Theatre BC's 19th Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competition
Stage Play Winners, Finalists and Jurors Announced
This year's Jury selected 3 Winners and 5 Finalists from 127 New Canadian Plays in Theatre
BC's 19th Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competition
The identities of the Winning and Finalist Playwrights were revealed on Sunday, October
14th, 2007 at the ActoberFest One-Act Play Festival's Awards Lunch in Kelowna, BC,
following the Jurors' Meeting to make the final selections. The results were as follows:
CATEGORY WINNERS
Full Length Winner ($1000 Cash Award)
"Before Play" by Janet Rothman & Howie Siegel ,
Victoria, BC
Synopsis:
A college couple reconnect after 35 years. Before Play tells what happens when they renew
their romance thru their past, culture, pain and sex using modern technology to inflame
the oldest passion.
Jurors' comments included:
"...is modern, fun, provocative and certainly takes risks....It not only frequently
touches my funny bone but it moves me to reflect on the challenges of finding true love
with all the complications that go with that...."
"...I loved the characters' sense of humours.....they were real people whose real
lives made them who they are."
One Act Winner ($750 Western Canada Theatre Cash Award)
"Perriott and Mr. Grump" by Mike Poirier, Vernon, BC
Synopsis:
Mr. Smith is a widower with a chip on his shoulder. Perriott is a 10 year old who sees
life like it really is and isn't afraid to share his thoughts.
Jurors' comments included:
"It's charming and the characters are very likable."
"A fabulous one-act about family bonds. Three great characters, three great roles.
Lovely and truthful without being preachy."
" I
found myself absorbed and along for the ride right away. It is sentimental, but it is fun,
and warm, and overall is a well written play...."
Special Merit Winner ($500 City of Kamloops Cash Award)
"Black & Blue" by Ron Fromstein Toronto, ON
Synopsis:
A man who's assaulted his wife attempts to make good.
Jurors' comments included:
"A roller coaster ride of sexual politics, surprising twists and turns, and each more
dangerous than the last"
"Uncomfortably funny, human. A strong male monologue."
"...a kind of stream of conscious monologue, very well written, very powerful at
times."
FINALISTS (alphabetical order by title)
"All Changed" by Klaas van Weringh, Ottawa, ON
Synopsis:
Set in occupied Holland and Canada afterwards, All Changed examines at a personal level
the terror of historical events beyond our control, showing how they can derail lives,
leaving us possessed by self-doubt and an almost endless search for absolution.
Jurors' comments included:
"This story of the Dutch occupation & Dutch immigrants to Canada is very
moving."
"Powerful and searing human drama."
"History" by Michelle Turner, Toronto, ON
Synopsis:
Sandra, a woman in her late forties, and her taxi driver Al, a man in his late twenties,
meet weekly. Together, they explore the building and breaking of relationships between
people, their city and their histories.
Jurors' comments included:
"This play has a good feeling ....it is relevant, honest and has the courage to speak
from a strong and controversial point of view."
"...a very good play. Natural dialogue, believable characters. The narrative is not
forced but unfolds in a very believable manner."
"In The Dark" by Mort Ransen, Saltspring Island, BC
Synopsis:
An electrician, who might or might not have magical powers, throws some light on a
marriage gone stale.
Jurors' comments included:
"This is...a lot of fun...a clever device"
"A quirky contemporary comedy. Great challenges and opportunities for lighting and
sound design Three strong roles.."
"... clever and entertaining script....Joe...a great character that would be fun to
play."
"Panels" by Dawn Kennedy, Vernon, BC
Synopsis:
Panels is the story of five First Nations women from the same family; it is a peek at the
intergenerational reverberating effects of the aftermath of colonization.
Jurors' comments included:
"...the introductory monologue with the central metaphor is nicely written....The
characters are quite nicely drawn...the dialogue feels honest and draws me to the
characters..."
"Powerful slice of life drama. Sad & pitiful at turns but also life affirming
without illusions."
"Simply Told" by Corrina Hodgson, Orillia, ON
Synopsis:
Deceptively simple in structure, Simply Told is an eerily accurate psychological portrait
of two equally resilient and resistant individuals , desperate to make contact with one
another. Their conversations - equal parts chitchat and story- circle the truth, until it
can no longer remain untold.
Jurors' comments included:
"It is original in concept, and deals with a delicate subject....a definite
theatricality to the piece...The characters are strong, well written...."
"A story telling. The dialogue is simple, easy to understand.....a moving
story...."
"Challenging roles for two mature actors. Naturalistic poetry that resonates between
past & present/ memory & dream."
JURORS
Michael Armstrong of Bowser, BC
Bio: Michael Armstrong has been acting, directing and writing for the theatre in
British Columbia for 35 years. He also has experience with stage management, set design,
lighting and sound, and has worked with community theatre companies around the province.
