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| * | The
Orchard Drive by Christopher Grignard, Kelowna BC Synopsis: The fruitful Okanagan Valley, situated in the heart of British Columbia is the backdrop for this controversial one act. Four teenagers gather to rehearse their adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard for the annual Gay Pride march, which is to take place the following day in Kelowna City Park. They desperately attempt to use the medium of theatre to face not only their city's ignorance, but also their own buried demons head-on. The play is historically rooted in real controversial 1997 event, when Kelowna City Mayor Walter Gray refused to pass the annual Pride proclamation. |
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| * | Penetration
by Bob Armstrong, Winnipeg MB Synopsis: A techno-political thriller, leavened with comedy and homage to the great tough-talking classics of cinema noir, Penetration explores questions of trust, deception and the power dynamics of personal relationships amid an environment of computer hacking, industrial espionage and the politics of the anti-globalization movement. |
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| * | Quid
Pro Quo by Michael C. McLaughlin, Tumbler Ridge BC Synopsis: On the surface Quid Pro Quo is a satire on political bureaucracy, of government versus the people. As the story evolves the balance of power shifts, distinctions between disinterested bureaucrats and humane citizens blur until it is difficult to know who is who, and the old adage "government of the people" takes on new meaning. |
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| * | Wrack
and Rescue by Laurie Hill, Brighton ON Synopsis: Shipwrecked together on a desert island, a not-so-common sailor and a married gentlewoman contend with their feelings about each other, their parents' failures, and the island's strange other resident. |
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| JURORS | (see Juror's Bios linked here) | |
| The year's Jurors were Sharon Heath of New Westminster, BC, Frank Moher of Gabriola Island, BC, and Howard Siegel of Vancouver, BC. | ||
| All Winners
and Finalists will be invited to Theatre BC's New Play Festival,
April 4-6, 2002 at the Pavilion Theatre in Kamloops, BC. More complete details regarding
this year's Competition will be posted shortly. Congratulations to this year's Winners and Finalists. Thank you to all entering playwrights and to the Competition Jurors for their many hours of reading and careful consideration. We invite Canadian resident playwrights to enter their new works in Theatre BC's 15th Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competition. The postmark deadline for entry is Monday, July 28, 2003. There will be some changes to the Playwriting Competition for the 15th year. Budgetary constraints have necessitated a reduction in the CASH AWARDS. For the 15th Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competition, the Cash Awards will be $1000 (Full-Length), $750 (One Act) and $500 (Special Merit). However, Theatre BC is working on plans for added promotional opportunities for the Winning and Finalist scripts to offset this change. Theatre BC members are getting these
scripts into the public eye... If you would like to be added to our
mailing list for Competition information, please send your contact information to Theatre
BC at: |
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| Site maintained in-house @ Theatre BC This page last updated 11/11/2003 Contact Us at info@theatrebc.org |
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