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ABOUT
PGC’s Women’s Caucus was established to meet the particular needs of women playwrights. Presently, Women’s Caucus activities are overseen by a Committee consisting of Kelley Jo Burke (Chair), Rebecca Burton (PGC Staff Member), Joanna Falck, Marcia Johnson, Rachel Mutombo, and Carolyn Nakagawa.
The Women’s Caucus meets in person on an annual basis, and it stays in contact with its members throughout the year with a monthly Women’s Caucus Newsletter, a closed Facebook group, and the occasional online meeting.
The Women’s Caucus undertakes various activities and programs to assist its members. These include annual gender-based Theatre Production Surveys; an AD Interview series (found in the Women’s Caucus Newsletter); PLEDGE (a Production Listing to Enhance Diversity and Gender Equity), which is a database of large cast (6 or more characters) plays by Canadian women targeting post-secondary institutions; and SureFire (similar to The Kilroys List in the United States), a community-generated resource naming under- or un-produced plays by Canadian women, trans, and non-binary creators.
The Women’s Caucus also administers PGC’s annual Bra d’Or Award, recognizing a theatre professional for his/her/their support of women playwrights. Nominations are put forth by PGC Women’s Caucus members, but the entirety of PGC’s membership votes for the winner. Past recipients include: Brian Quirt – 2006; Hope McIntyre – 2007; Katrina Dunn – 2008; Eric Coates – 2009; Andy McKim – 2010; Philip Akin – 2011; Rachel Ditor – 2012; Robert Metcalfe – 2013; Mary Vingoe – 2014; Rebecca Burton – 2015; and Diane Brown – 2016. The award went on hiatus in 2017 and 2018, undergoing a period of review, before it was merged with the Tom Hendry Awards and relaunched with improvements in 2019 on International Women’s Day. The 2019 Bra d’Or Award went to Pamela Halstead (ED of Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre), the 2020 Bra d’Or Award was bestowed upon PGC member, Marjorie Chan (AD of Theatre Passe Muraille), the 2021 award was given to Micheline Chevrier (then AD and ED of Imago Theatre in Montreal, Quebec), and the 20223 award went to playwright, director, and actor, Beverley Cooper. The recipient of PGC’s 2023 Bra d’Or Award is Nova Scotian playwright and educater, Catherine Banks.
If you have questions about the Women’s Caucus, a project that you think we should consider, or if you would like to become more actively involved, contact one of the Women’s Caucus Committee members, or PGC’s staff rep, Rebecca Burton (rebecca@playwrightsguild.ca).
