You can also read the full announcement and press release below:
The winners of the Tom Hendry Awards were announced at a digital awards ceremony on Sunday October 30th, hosted by the Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC). The annual Tom Hendry Awards celebrate and recognize playwrights and theatre-creators across the country for excellence in new work. The event was hosted by the magnificent Sharron Matthews, award winning Canadian artist, actor, singer, comedian, writer, and producer.
These awards celebrate outstanding new works and plays that have yet to be published or produced. The winning plays bring to life a variety of characters and tell a diversity of stories. The playwrights recognized this year for these awards represent a range of talents, styles, and writing backgrounds. PGC celebrates recipients in six distinct writing categories and special awards. PGC congratulates Marie Beath Badian for receiving the Drama award with her new play, Common: A Trilogy; Rachel Mutombo for her winning Theatre for Young Audiences play, Homeroom; Jovanni Sy for taking the Comedy Award with his new work, The Tao of the World; Corey Payette for winning the Dan School of Drama and Music Musical Award with Starwalker: A New Musical; Lily Falk for garnering the 2022 Emerging Playwright Award with her play Crypthand; Sydney Scott for receiving the Robert Beardsley Young Playwright award for the titty play, and Santiago Guzmán for being the first recipient of the inaugural John Palmer Award. The John Palmer Award will help the next generation of storytellers for the stage to push boundaries and foster intergenerational collaboration and friendships within the theatre community.
The CASA (Canada-South Africa) Award offers a unique opportunity to support a gifted woman playwright in South Africa. This is the final year for this special award, so in lieu of a recipient, PGC has commissioned South African filmmaker, Dominique Jossie, to produce a short documentary that will explore the inspirations and challenges South African women playwrights face, by highlighting the stories of some of the past CASA Award recipients. Beverley Cooper, playwright, dramaturge, director, and actor, received the Bra d’Or Award for supporting the work of women playwrights. Colin Rivers, Literary Manager and Vice President of Marquis Entertainment, was presented with PGC’s Honorary Membership Award.
The 2022 Tom Hendry Awards virtual ceremony is available to watch on PGC’s YouTube Channel where host, Sharron Matthews, chats with the shortlisted playwrights and award recipients. To read some of the shortlisted plays from the Tom Hendry Awards, purchase a digital collection of plays on the Canadian Play Outlet’s website. To read more about the 2022 award winners, visit The Tom Hendry Awards – Playwrights Guild of Canada.
AWARDS RECIPENTS
Playwrights Guild Drama Award Winner – Marie Beath Badian
Presented for best new drama by a PGC member, the 2022 Playwrights Guild Drama Award went to Marie Beath Badian for Common: A Trilogy. Funding for the award is generously sponsored by Alberta Playwrights Network (APN), Manitoba Association of Playwrights (MAP), Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC), Playwrights Canada Press (PLCN), Playwrights Guild of Canada, Playwrights Theatre Centre (PTC), and Playwrights Workshop Montreal.
Jury: Kanika Ambrose (Chair), Chris Lam, and Josh Languedoc.
RBC Emerging Playwright Award Winner – Lily Falk
Bestowed for best play by a PGC member who is an emerging playwright, the 2022 RBC Emerging Playwright Award was given to Lily Falk for Crypthand. Second place was awarded to Adjani Poirier for Sinkhole or Six Ways To Disappear, and third place went to Nikki Shaffeeullah for A Poem For Rabia. The RBC Emerging Playwright Award is sponsored by The RBC Emerging Artists Fund.
Jury: Laura Mullin (Chair), Santiago Guzmán, Natalie Meisner.
The Robert Beardsley Award Winner – Sydney Scott
The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Foundation presents an annual award to an emerging playwright under the age of twenty-five who lives in the Greater Toronto Area and is pursuing a postsecondary education. The Robert Beardsley Award was granted to Sydney Scott for the titty play. This award is sponsored and presented by the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto Foundation and administered by Playwrights Guild of Canada.
Jury: Philip Geller (Chair), Briana Brown, and Yago Mesquita.
Dan School of Drama & Music Musical Award Winner – Corey Payette
Presented annually to a PGC member for best musical in development, the 2022 Musical Award was bestowed upon Corey Payette for Starwalker: A New Musical. This award is sponsored by the Dan School of Drama & Music at Queen’s University.
Jury: Avery-Jean Brennan (Chair), Lindsay Kyte, and Amanda Trapp.
