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playRites

Annual theatre festival in Calgary, Alberta, founded in 1987 by Alberta Theatre Projects' production director, D. Michael Dobbin as a featured performing arts event of the 1988 Olympics Arts Festival. Renamed Enbridge playRites Festival after its primary sponsor, it ran for six weeks in February and March, with a concluding "blitz weekend" which featured all of the productions for the convenience of visiting theatre producers and directors. PlayRites' final year was in 2013, when ATP decided to focus its energies and resources on its regular season, including the productions of two new Canadian works.

Every year, PlayRites produced four new Canadian works on ATP's Martha Cohen mainstage with a core group of actors. It also included ancillary activities like readings of works in progress and discussion groups. During its run, it premiered 103 Canadian plays, 64 of which have been subsequently produced 271 times in theatres across Canada.

Among the many works by prominent Canadian playwrights which were showcased at the festival were: Nisei Blue (2011), The Blue Light (2006) and The Red Priest (2003) by Mieko Ouchi; Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre (2010) by Larry Tremblay; How Do I Love Thee? (2010) by Florence Gibson MacDonald; Another Home Invasion (2009) and The Shape of a Girl (2001) by Joan MacLeod; The Clockmaker (2009) and Mary's Wedding (2002) by Stephen Massicotte; August, An Afternoon in the Country (2008) by Jean-Marc Dalpé; Age of Arousal (2009) and The Duchess by Linda Griffiths; The December Man (2007) by Colleen Murphy; The Knowing Bird (2007) and Respectable (2001) by Ron Chambers; Picking up Chekhov (2006) and The Heart as it is Lived (1997) by Mansel Robinson; The Myth of Summer (2005), The Aberhart Summer (1999), Sky Geezers (1992) and Gravel Run (1988) by Conni Massing; The Leisure Society (2005) by Francois Archambault; Mick Unplugged (2005) and Speak (1998) by Greg Nelson; All Clear (2004), Midlife (2002), A Guide to Mourning (1998), Sitting on Paradise (1996), and Some Assembly Required (1994) by Eugene Stickland; My One and Only (2004) by Ken Cameron; For Love and Money (2002) and Crackpot (1995) by Rachel Wyatt; 24 Exposures (2001) by Serge Boucher; Red Lips (2001) and Otherwise Bob (1996) by Connie Gault; The Coronation Voyage (2000) by Michel Marc Bouchard; Dying is Easy (1999) by Paul Quarrington; Weather (1999), Tolsoy's Wife (1997) and Kidnapping the Bride (1992) by Frank Moher; Angelique (1998) by Lorena Gale; Blowing Up Toads (1997) by Margaret Hollingsworth; Illegal Entry (1995) by Clem Martini; Kawartha (1994) by Dave Carley; Saint Frances of Hollywood (1994) and Moo (1988) by Sally Clark; All Fall Down (1993) by Wendy Lill; The Ugly Man (1992) and Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love (1989) by Brad Fraser; Final Decision (War) (1992) by Guillermo Verdecchia; Waves (1989) by Lyle Victor Albert; and The Postman Rings Once (1987) by Sky Gilbert.

Source: Alberta Theatre Projects website www.atplive.com

Last updated 2023-06-01