THEATRE NEWS: Six in the running for Siminovitch Prize; StratFest adds a single for TWELFTH
4 OCT/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency

Six Canadian playwrights have been shortlisted for the $100,000 2011 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. They are Newfoundland’s Robert Chafe, Quebec’s Jasmine Dubé and Larry Tremblay, British Columbia’s Joan MacLeod, Saskatchewan’s Mansel Robinson and Greg MacArthur, who splits his time between Quebec and Alberta.

Currently in its 11th year, the Siminovitch Prize is named in honour of Elinore and Lou Siminovitch and is awarded in annual rotation to outstanding Canadian directors, playwrights and designers. This year’s six finalists were chosen from 23 nominated playwrights and a winner, to be announced Nov. 7 in Toronto, will be chosen by a jury chaired by Maureen Labonte.

Previous winners include director Daniel Brooks, playwrights John Mighton and Daniel MacIvor and designers Dany Lyne and Ronnie Burkett.

Meanwhile, in other theatre news, the Stratford Festival has added a single performance to the run of its current production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, directed by Des McAnuff.

Tickets for the additional performance, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. in the Festival Theatre, are available at 1-800-561-1233.