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Playwrights from Saskatchewan were honoured recently at the Ottawa Little Theatre's 70th annual national one-act playwriting competition.
Toronto-based writer Trenna Keating, the daughter of Jan and Jim Keating of Weyburn, won first for her play "The Women of Gonzales". It is an account of the struggles of brave women in a distant time and place, with distinctive characters and powerful dialogue.
"I am quite excited, and am hoping to get it produced," said Keating. This was her first time at a playwriting competition. She has been writing for six years and "The Women of Gonzales" is her third play.
"I know that it will need some rewrites, so I am quite excited for the staged reading. It will be different to see other actors have their take on it," added Keating. She is hoping that the competition will be a good platform to get "The Women of Gonzales" onto stage.
Keating is considered a triple threat as she can write, act and sing. As an actress, Trenna had roles as Faye McCray in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV series in 2009, appeared in minor roles in three episodes of Corner Gas and one in Little Mosque, was Karen Shade in the Rabbit Fall TV series in 2008, and started her career as Nancy in "Just Friends" in 2005.
"I got a part in a TV series that will start shooting this summer," said Keating. "It is not a huge part, but it is steady work. It will allow me to take a little time to write and concentrate on sending my plays to theatres and do the other things that I have wanted to do."
Other notable experiences for Trenna include casting assistant for five titles and acting as miscellaneous crew for one title.
Leanne Minogue of Griffin won an honourable mention for her play "Bloom", where generations collide during a spirited encounter between characters imbued with a resilient charm.
"Bloom" premiered at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival last summer, where it got good reviews. Minogue decided to enter the one-act two-person play into a few contests, as it was not well-suited for dinner theatre in rural communities.
"Most rural communities like a slightly longer player, and 'Bloom' only has two characters, which makes for a dull cast party and less community involvement than a play with a larger cast," said Minogue.
Other full-length plays that were written by Minogue have been produced on stage in communities this year. "Homecoming" just had a four-performance run in Outlook, and "Dry Streak" is going to run in Consort, Alta., in April.
This year at the playwriting competition, there were over 100 entries into the competition from nine different provinces. The competition is a blind contest, with all of the plays submitted under pen names. The names of the adjudicators are also kept confidential until the winners are announced.
The winners will be invited to Ottawa in May to work with Laurie Fyffe, the resident dramaturge for the Ottawa Little Theatre's Playwrights Week. Directors and actors from the Ottawa Little Theatre will work with the playwrights, with public readings to be produced for the winning plays.
As a winning playwright, Keating's play "The Women of Gonzales" will be staged on Saturday, May 14 in Ottawa Little Theatre's Janigan Studio. Tickets go on sale on March 1 for this special event.
