Center For Theater Creation Engages New Ideas In Theater

The University of Alberta is now home to the Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation, a new national drama institute that is the first of its kind in Canada.

One of the centre's goals is to develop work that creates a more accurate reflection of the nation's cultural diversity by bringing together independent artists, theatre companies and researchers to examine and experiment with new approaches to theatre-making. In addition to the commissioning and developing of scripts, the Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation's mandate extends to engaging artists who do not necessarily work within the traditional playwriting model. In doing so, the centre will provide artists with the resources needed to work in non-conventional ways.

"Until now, there hasn't really been a place in Canada where such a range of artists can be served," said Kim McCaw, centre director and U of A drama professor. "We are also committed to presenting new work, either on our own or in partnership with other companies and organizations, which is something else that sets us apart from most other play development centres." Nurturing the play from idea to performance is something McCaw says is one of the centre's key goals.

"It's very ambitious," said McCaw. "But whenever we talk about it, there's a sense that this is something new, and there's an excitement about what it could mean both locally and nationally."

The Canadian Centre for Theatre Creation has commissioned a new play to be penned by Elyne Quan, a University of Alberta alumna and rising Canadian playwright.

"Knowing that the centre operates under a mandate that is innovative and inclusive, I look forward to the exchange of ideas and the exploration of theatrical practice in the development of my play," said Quan. Currently in early stages of development, Quan's play will be staged and promoted nationally and internationally.

At the CCTC theatre creators and scholars alike explore new theatrical creation and dramaturgy. It brings together independent artists, theatre companies and researchers to examine and experiment with new approaches to creation, development and production and exchange information about their processes and discoveries. Among other things, the centre will:
Develop new Canadian scripts with workshops and conventional dramaturgical support for playwrights.
Extend our support of theatrical creation, embracing innovative uses of multimedia, inter-disciplinary and non-text based approaches, and other new creative processes.
Provide space, time and expertise, forge partnerships to generate discoveries in theatrical settings, and explore the diversity of Canadian theatre.
Facilitate readings, workshops, and new theatrical productions on our own as well as cooperatively with other Canadian theatre companies.
Engage artists, researchers, dramaturges and scholars in a critical discourse on the rapidly expanding field of theatrical creation and production.

The CCTC's first commission was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. This funding will cover the commission and early development of a script that deliberately contributes to making our stages more culturally inclusive. The centre's first commissioned playwright, Elyne Quan, and the CCTC are currently in discussions about the theme and focus of the play. In keeping with the centre's intention to produce as well as develop new Canadian work, the finished piece will ultimately be staged and promoted nationally and internationally.

Elyne is a writer, actor and director from Edmonton, AB. She holds a master of fine arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University, a bachelor of arts honours degree in drama from the University of Alberta and recently completed the television program at the Canadian Film centre. Playwriting credits include the Sterling Award-winning Lig & Bittle (with Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull), What (Part III Rice, Concrete Theatre),One Block Radius (Edmonton International Fringe Festival, 2002) and a radio play, Direct Dial (CBC Radio).
Productions of her plays at New York University include Trust, Apple Skin and Souvenirs of Home (KCACTF Region II NPP Winner & national David Mark Cohen Award: runner up). Elyne's screenplay, Subway Theory, placed first in NYU's Fusion Film Festival in 2005 and she received the John Golden Playwriting Prize from NYU in 2005.

She was artistic associate at Workshop West Theatre in Edmonton where she led the Pitch-to-Play Playwrights' Unit for the 2006/2007 season. Her new play, Stray, will premiere at Workshop West Theatre in April of 2009. Quan currently lives in Toronto and is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the Dramatists Guild, CAEA and LMDA.

A professor and associate chair in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta, McCaw brings over 30 years of experience in the field of Canadian new play development and production. He has previously been artistic director of Winnipeg's Prairie Theatre Exchange and program director of the Banff Playwrights' Colony, both leaders in developing new work for the theatre.

Kathleen Weiss is an associate professor at the University of Alberta's Department of Drama. She has an extensive background as a professional theatre director, artistic director, dramaturg, and playwright specializing in experimental or image based theatre,
innovative rehearsal processes, and new Canadian plays. A former artistic director of Tamahnous Theatre and the Women In View Festival in Vancouver, her innovative productions of The Haunted House Hamlet and Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth at Tamahnous are well known across the country.