June 26, 2018 (Edmonton) – The winning plays and playwrights of the 2018 Alberta Playwriting Competition were announced last night at both the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award in Edmonton, and at the Betty Mitchell Awards in Calgary.
The winners of the Grand Prize of 5000.00 were Calgary-based playwrights Ellen Close and Braden Griffiths, for their corporate thriller, Cipher. Said one juror of the play:
“Cipher is exhilarating. The play is compelling, physically and theatrically innovative, possesses a strong voice, and culminates in a disquieting end mired in issues facing contemporary society. It’s all here.”
The winner of the Novitiate Prize, awarded to an outstanding unproduced playwright, was Christine Lesiak, for her astronomical family drama, The Space Between the Stars. As part of her prize, Christine will receive ongoing support from Alberta Playwrights’ Network to continue the development of her play.
This year’s Alberta Playwriting Competition jury was composed of playwrights Elyne Quan and Catherine Banks, as well as Megan Watson, Artistic Associate at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario.
The Alberta Playwriting Competition is hosted by Alberta Playwrights’ Network in association with Theatre Alberta. Now in its 52nd year, the competition aims to discover the most outstanding unproduced plays by playwrights of all levels from across Alberta. Submissions for the 53rd Alberta Playwriting Competition will open on March 1, 2019.
