Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) is proud to announce that the winner of the Post-Secondary Playwriting Competition for 2012 is Leah Jane Esau, for her play Disappeared. Leah Jane was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and now resides in Montreal, where she recently graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada.
In describing the theme of her winning play, Leah Jane noted, “Disappeared, for me, represents the struggle of my generation in this economy. Often over-educated and under-employed – or unemployed – many of my friends suffer from anxiety. They feel lost, directionless, and worthless.”
Leah Jane’s past shows include Shed, performed at the SummerWorks Theatre Festival (2010), and Waterfront: The Blessing, performed at SummerWorks (2011). Waterfront: The Blessing is published in Out on a Limb: Short Plays by New Playwrights edited by Kit Brennan. Disappeared was Leah Jane’s graduating project at the National Theatre School.
Second place was awarded to Maureen Gualtieri for her play The Green Man. Maureen, who grew up in Toronto, is also a recent graduate of the National Theatre School.
Before attending NTS, Maureen received a B.A. in English from the University of Toronto, as well as participating in lots of theatre-related activities including writing, directing, stage-managing and script coordinating in venues such as Protestival, the Toronto Fringe Festival, Hart House Theatre, and Tarragon Theatre.
PGC’s Post-Secondary Playwriting Competition is a free, annual competition open to all full-time post-secondary students across Canada. The first place winner of this competition is awarded $1,000 and $750 is given to the second place winner. This year’s jury includes: Prof. John Lazarus, Queens University (and PGC-playwright), Professor Kim Sloga, Western University, and PGC-playwright Jordan Hall, a former winner of the competition. Other past recipients of the award have been: Meg Braem, Megan Coles, Jordan Tannahill, Sherryl Melnyk and Kyle Capstick.
Official presentation of the Post-Secondary Awards will take place at the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Annual Awards Event, October 22nd at Stage West Theatre in Mississauga. To RSVP for the event contact robin@playwrightsguild.ca.
Playwrights Guild of Canada is a national arts service organization mandated to advance the creative rights and interests of professional Canadian playwrights, promote Canadian plays nationally and internationally, and foster an active, evolving community of writers for the stage.