The Playwrights Guild Comedy Award Winner – Jovanni Sy
Awarded annually to a PGC member for best comedy in development, the 2022 Comedy Award was presented to Jovanni Sy for The Tao Of The World. This award is sponsored by Playwrights Guild of Canada.
Jury: Deb Williams (Chair), Amanda Cordner, and Breton Lalama.
The Theatre For Young Audiences Award Winner – Rachel Mutombo
Presented to a PGC member for best play written for young audiences, the 2022 Theatre for Young Audiences Award went to Rachel Mutombo for Homeroom. The Theatre for Young Audiences Award is sponsored by Playwrights Guild of Canada.
Jury: Tracy Carroll (Chair), Scott Button, and Katie German.
The John Palmer Award Winner – Santiago Guzmán
Offered for the first time, with this award, an experienced PGC Member nominates a new generation artist recognized as a (future) change-maker in theatre. The inaugural John Palmer Award was presented to Santiago Guzmán, nominated by Pamela Halstead. The John Palmer Award is sponsored by family, friends and colleagues of John Palmer.
Jury: Franco Boni (Chair), Chris Gatchalian, and Yvette Nolan.
Bra d’Or Award Winner – Beverley Cooper
The Bra d’Or Award (BDA) recognizes an individual for his/her/their efforts in supporting and promoting the work of Canadian women playwrights. The Women’s Caucus of the Playwrights Guild of Canada instigated the BDA in 2006. Candidates are nominated by Women’s Caucus members, while the recipient is voted upon by PGC’s entire membership. PGC is pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s Bra d’Or Award is Beverley Cooper, playwright, dramaturge, director, and actor residing in Toronto, Ontario.
PGC’s Honorary Membership Award – Colin Rivers
The Honorary Membership Award is bestowed upon an individual or organization for their contribution to the Canadian playwriting community. The Playwrights Guild of Canada is excited to announce that Colin Rivers, Literary Agent and Vice President of Marquis Entertainment, is the 2022 recipient of the Honorary Membership Award. Colin receives an honorary membership with PGC for life.
AWARD RECIPIENT BIOS
Marie Beath Badian is a Filipino-Canadian writer and theatre-maker based in Toronto. She is best known for her play Prairie Nurse, which was commissioned and premiered at the Blyth Festival Theatre in Blyth, Ontario in 2013. Since then, it has been produced across the country to sold-out audiences and enthusiastic acclaim. The play is published by Scirocco Drama. In 2018 it was adapted into a four-part audio play for the CBC Podcast PlayME. In 2022, Marie Beath’s play Common had a workshop and reading at The National Theatre Studio in London, UK. It was long-listed in the top 30 for The 2019 Brentwood Prize for Playwriting – the UK’s biggest national competition for playwriting. Her other plays include The Making of St. Jerome (Next Stage Theatre Festival, nominated for three Dora Mavor Moore Awards), Mind Over Matter (part of AutoShow, Convergence Theatre), and Novena (UnoFestival Victoria, Toronto Fringe Festival).
Marie Beath was Playwright-in-Residence at fu-GEN Asian-Canadian Theatre Company, Project: Humanity, and The Blyth Festival. Marie Beath has developed work in the playwright units of Cahoots Theatre Company, Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre, and the Banff Playwrights Lab. Marie Beath has adapted work for CBC Radio Drama, written for CBC’s Outfront, and for the CBC Gem series, Topline. UPCOMING: Marie Beath is working on the third play of the Prairie Nurse cycle: The Cottage Guest, commissioned by the Blyth Festival. For more about Marie Beath, visit www.mariebeath.com
Beverley Cooper is a writer, actor, dramaturge, and teacher. She has written for theatre, TV, radio, and film. Beverley’s writing for theatre includes: Thin Ice (co-written with Banuta Rubess, garnered Dora and Chalmers Awards, published by Playwrights Canada Press); Clue in the Fast Lane (co-written with Ann-Marie MacDonald); the critically acclaimed The Eyes of Heaven (published by Scirocco Drama); The Woman in White (adapted from the novel by Wilkie Collins), which was produced at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton; Innocence Lost: A Play about Steven Truscott, which was a sold-out hit at the Blyth Festival in both 2008 and 2009, a finalist for the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award, published by Scirocco Drama, made the Globe and Mail bestseller list (a first for a Canadian playwright!), and had a highly acclaimed production at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, The Centaur Theatre in Montreal, and Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto; The Lonely Diner: Al Capone in Euphemia Township (Blyth Festival, Vertigo Theatre, published Scirocco); Janet Wilson Meets the Queen (nominated for a Prix Rideaux award 2016, GCTC, published by Scirocco); and, If Truth Be Told (Blyth Festival, published by Scirocco). Her most recent play, The Other: A Strange Christmas Tale, was produced by 4th Line Theatre.
