The playwrights competing in our second annual Bake-Off have been selected! We received several applications and are extremely pleased with the level of talent that will be featured this year! The playwrights will be given their ingredients on August 31st and will have eight hours to whip up a scene incorporating the elements. A reading of each piece will be presented at FemFest on Monday, September 16th at 7 p.m. in front of an audience who will select the winner. The prizeis the opportunity to develop their Bake-Off script into a full production for next year’s FemFest!
Last year, Jessy Ardern participated in the first Bake-Off as an emerging playwright and had the audience in stitches with her script. This year, her play Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests will received its world premiere at FemFest and is sure to be a crowd favourite! Jessy is also part of the ‘Group of Seven’ an initiative by a consortium of Winnipeg theatres highlighting seven local female playwrights being produced in Winnipeg’s upcoming season. What an amazing year to have so many local works, let alone work by women! Stay tuned for more information and works by Ginny Collins, Trish Cooper, Carolyn Gray, Cairn Moore, Debbie Patterson and Alix Sobler.
Jessy Ardern
Now, here’s a chance to get to know this year’s Bake-Off participants:
Megan Andres
Megan Andres is a graduate of the U of M Theatre Program. Select credits include: As Director: Antipode, Departures and Arrivals (BHTC), Lawrence and Holloman (PTE-Apprentice Director). As Actor: The Darling Family, Catching Shadows (Broken Still Productions), Doubt; A Parable, The Fighting Days (Tara Players).
Rebecca Gibson
Rebecca Gibson’s writing credits include the award-winning series Tipi Tales, the television special Rising Star, the drama H&G, and several plays. Rebecca is also an actor, director, and producer. Acting credits include her award-winning role in the film that launched The Murdoch Mysteries, the film We Were Children, and the film American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky.
Daina Leitold
Daina is an accomplished actor, director, mime and drama educator. Playwriting is her most recent theatrical endeavour. As an actor she has appeared on the stages of Sarasvàti, RMTC, SJT, SIR and Theatre Calgary. She has also performed in many productions for film and television.
Sally Stubbs
Sally, an award-winning Vancouver playwright and educator, also directs, dramaturges, and performs. She has been playwright-in-residence at the Firehall Arts Centre, Touchstone Theatre, the Playwrights Theatre Centre Colony, Nightwood Theatre’s Groundswell Festival, and the University of Lethbridge. Sally’s scripts have been described as fierce, bold, surprising, audaciously theatrical, and darkly humorous. They include: Centurions; Kid Gloves; Herr Beckman’s People; Wreckage; Spinning You Home; and She’ll to the Wars.
Priscilla Yakielashek
Priscilla is a Manitoban playwright, actor, producer and director. She received her BA Honours at the University of Winnipeg. In October 2012, she graduated from the University of Alberta with an MFA in Theatre Practice, specializing in Playwriting. Select plays include: Life Without Secrets; Felix and Max; The House Left Standing; Organ; and German Silver. She is a recipient of several scholarships and bursaries—a testament to her talent.
Sarasvati Transforms' Blog 