The Alberta Playwriting Competition Grand Prize:
THE SHARON POLLOCK AWARD
Dedicated June 25, 2021
The Alberta Playwriting Competition, presented in association with Theatre Alberta, is the longest running provincial playwriting competition and offers the largest cash prize of any playwriting contest in Canada. We are happy to announce that with the blessing of the Pollock family, we are renaming the “Grand Prize” to “The Sharon Pollock Award” - in recognition of the Most Outstanding Un-produced Play written by an Alberta Playwright. Sharon was a great champion of Alberta Playwrights’ Network and anyone who devoted themselves to the craft of playmaking.
Sharon was a gift to Alberta Playwrights’ Network that kept on giving. In the late 90s she took over as board president and then stepped into the role of Executive Director. During that time, the organization was challenged by a lack of funding and Sharon worked diligently, and in some cases for free, to make sure that the bulk of funding that the organization received was spent on the development of playwrights and their work. She taught classes, oversaw Playwrights’ Circles, and helped anybody and everybody no matter their experience. She was instrumental in creating Fresh Ink, a conference about all things playwriting that brought together writers and artists from all over Alberta. Over the past 7 years, Sharon was a mentor in our RBC Mentorship Program and she loved nothing better than working with emerging writers and providing all of her talent and wisdom towards their growth. It would be impossible to count the number of plays, playwrights, and artists that Sharon had a hand in developing, but we know she left a swath as wide as Alberta.
2023 Alberta Playwriting Competition
SHARON POLLOCK PRIZE
On Friday, August 11, the recipients of the Sharon Pollock Prize and the Novitiate Prize for the 2023 Alberta Playwriting Competition (presented in association with Theatre Alberta) were announced.
The recipient of the Sharon Pollock Prize for the most outstanding un-produced play by an Alberta writer went to Liam Monaghan for their play Strange/Familiar.
The recipient of the Novitiate Prize for the most outstanding play from an un-produced playwright went to Shaun Crawford for his play Masumi.
The Shortlisted plays for 2023:
R & J: Two Show Day by Jessy Ardern (Edmonton)
You Have Been Mine Before by Beth Graham (Edmonton)
Strange/Familiar by Liam Monaghan (Edmonton)
The Ring Around by Jason Rothery (Calgary)
Everyone Is Doing Fine by James Odin Wade (Calgary)
Alberta Playwrights' Network acknowledges the many First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people who are the original storytellers and knowledge keepers of this land.
APN is a signatory to the 35/50 Initiative and is committed to those principles and goals in the work we do now and our work in the future.