Beverley has written extensively for CBC radio drama; both original dramas and adaptations. Her adaptation of Rohinton Mistry’s epic novel A Fine Balance, and her original drama, It Came from Beyond! both earned her nominations for a Writer’s Guild of Canada Award. She worked as the story editor on the award-winning radio series Afghanada, as well as producing the second season and directing five episodes. She has dramatized the following books for radio: Alias Grace, Away, The Secret World of Og (Silver Medal Award Winner – New York Festival – International Radio Awards) and The Englishman’s Boy. Other original dramas include the hugely popular series The Super Adventures of Mary Marvelous. Beverley’s television writing credits include episodes of Ready or Not, Sesame Park and Street Legal. She has also written a film script entitled The Partly True Adventures of Pearl Heart.
Beverley trained as an actor at Studio 58 in Vancouver, and has performed in TV, film, and in theatres across the country. She also directs audio books for Penguin Random House. Beverley holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and has presented her work at Women Playwrights International conferences in Mumbai, Stockholm, Cape Town, and Santiago. Beverley is the coordinator of The CASA Project, a charitable arm of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. CASA supports women-identified playwrights living in South Africa. Beverley is also a member of PEN Canada, an organization that assists writers around the world who are persecuted for the peaceful expression of their ideas.
Lily Falk (she/her) is an emerging theatre artist living in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). She is the Artistic Co-director of Gale Force Theatre where she helps make strong and sturdy plays that lean into the wind. Most recently, she apprenticed with the River Clyde Pageant in Prince Edward Island in community arts and collaborated on North Barn Theatre Collective’s show A Gorgon’s Tale. She is currently developing an audio drama meets winter solstice advent calendar for middle grades with the help of the Canada Council for the Arts. When she isn’t doing theatre, Lily works as a nature play professional, bringing the magic of the outdoors to kids of all ages and abilities.
Santiago Guzmán (he/him/they) is an award-winning playwright, dramaturge, performer, and director originally from Metepec, Mexico, now based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is the Artistic Director of TODOS Productions and the Artistic Associate for Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre. Santiago’s work as a writer aims to put local, under-represented narratives and characters on the frontlines, whilst inviting audiences to appreciate the vibrancy of Newfoundland and Labrador from a diverse perspective.
Santiago’s work has been supported, developed, and/or produced by theatre companies and festivals such as TODOS Productions (NL), Resource Centre for the Arts (NL), Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (NL), Poverty Cove Theatre Company (NL), Rising Tide Theatre (NL), Neighbourhood Dance Works (NL), Eastern Front Theatre (NS), PARC (pan-Atlantic), Ship’s Company Theatre (NS), Theatre New Brunswick (NB), Boca Del Lupo (BC), the Paprika Festival (ON), and the National Theatre School of Canada’s Art Apart Program (QC). He is a member of Playwrights Canada Press’s inaugural editorial committee.
Santiago’s play Urn received the Senior Dramatic Script Award of the Newfoundland and Labrador 2022 Arts and Letters Awards and was shortlisted for the NLCU Fresh Fish Award 2022. Most recently, Santiago was short-listed for PGC’s inaugural’s John Palmer Award. Santiago’s work is very gay, very brown, and very real. Representation matters. To learn more, visit www.sguzman.ca.
Dominique Jossie is an award-winning filmmaker with ten years of experience working across documentary, fictional film, and television series. With roots in theatre, she studied film, media and drama at the University of Cape Town (2009). After working for the local broadcaster, e.tv, Dominique directed the short film Rooilug, which premiered at the Silwerskerm Film Festival (2019) and was nominated for eight awards, including best short film and best director. Thereafter Dominique produced the SAFTA award winning short film Address Unknown and line produced the South African feature Barakat (2020). The highlight of her career was being selected as one of six writers for the first ever Realness Netflix Episodic Lab. As a writer, Dominique is drawn to themes of womanhood and generational stories about her mixed heritage.
Rachel Mutombo is an award-winning actor and writer. An acting graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, some theatre performance credits include Antigone: 方 (Young People’s Theatre) and School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play (Obsidian Theatre/ Nightwood Theatre). As a freelance writer, Rachel has had essays and articles published by CBC, Intermission Magazine, and other publications. Her first stage play, Vierge, was recently awarded the first-place prize in Infinitheatre’s annual playwriting competition. Vierge is set to have its world premiere at Factory Theatre in April 2023. Rachel was also recently awarded the inaugural IBPOC Commission from Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and is developing a brand-new play called Wake.
