Meet acclaimed
Canadian playwright
David S. Young!
PWM will be hosting David S. Young as part of our Soundings series. We invite you to join us to experience the work of one of Canada’s most successful playwrights. Copies of his plays will be for sale at the event.
Tuesday, February 19 at 7:00 pm
at PWM, 4324 St-Laurent,
corner of Marie-Anne
For information: info@playwrights.ca
or (514) 843-3685
This reading is made possible with the support of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.
David S. Young is a dramaturg, scriptwriter and novelist. His plays have been produced at the Stratford Festival, the National Arts Centre, Tarragon Theatre, and the Great Canadian Theatre Company. Two of his scripts, Inexpressible Island, about six men marooned in an ice cave, and Glenn, a theatrical study about the life of pianist Glenn Gould, have been nominated for the Governor General’s Award. His political musical Fire toured extensively throughout Canada and was the recipient of four Dora Mavor Moore awards. He is currently at work on a piece about the life of Italian Renaissance painter Caravaggio.
Demi-vie
a public reading of the French translation
of Half Life
PRESENTED BY PLAYWRIGHTS’ WORKSHOP MONTRÉAL
WITH THE GENEROUS PARTICIPATION OF CENTAUR THEATRE
BY JOHN MIGHTON
TRANSLATION BY MARYSE WARDA
DIRECTED BY ANTHONY BLACK
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM), with the generous participation of Centaur Theatre, is proud to present a reading of Demi-vie (Half Life) by John Mighton, in a French translation by Maryse Warda, on February 6th at 4:00 pm at the Centaur Theatre (453 St-François-Xavier). You are also invited to attend the 5 à 7 John Mighton following the reading, presented by Centaur Theatre and Théâtre de Quat’Sous, where you can meet the artists of Half Life, Les mondes possibles and Demi-vie, as well as the author.
“What shines through
when memory fades away?”
Demi-vie by John
Mighton is a love story rarely seen on
stage: Clara and Patrick meet in a nursing home
for veterans and their families. They begin to fall
in love, thinking they are rekindling an old flame.
Have they ever met before? As Clara and Patrick’s
middle-aged children watch their faltering parents,
the older couple rediscovers beauty and love in
the twilight of their lives.
John Mighton’s work is seen on stages all over Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Japan and the United States. After having rediscovered the joy of numbers in 1984 at the age of 28, Mighton completed doctoral studies in mathematics. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto. He has won two Dora Mavor Moore awards: for Scientific Americans (1988) and A Short History of Night (1989). He also won the Chalmers Award for A Short History of Night, as well as the Governor General's Award for the published text of Possible Worlds & A Short History of Night (1992), and for Half Life (2005). In 2005, he was awarded the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize for his contribution to the advancement of Canadian theatre. The jury cited the “profound combination of intellect and heart in Mr. Mighton’s work. His voice has grace, delicacy and a gentle humanity. He also brings tremendous depths to his plays, taking complex, sophisticated ideas and making them playable in a truly theatrical manner.”
Maryse Warda has been active in theatre for 15 years now. She was instrumental in bringing the works of English Canadian writers such as Brad Fraser, George F. Walker and Daniel MacIvor to francophone audiences. Her translations are celebrated for being faithful to the original, while making effective yet unostentatious use of the Quebec idiom. Her translation of three plays from Walker’s Suburban Motel series earned her a Masque trophy in 2000 from the Académie Québécoise du Théâtre and a nomination in 2001 for the Governor General’s Literary Award. In addition to Half Life, she also translated John Mighton’s Possible Worlds (Les mondes possibles) for the current production at Théâtre de Quat’Sous.
The superb cast of the reading is Hélène Loiselle and Benoît Girard in the roles of aging parents Clara and Patrick, and Marie Charlebois and Denis Bernard as their children Anna and Donald. Also appearing are Janine Sutto (Agnes), Manon Brunelle (Tammy), Eric Jean (Reverend Hill), and Amélie Chérubin-Soulières under the direction of Anthony Black, associate director of Half Life.
Demi-vie was part of the 2007 Tadoussac Playwrights’ Residence, PWM’s ten day residency for translators, playwrights and adaptors. The residence is made possible through a partnership with the National Arts Centre English Theatre (Ottawa) and the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities (IPOLC), an initiative of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Glassco family, Briony Glassco, Honourary Chair of the Tadoussac Playwrights’ Residence, as well as many private donors and foundations.
Reservations: (514) 288-3161
For more information on the 5 à 7 with John Mighton, please visit www.quatsous.com or www.centaurtheatre.com
An evening to remember: The 2007 PWM Holiday Party
The top-quality talent show featured Marcel Jeannin as the MC, with Julie Tamiko Manning and Laura Teasdale as his assistant elves, and was opened by the Out of the Mouths of Babes choir. The lineup was as follows: a Christmas tree dance by Velma Candyass of the Dead Doll Dancers; two songs by Nick Carpenter and Patricia Summersett; storytelling by Paul Van Dyck; a cabaret medley by Patrick Goddard and Nick Carpenter; fiddle playing by Daniel Giverin; a percussion duet by Kristie Ibrahim and Fabrice Marandola; a song by the Babes choir; improv by Uncalled For; a dance number by the choir; and the show was closed by Brent Schaus (Miss Gina) on the bagpipes.
Door prizes consisted of a selection of great books donated by Elise Moser, and a pair of tickets to a production by the Great Canadian Theatre Company. The winners of the fundraising raffle were announced by Marcel Jeannin, Julie Tamiko Manning, and Leni Parker. Thanks to all our guests and supporters over $4,000.00 was raised to benefit PWM's new play development programs. The party guests also made a donation to the Sun Youth Food Bank. We would like to thank Les Brasseurs du Nord for supporting the event, and we are grateful for the sponsors who donated prizes to the party, the raffle and the talent show.
The party would not have been a
success without the hard work of our board members
and volunteers: Lori Allen, Frank Babics, Jude Beny,
Julie Blake, David Bonk, Stefanie Buxton, Sarah
Carlsen, Ned Cox, Gavin Drummond, David Di Giovanni,
Jordan Gasparik, Marc-André Grou, Paula Hixon, Rafi
Khan, Lizbeth López, Greg MacArthur, Bryden MacDonald,
Gordon Masten, Haleema Mini, Monika Napier, the
Out of the Mouths of Babes choir, Leni Parker, Elizabeth
Robertson, Rachel Spencer, Laurel Sprengelmeyer,
Laura Teasdale, Jonathan Villahermosa and Lilly
Wilson among others.
Jordan and Stefanie show
off their work Miss
Gina does preshow prep
The raffle prize winners
