Indigenous playwright wins national theatre award
WINNIPEG, Man. — Indigenous playwright and Winnipeg’s Prairie Theatre Exchange Playwright-in-Residence Tara Beagan has been named the 2020 winner of the Siminovitch Prize, the largest and most prestigious theatre prize in Canada.
Beagan will receive $75,000, and $25,000 will go to her selected protegee, Joelle Peters, in a virtual ceremony on Thursday.
Beagan, who is based in Calgary, is proud to be Ntlaka’pamux and, through her late father’s side, of Irish ancestry. Seven of her 32 plays have been published, two of which received Dora Award nominations with one win. In 2020, her play “Honour Beat” won the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama.
“For me, the Siminovitch Prize was always one of those unachievable goals, those impossible dreams that keeps an artist working so hard,” said Beagan. She won the award for her body of work.
“This is an immense honour and it definitely gives me pause,” says Beagan, explaining the financial part of the prize will allow her to do two important, personal things. “Firstly, I can finally dedicate the time and effort to a really large research project I’ve been working on. This project has been calling to me for some time now and it could lead to multiple plays because the stories trapped in it are very strong.”
“Tara Beagan’s nominator, Michelle Thrush, aptly describes her as ‘a word lover and a carrier of stories,’’ said Jury Chair Vanessa Porteous in a press release. “Beagan herself sees theatre as ‘sacred work.’ During jury deliberations, there was palpable excitement in the room whenever Beagan’s work came up. It hits you in your heart and in your body. The jury identified in her writing a quality of being both sublime and unbearable. Beagan is carving out a place. No other writer on this territory proposes this kind of material for our consideration, material so rich in character, story, emotion, humour, violence, humanity, compassion, complexity, and righteous fury. Her vision is uncompromising, her voice is necessary, her trajectory embodies the deepest values of the Siminovitch Prize. This is quite simply excellent, searing, unforgettable theatre of the highest calibre.”
The Siminovitch Prize also recognizes the importance of mentorship to support emerging talent through the $25,000 Protege Prize. Beagan has selected Joelle Peters, a Torontobased Anishinaabe and Miami performer/playwright, as her protege. Peters is currently part of the Animikiig Creator’s Unit at Native Earth Performing Arts, writing a full length coming-of-age play called “Niish” (mentored by Falen Johnson). She also co-wrote “Frozen River” with Michaela Washburn and Carrie Costello, which is set to premiere at Manitoba Theatre for Young People next spring.
“It’s a good feeling when someone you look up to says ‘I see you and the work you’re doing, keep going,’” said Peters. “Being selected as Tara’s protégée is an incredible encouragement and I look forward to seeing where my life as a storyteller takes me next.”
Beagan is currently working on a play called “Rise Red River” for Prairie Theatre Exchange that “examines the connection between climate change and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.”
“My daughters and I are delighted to see the 2020 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre awarded to Tara Beagan,” said Dr. Lou Siminovitch, who celebrated his 100th birthday in May. “This prize was created 20 years ago in part to honour my late wife Elinore, a pioneering playwright whose work focused on social justice and political repression. As a feminist who struggled to have her voice heard, I believe Elinore would have loved the bold and brave nature of Tara’s work and especially her brilliance in making voices that otherwise might not be heard resound across the stages of our nation.”