October 30, 2020
Playwrights Guild of Canada Announces a Partnership with Queen’s University, Dan School of Drama and Music, for a Musical Theatre Award Sponsorship for the 2021 Tom Hendry Awards
Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) is excited to announce a new partnership with Queen’s University’s Dan School of Drama and Music, which will sponsor a national Musical Theatre Award as part of PGC’s annual Tom Hendry Awards. The winner of the award will receive a $5000 monetary prize, and be featured in the school’s new Watershed Festival – Reimagining Music Theatre. The Dan School of Drama and Music has committed to supporting the Musical Award for the next five years, commencing in 2021. The Musical Award is bestowed upon a PGC member who has created a new musical work that has not yet received a premiere production.
“So many playwrights and theatre creators have shared with me over the years the impact that this award has had on the continued growth of Canadian musical theatre. We are so pleased that Queen’s University, Dan School of Drama and Music, will be working with us to encourage a thriving musical theatre community.” Robin Sokoloski, Executive Director of Playwrights Guild of Canada
“The Dan School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University is thrilled to partner with Playwrights Guild of Canada in sponsoring the Tom Hendry Award for Musicals. The dynamic intersection of drama and music has become a core of our practise, which includes the upcoming inaugural Watershed Festival – Reimaging Music Theatre (May, 2021). We look forward to hosting the award recipients as we continue working to inspire the next generation of music theatre creators. At the Dan School, it is our passionate goal to not only recognize excellence in the field of music theatre, but also to encourage diversity and innovation as we move into the future of the art form. The Tom Hendry Musical Award shines a deserving light on the leading writers who are charting that path.”
Craig Walker, Director of the Dan School of Drama and Music
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Playwrights Guild of Canada is a registered national arts service association mandated to advance the creative rights and interests of professional Canadian playwrights, promote Canadian plays nationally and internationally, and foster an active, evolving community of writers for the stage.
The Dan School of Drama and Music strives to earn its reputation as one of the world’s preeminent centres for the study and creation of drama, music and music theatre. We offer a range of
undergraduate, graduate and community outreach programs, including both practice and theory, and both the traditional and the innovative. In principle, the Dan School embraces all the many disciplines that collaborate to realize the professional performing arts.