Concordia Playwrights on Display

Contest winners at Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal

Fringe ArtsElysha del Giusto-Enos — Published March 1, 2012

Winners of the sixth Concordia Annual 10-Minute Play Contest are getting their prize this Friday night, where they will hold a staged reading of their work. The English department’s creative writing program organized the event, open to all genres of drama from tragedy to musical and everything in between.

“I was looking for a distinctive voice,” said head juror and Concordia playwriting professor Dr. Louis Patrick Leroux. “[Also] a clear sense of pacing, and an understanding of how drama works—not just how well the dialogue flows, but also what isn’t being said, maybe especially that. I found this in the three pieces that were selected. These young writers have something to offer.”

Judged by the creative writing and theatre departments, along with a theatre professional in the community, the winners have been waiting since last March for their prize. Finally, Concordia students Anya Leibovitch, Christopher Olson, and Dylan Sargent will see their work read by professional actors at Playwrights Workshop Montreal (PWM) at 7:00 p.m. Friday. PWM has been a fixture in the Montreal theatre community for almost forty years and regularly stages readings.

“Public readings are invaluable to any emerging playwright as it allows them to see how the audience responds to their work,” PWM board of directors’ member Joel Fishbane said. “Quite often, playwrights find that moments they thought were humorous don’t work at all, while other moments become comedic gems. Theatre is a collaborative effort and its essential for new writers to remember that the audience is just as much a part of that collaboration as the actors.”