Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Playwrights Guild of Canada
Organization for the promotion of Canadian plays and playwrights.
It began life as the Playwrights Circle (1971) with the mandate to ensure that Canadian plays were not forgotten.
In 1972, it became Playwrights Co-op and began publishing Canadian works. The Co-op also handled the amateur rights for its works and organized tours of writers to readings and cabarets.
In 1979, the Co-op became Playwrights Canada. In 1977, a number of its members founded the Guild of Canadian Playwrights to lobby, negotiate and improve the status of Canadian playwrights here and abroad.
In 1984, the Co-op and Guild merged to become the Playwights Union of Canada (PUC). In 2002, the name of the organization was changed to Playwrights Guild of Canada. which now negotiates with Professional Association of Canadian Theatres/PACT, prints a news magazine, publishes plays, produces a catalogue and maintains a web site.
The publishing imprint of the Guild, Playwrights Canada Press, had grown significantly and was incorporated as a for-profit publishing company in 2002.
Each year Playwrights Guild hosts an annual awards competition honouring Canadian playwrights in a wide range of categories, including the RBC Emerging Playwright Award, Carol Bolt Award, TYA Award, Playwrights Guild Comedy and Musical Awards, Lifetime and Honorary Membership Awards, and the Bra D’Or Award. The awards are named after Tom Hendry, a founding member who died in 2012.
Past presidents of the Guild include Clem Martini, Vern Thiessen, Hope McIntyre, Shirley Barrie, Elyne Quan, Conni Massing, David S. Craig, Alicia Payne, and Michelle Kneale. The current president is Chris Tolley. Nancy Morgan is Executive Director.
The organization's archives are at the L.W. Conolly Theatre Archives of the University of Guelph, Ontario.
Website: www.playwrightsguild.ca
Last updated 2022-10-31
Since October 2002, Athabasca University has hosted the web site, with an editorial board of theatre scholars from across Canada.
To submit an entry, please consult the guidelines for submissions.
Email your submission to: Anne Nothof, Professor Emerita, Athabasca University.
The Encyclopedia collects and disseminates information on plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners. It does not respond to requests for information, auditions, bookings, or tickets.
The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.
