Winners Announced!
Image description:A beige background. Black text at the top reads: Playwriting Contest, a gold band of glitter is behind it. Below in black are the winning plays and playwrights. The SPARC logo is in the bottom left corner, the Canada logo is beside it and an ink pot with a quill resting in it is in the bottom right corner.
SPARC is thrilled to announce the winners of our very first Playwriting Contest!
The top three pays, chosen by our Play Selection Committee, will be read at the 2024 Symposium, Re-Igniting the Spark!, on Saturday May 25, 2024 in the Town of Minto. Readings will occur from 4-5:30pm at Violets in the Barn - our host venue.
Drumroll please....
Keep Sakes - Megan Hutton, Prince Edward County
Suited - Megan Raftis, Town of Minto
Morning Ride - Douglas Tindal , Algonquin Highlands
There were two other pays that we felt deserved an Honourable Mention each. They are:
Charlie and Charlene - Jimena Yengle, Ottawa
Going Home - Linda Lord, Essex County
Congratulations to the Winners and our Honourable Mention writers. And a great big THANK YOU to all of the Playwrights who submitted a 10 minute piece to the contest. We had a lot of entries and you sure did make the committee's job very difficult with your fantastic work!
To register for Symposium and attend the readings of these green plays, please follow this link: https://reignitingthesparksymposium2024.eventbrite.ca
Image Description: Megan Hutton stands outside, in. front of a body of water She wears a long coat and is smiling.
Megan Hutton - Keep Sakes
Megan Hutton is best knwon as the lead singer of Instant Rivalry. She is a professional musician, actress, an award winning songwriter and a graduate from NYU'S Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and TISCH. Both onstage and behind the scenes, Megan is just as involved in production as she is with performance where she has stretched her creative wings as a music and event producer, marketer, teacher, writer, choreographer and on air radio personality. Since 2022, Megan has been writing plays and musicals to further expand her writing career.
Image Description: Megan Raftis smiles at the camera. Her glasses have rhinestones at the corners and her hair is down. She stands in front of a brick wall.
Megan Raftis - Suited
Megan Raftis is a near life-long member of the Grey Wellington Theatre Guild, and co-founder of their Summer Youth Theatre program. The GWTG has staged several productions written by Megan, including ten youth plays, Where Were We My Darlings? and, most recently, Twelve Days 'til Christmas, a two act comedy with music. When not at the theatre, Megan is a member of the Town of Minto Cultural Roundtable, sits on the Harriston Historical society and is in the process of becoming a very enthusiastic (if not particularly talented) crocheter.
Image Description: Douglas Tindal stands in front of a teal-blue background. He wears a black shirt and smiles a the camera.
Douglas Tindal - Morning Ride
Douglas Tindal is the author of Tales from Wine on the Porch, interconnected short stories featuring seven seniors (and two seniors-in-training) who share a home filled with warmth, laugh-out-loud humour, and the joys of being old enough to know better – and old enough not to care. His play, A Wolf at the Oasis, was selected for the 2019 InspiraTO Festival.
Doug has acted with many community theatres across Ontario, most recently inShe Loves Me(Highlands Summer Festival) andOne Night Only(Ctrl-ART-Del). He can be found at OakviewColiving.com in Haliburton, a real-life version of Wine on the Porch.
Image Description: Jimena Yengle wears a baseball cap and a sweater. Her long red hair is down. She smiles over her shoulder at the camera.
Jimena Yengle - Charlie and Charlene
Jimena Yengle is a 22-year-old multidisciplinary Latin artist, known for her novels "Roma Enamorada", "De Aqui a la Catedral" and "Ser Amado". With poetry and visual art works published in various international magazines and galleries, Jimena dedicates her time to Creative Content Creation in remote spaces and acting in the Ottawa Theatre Community plays!
Image description: Linda Lord faces the camera and smiles. Her long black hair is down and she has bangs. She wears a black top.
Linda Lord - Going Home
Linda J. Lord is a versatile rural Ontario artist and educator who has dedicated her career to promoting Christian values and social awareness through the arts. As a playwright, author, and performative storyteller, she has created works that explore the human experience. Her writing has been praised for its poetic lyricism, raw honesty, and fearless exploration of difficult topics.
Linda holds a PhD in Expressive Arts Therapy from a well-respected institution, which has given her a deep understanding of how the arts can be used to promote healing, growth, and social change.
