Celebrating Women Playwrights: So Much Excellence, So Little Time Series

Join PGC’s Women Caucus for the first installment of this inspirational & informative conversation series, led by established Canadian women playwrights in celebration of International Women’s Day!

Anusree Roy will pull back the curtain on her personal creative practice, tracing the evolution of her voice over time from blank page to opening night. Drawing on her experience across Theatre and TV, Anusree dives deep into:

The Art: Navigating structure, dialogue and the most challenging hurdles of the script. How do you find your spark and decide which ideas are worth the work?

The Money: A transparent look at making a living. From getting an agent to work for you to diversifying your income through TV and teaching  —  and the hidden cost of it all.

The Sanity: Essential time-management tips for writers who want to make it to the top but aim to stay sane.

Moderated by Reneltta Arluk.

FREE & OPEN TO ALL!

RSVP HERE

About Anusree:

Anusree is a two-time Governor General’s Award-nominated and four-time Dora Award-winning writer, actor, and director.  

For theatre, Anusree’s plays include: Through the Eyes of God, Sisters, Trident Moon, Little Pretty and The Exceptional, Sultans of the Street, Brothel # 9, Roshni, Letters to my Grandma, and Pyaasa. She is the recipient of the K.M. Hunter Award, the RBC Emerging Artist Award, the Carol Bolt Award, and the Siminovitch Protégé Prize. She was the 2018 finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women writing for English-speaking theatre). Currently, she is the commissioned playwright at Tarragon Theatre, writing her new play, 147, 8th Street. Anusree is presently developing a feature film inspired by her audio play, Sisters, as well as directing and premiering her short films, The Birthday Party and God’s Plan (winner of Best Performance & Best Editing at WIFF). She is also an adjunct professor of playwriting at the University of Toronto and a professor of creative writing, teaching advanced drama to MFA students, at the University of British Columbia.  

Anusree’s playwright residencies include: Nightwood Theatre, Young People’s Theatre, Factory Theatre, The Blyth Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille, The Canadian Stage Company and Tarragon Theatre. Anusree spent two seasons as an actor at the Stratford Festival of Canada. She holds a B.A. from York University and an M.A. from the University of Toronto, and most of her plays have been published by Playwrights Canada Press. Anusree was a board member for Playwrights Canada Press for over five years and a juror for the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Michael Than Foundation Award, Toronto Arts Foundation Awards and the George Luscombe Mentorship Award. Anusree’s plays have been taught at the University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson University, Wilfried Laurier University, the University of Calgary, the University of Guelph, the University of Regina, McGill University and the National Theatre School. 

About Reneltta:

Reneltta Arluk is Inuvialuk, Dene and Cree from the Northwest Territories. Her first written work, TUMIT, is a one-woman play exploring personal relationships and breaking generational cycles. TUMIT, meaning tracks in Inuvialuktun, takes her gift of storytelling one step further. She is a writer that has contributed to several anthologies as a playwright and poet.

Inspired by creating with the Treaty 6 Territory of Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta, Reneltta Arluk developed a practice she terms Protocol and Play. Protocol and Play is not a “how-to” guide but dialogues a process in progress allowing for continuous questioning on how to be better and do better for Indigenous communities and the stories they hold.

Founded by Reneltta Arluk in 2008, Akpik Theatre is a northern focused Indigenous theatre company that adheres to its namesake, the cloudberry, striving to flourish in the northern climate it reflects.