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Voaden winners
The Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition , named after the Canadian theatre pioneer, has chosen this year’s two winners. Readings of their works were held in Kingston and Ottawa. We’ll likely see productions of the plays here at some point, for Toronto audiences know the works of both writers. The first-place winner, Missing, is by Florence Gibson , whose play Belle has been a hit twice at Factory. Emma C. Roberts , who took second place for Excellence, Ontario, scripted the striking Blood, Faith And Floodwaters, a standout SummerWorks 2003 production.
The recent readings would have been worth seeing – David Ferry directed Missing and Daryl Cloran helmed Excellence. Their cast included Shane Carty , Catherine Fitch , Kyra Harper , Tony Nappo , Irene Poole and Geoff Pounsett .
Benefit bonanza
You can catch one of two important celebratory funders on Monday (October 24) – or both, if you leave one at intermission and head over to the other. The Actors’ Fund of Canada presents More Than Applause 3 , hosted by Louise Pitre and featuring Jane Bunnett , Brent Carver , Charlotte Moore , the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation and others. It’s at the Jane Mallett Theatre , show at 8 pm. Across town Nightswimming celebrates its 10th anniversary with Splash! , an evening of scenes from some of the past and future theatre and dance productions the company’s commissioned and developed. Hosted by Jane Miller , the evening includes performances by Judith Thompson , Richard McMillan , Anita Majumdar , Andy Massingham , Martin Julien , Imali Perera , Jovanni Sy and Sanjay Talwar and Christine Brubaker . Show’s at 8 pm at the Lula Lounge .
See One-Nighters, page 90, for details.