He has been a member of Theatre BC for most of the past 25 years. He has taught acting for
teens and adults privately and in the school system for the past ten years. He is a
published poet and playwright, alumnus of the Banff playRites Colony, and past president
of the Federation of BC Writers. He has a BA in English Literature and BC Teaching
Certificate. Recent teaching credits also include a brief stint at York University
teaching Theatre History. Michael has taught workshops for community theatre and schools
in acting, writing, directing, and improvisation. His play, In Their Nightgowns,
Dancing, was published in 2005 by UNBC Press. Recently, he has also released a CD of
spoken word and jazz, Crow Songs, with the jazz ensemble, Vinyl Groove.
Professional acting credits include McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,
Ben Weatherstaff in The Secret Garden, and Pseudolus in A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum. Professional directing credits include dinner
theatre, touring productions, and musicals such as Cabaret and Jesus Christ
Superstar.
He has extensive experience with young actors and community players and is available to
work all over the province directing, teaching workshops and offering dramaturgy sessions
for plays in rehearsal or
production.
Garry Davey of Gabriola Island, BC
Bio: Garry Davey is the former Artistic Director for TheatreOne in Nanaimo and of the William Davis Centre for
Actor’s Study in Vancouver where he taught for 14 years. A graduate of The
Vancouver Playhouse School, he has worked extensively as an actor in theatres across the
country, as well as appearing in many television productions and feature films including Da
Vinci's Inquest in recurring episodes, Cold
Squad, The X-Files and the Victoria-based
series Alienated. He has directed more than 20 plays including The Drawer Boy
and Shirley Valentine for TheatreOne, Marion Bridge by Daniel
McIvor, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, and an
acclaimed production of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize winning Three Tall Women
for Western Edge Theatre. Garry
recently appeared in Night of Shooting Stars
by Michael Armstrong, also for Western Edge, and directed The Occupation of Heather Rose with Catherine
Caines on Gabriola. This summer he adapted the script and co-directed a street-theatre
version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for
TheatreOne’s Young Company.
In the course of his career Garry has developed his craft with master teachers from across
Canada, New York, LA, Paris and London. He has shared his work with Theatre
BC for several years, as Zone Festival adjudicator(s), workshop play director, as
well as teaching acting and directing workshops around the province. Garry has also twice
served as a juror for the Canadian National Playwriting contest and as dramaturge at the
New Play Festival in Kamloops, and had the honour to adjudicate Mainstage in Nanaimo in
2005.
Charles Tidler of Victoria, BC
Bio: Playwright, poet,
novelist, and spoken jazz artist, Charles Tidler has written over 50 scripts for stage,
radio, TV and film. His plays Blind Dancers and Straight Ahead have had productions
throughout Canada, in Los Angeles, New York, the Edinburgh Festival, and London's West
End. Recent work for the stage includes Red Mango, a blues (Belfry Theatre, Victoria,
2000) and an adaptation of Rappaccini's Daughter (Phoenix Theatre, UVic, 2003). Tortoise
Boy in April, 2004, and Cross This Bridge At A Walk in January, 2007, had studio workshop
premieres at the Belfry. Going to New Orleans, a novel, was published to critical acclaim
in June, 2004.
Achievements include two National Radio Awards, a Chalmers Outstanding Canadian Play
Award, several Canada Council and B.C. Arts Council awards, and a Governor General's Award
nomination in drama.
Charles is a dramaturge and teacher of script writing at
University
of Victoria, Malaspina University
College, and the Belfry Theatre. He has been associate
dramaturge at The Banff School of Fine Arts, and in 2002-03 was an Orion Scholar
writer-in-residence at UVic.
All Winners and Finalists will be invited to Theatre BC's New Play
Festival, April 18th- 20th, 2008 at the Pavilion Theatre in Kamloops, BC, home of our
event partner, Western Canada Theatre, the largest professional theatre company in BC's
Southern Interior.
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. Any artistic directors wishing to read winning and/or finalist
scripts from this year's Competition, please contact Theatre BC.
We invite Canadian resident playwrights to enter their new works in Theatre BC's 20th
Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competition. Entries will be accepted between April
15, 2008 and Monday, July 21,2008. If you would like to be added to our mailing list for a
Competition "How To Enter" brochure, please send your contact information to
Theatre BC at PO Box 2031, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 6X6 or email us: pwc@theatrebc.org
The Competition Summary will be posted to the Playwriting Competition section of Theatre
BC's website. If anyone would like further details, please contact Executive Director,
Robb Mowbray, at the Theatre BC office.
Contact:
Robb Mowbray, Executive Director
Theatre BC
Phone: 250-714-0203 Fax: 250-714-0213
Email: robb@theatrebc.org
Web: www.theatrebc.org |
