Playwrights' Workshop Montréal Presents 50 Years in the Making, 5/6

Playwrights' Workshop Montréal (PWM), Canada's oldest play development centre, will celebrate its 50th anniversary with 50 Years in the Making, a celebratory gala on Monday, May 6th at 7:00 p.m. at Centaur Theatre. Hosted by CBC's Ann-Marie Macdonald and PWM's Artistic Director, Emma Tibaldo, the event will offer a glimpse into the past five decades of Playwrights' Workshop Montréal and feature staged readings of excerpts from the extensive PWM repertoire. The evening will be capped off with a reception and fundraising auction.

From Pencil to Pentium
Founded in 1963 by the Western Quebec division of the Dominion Drama Festival, Playwrights' Workshop Montréal was the brainchild of influential Canadian theatre artists including Guy Beaulne, Dan Daniels, Carol Libman, Aviva Ravel, Walter Massey, Norma Springford and Victor Knight. The original mission of the organization was to call attention to the lack of English Canadian playwrights and plays on the stage. Working from this principle, Playwrights' Workshop Montréal quickly became a leading voice in the creation and development of new plays across the country.

Many of Canada's finest stage artists have benefited from PWM's extensive resources over the last half-century- from Canadian theatre pioneers such as Aviva Ravel, David E. Freeman and Peter Madden, to some of our most accomplished contemporary writers including Catherine Banks, Marie Clements and Greg MacArthur. Playwrights' Workshop Montréal remains a vital resource for emerging and established playwrights to advance in their artistic practice. In recent years, PWM has also played a pivotal role in the development and dramaturgy of work in translation, most notably through the Glassco Playwrights Residence in Tadoussac, that has welcomed such important artists as Michel Mac Bouchard, Peter Hinton, Colleen Murphy, Erin Shields and Larry Tremblay to name but a few.

50 Years in the Making: 5 decades, 5 artistic directors
An audience of over 400 from across Canada will be welcomed to the evening's celebration by Ann-Marie Macdonald (prestigious playwright, actor, novelist and host of CBC's The Passionate Eye). Past PWM Artistic Directors will be asked to share an anecdote about this invaluable centre and present a playwright and corresponding play that they were instrumental in developing. Special guests include: Carol Libman, Aviva Ravel, Bob White, Paul Ledoux, Rina Fraticelli, Lise Vaillancourt, Peter Smith, Don Druick, Greg MacArthur, Paula Dankert, Lois Brown and Julie Tamiko Manning.

Playwrights' Workshop Montréal offers support to emerging and established playwrights and theatre companies in the form of workshops, residencies, one-on-one dramaturgy, playwriting units and public readings. In the last ten years alone, nearly 200 plays developed at PWM have gone on to production across the country and around the world; an average of nearly 20 plays a season taken to the end result of a production. Most recent plays to production include: Tyland and The Toxic Bus Incident by Greg MacArthur, Intimacy With a Thousand Things by Nadia Ross (STO Union), Robin Hood by Paula Wing, Jabber by Marcus Youssef, Stori-ya by Joan M. Kivanda, Life Here After by Alexandria Haber, not to mention the many translations that have been developed through our translation programs such as: Elisabet Rafols' Catalan translation of Burning Vision by Marie Clements, Maureen Labonté's translation of And Slowly Beauty by Michel Nadeau, Maryse Warda's translation of Vigil by Morris Panych, Giselle Tootoosis Cree translation of The Chief Who Stole Christmas by Curtis Peeteetuce and Shelley Tepperman's translation of The List by Jennifer Tremblay.

With these many milestones, this vibrant hub for creation and innovation, tucked away in Montreal's Mile End neighborhood, has reason to celebrate. "It is an extraordinary time to look back at the successes and assess what needs to be accomplished in the next 50 years. A time to celebrate and thank all who have made PWM a home to creative exploration" says Playwrights' Workshop Montréal's Artistic Director, Emma Tibaldo. Highlights of the evening also include a special tribute to Governor General award-winning translator Linda Gaboriau by playwright Michel Marc Bouchard and daughter of late Canadian theatre legend Bill Glassco, Briony Glassco. A reception and silent auction will follow the presentation.

Round Table discussion the following day
Funds collected from ticket sales and a silent auction will help support PWM's season programming and a series of year-long 50th anniversary events, the first of which is a round table discussion on Tuesday, May 7 at 2pm at the PWM offices. The Round Table discussion is a free event. Sarah Stanley and Greg MacArthur will initiate a discussion, moderated by Lois Brown, about the past successes and failures of PWM, and where the company goes from here. Participating in the round table will be attending Artistic Directors, past dramaturgs and playwrights in residence.

WHEN:

Monday, May 6, 2013
7:00 pm: cocktail
8:00 pm: show
10:00 pm: Reception and silent auction (prizes include a pair of tickets to a Montreal Canadiens Hockey Game, a YMCA one-year membership and an Orange County Choppers Tour Package for two in Newburgh, New York).
WHERE: Centaur Theatre,

453 Saint-Francois Xavier
TICKETS: $50 ($30 charitable tax receipt provided)
Tickets can be purchased by calling Playwrights' Workshop Montréal at 514.843.3685 or click to buy online: PWM Celebration Gala tickets
If you can't make it, think about sponsoring a ticket that PWM can donate to someone for you!

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