U of T Drama Festival

2012 AWARD WINNERS

Over 70 years since its inception, the U of T Drama Festival provides a showcase for up-and-coming theatrical talent from the university’s three campuses. Now in the 20th year since its revival, the festival is proud to continue the tradition of only accepting original student written plays; serving as a much needed outlet for U of T playwrights. The festival serves as an accessible avenue for U of T students to perform, direct and express their flair for the dramatic on the historic Hart House Theatre stage.

A Weekend of Competitive Theatre: Student Written, Directed, Produced, & Performed

The University of Toronto Drama Festival has spawned numerous performers who have gone on to become stars of stage & screen: Ted Follows, David Gardner, Don Harron, Arthur Hiller, William Hutt, & Donald Sutherland, to name a few.

Festival Adjudicator: Joel Grothe

February 15 - 18, 2012 at 7:30pm

Tickets (per evening)
Adults: $12
Students & Seniors: $12
General Admission

Please note: No latecomers will be admitted once a show has begun. Seating will continue at the next intermission.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Twilight Soldier - UTM
Teen Fiction - UC Follies
Down the Drain - TCDS

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Trail of Embrace - UTM
An Extravagant Life - New Faces

Friday, February 17, 2012

Mannequin Ensemble - Hart House Players
The Long Run - SMC
Thick Blood - New Faces

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Arriver, Aimer et Partir - VCDS (performed in English)
Days Like These - UTM
Final Adjudication and Awards Ceremony

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Play Details

Twilight Soldier
Written by Gevvy Sidhu
Directed by Victor Pokinko

• Berlin 1945, the end of the Third Reich. Two soldiers are forced to face the lost dreams and broken ideals of their falling empire. As they struggle, the darkest parts of their psyche shape the choices they make and how they deal with loose ends, as they push forward into the future.

Teen Fiction
Written by Brett McNeill
Directed by Brett McNeill

Down the Drain
Written by Salena Barry & Walter Villanueva
Directed by Salena Barry & Walter Villanueva

• Down the Drain is a naturalist work that examines the relevance of marriage in contemporary society. The play follows Horace and Noreen Butler, whose relationship has become increasingly strained over time. As the couple prepares for work one morning, their incongruous perceptions are displayed and they begin to question the legitimacy of their union.

Trail of Embrace
Written by Kylah Thomson
Directed by Kaitlyn Alexander

• The story of a woman who is haunted by past relationships as she attempts to reinvent herself and take an introspective look at the way memory and love intertwine.

An Extravagent Life
Written by Jade Jessica Ng
Directed by Alex Howard

Mannequin Ensemble
Written by Reg Matson
Directed by Carter West

The Long Run
Written by Rachel Ganz
Directed by Rachel Ganz

• While their father perpetually away on business, three siblings come home from school to fine their father is missing.  Now, after several days since her leave, they struggle to plan for her never to come back.

Thick Blood
Written by William Wong
Directed by William Wong

• Tensions flare when Alex and Ally are confronted with a gay magazine found in their brother’s room. A perpetual debate arises as each sibling defends their own reasons for being for or against homosexuality in order to do what’s “best” for the family.

Arriver, Aimer et Partir
Written by Phyllis Pearson
Directed by Lindsay Mayer

• Tells the poignant tale of...two strangers, Noa (a female) and Ethan, meeting and forming an unlikely friendship. It explores how conversations between strangers can often be more revealing than those between close friends.

Days Like These
Written by Andrew Di Rosa
Directed by Natasha Ramondino

• A husband and wife, fighting desperately to keep their romance from dying, are forced to reevaluate their marriage when a mutual friend comes to stay with them. Lines are crossed and secrets are revealed, sending the couple into a spiral of lies and deception which could alter the course of their lives forever.

2012 Award Winners

Awards of Merit:

• St Michaels College Drama Society / Playwriting: Rachel Ganz for The Long Run
• New Faces (New College) / