HAT launches award to help writers, playwrights
SYDNEY — With an end goal of encouraging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) writers and playwrights, the Highland Arts Theatre is launching the Rita Joe Canadian Playwriting Award.
The award is named after the esteemed Cape Breton Mi'kmaw poet Rita Joe, who lived from 1932 to 2007. Her daughter Ann Joe has given the award her blessing.
“I'm very happy to have this award named after my mom. It means a lot to have her memory remembered and celebrated and that she can continue to encourage people to write.”
“Rita Joe was a national treasure who is often referred to as the “poet laureate of the Mi'kmaw,” said HAT executive and artistic director Wesley J. Colford.
“She grew up right here in Cape Breton and went on to impact the world through her powerful writing. We seek to honour her memory through this award with the hopes that she can help inspire the next generation of Canadian writers and playwrights from the BIPOC community.”
The award is a result of the theatre's Radical Access fundraising program done in the summer of 2020.
Writers and playwrights who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a Person of Colour from across Canada are encouraged to submit their play proposals with the possibility of being selected as the winner.
The winner will receive a $10,000 commission for the writing of a new play or musical as well as dramaturgical and workshop support from the Highland Arts Theatre, located in downtown Sydney, as part of their 2021 Playwrights Unit.
All details regarding submissions can be found at www.highlandartstheatre.com/rita- joe-canadian-playwriting-award. The deadline to submit is March 15 at midnight.
The winner will be chosen by a jury consisting of Colford, Robyn Lee Seale, the HAT's Tell Your Story project co-ordinator, and Marcia Johnson, a Canadian actor and playwright.