Corey Payette is a member of the Mattagami First Nations (Oji-Cree) from Northern Ontario and is an award-winning writer, composer, and director of the musicals Children of God, Les Filles du Roi, and Sedna. His next new musicals have been commissioned by Musical Stage Company (Toronto), Bard on the Beach (Vancouver), and the Stratford Festival. He is the Artistic Director of Urban Ink (Vancouver), founding Artistic Director of Raven Theatre (Vancouver), and was an Associate Artist and Artist-in-residence with the English Theatre section at the National Arts Centre. Corey has directed two feature films, Stories That Transform Us, which premiered at VIFF in 2021, and the upcoming feature length musical film, Les Filles du Roi, to be released in 2023. He is the winner of the John Hirsch Prize for Director, two Jessie Awards for Composition and Direction, two Ovation awards for Best New Musical and Outstanding Direction, and he is the recipient of the BC Reconciliation Award. To read more about Corey, go to www.coreypayette.com.
Colin Rivers is co-owner of Marquis Entertainment and Marquis Literary, in partnership with Robert Richardson. Founded in 1996, Marquis Entertainment was launched with a purpose of developing and producing Canadian theatrical plays/productions that exhibit national and international appeal. Marquis Entertainment quickly established itself as a leader in the industry and expanded its focus to include representation and promotion of Canadian theatrical work for both national and international markets, as well as selectively co-producing international theatre productions in Canada. Marquis Literary is the agency division of Marquis Entertainment. It was launched by Colin Rivers in 2013. Marquis Literary is now the operational hub for the representation and promotion of playwrights/composers/ lyricists within Canada and international markets, with a specialized focus on musical theatre and commercial development opportunities. Over the past 10 Marquis Literary has grown into one of the largest literary agencies in Canada with a core mandate to promote the voices of writers for the stage, and proudly celebrates a roster of 100+ first-class artists, including a Siminovitch Prize winner, multiple Governor General Award-winners and dozens of Dora, Jesse and Tom Hendry Award-Winners, and with thousands of productions having been produced, including with Mirvish Productions, on London’s West End and Off Broadway, as well as regional theatres coast to coast in Canada and the US, throughout Europe and with international companies from Japan to South Africa. www.MQlit.ca
Sydney Scott is a trans-disciplinary artist who communicates through theatre, drag, and visual arts. They are in their final year of the Theatre Specialist program at University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College. Their art is inherently queer and explosively genderful. They value reimagining the ways things have always been done in order to better serve and represent marginalized artists. They understand theatre creation as an intimate process that requires a nuanced and evolving practice of care towards creating safe and accessible spaces. Within the last year, Sydney worked as Crow’s Theatre’s Marketing Coordinator, and as the UTM Indigenous Creation Studio’s Research Assistant. They are currently acting in The Wolves by Sarah Delappe, and they will be playing Herakles in Euripides’ Alcestis in 2023. In November, their drag piece, Real Men, will be shown at the THEYFRIEND Performance Festival in San Fransisco! Sydney is so grateful that the titty play has been recognized by such inspiring artists and can’t wait to continue developing this piece. Find out more on Instagram: sydney.scott.
Jovanni Sy is a playwright, director, and performer. He is the former Artistic Director of Gateway Theatre and Cahoots Theatre (Toronto). He has collaborated with theatre companies across Canada and abroad. His one-man play, A Taste of Empire, was nominated for two Dora Awards. It was translated into Cantonese and performed by Derek Chan. A Tagalog version is being developed by Carmela Sison. Along with the Tao of the World, Jovanni is currently developing Kowloon Bay, a detective story set in 1911 Hong Kong with Vertigo Theatre. Jovanni is also developing Salesman in China (with co-writer Leanna Brodie) with the Stratford Festival and the Banff Playwrights Lab. Earlier this year, Jovanni created the role of Mr. Miyagi in the pre-Broadway try-out of the Karate Kid, The Musical in St. Louis. In September, Jovanni directed the premiere of his play The Five Vengeances—a comic kung fu adaptation of The Revengers Tragedy—in Vancouver. Coming up: Jovanni will direct Murder on the Orient Express for Vertigo Theatre.
Thank you to our major sponsor, the RBC Emerging Artists Project!
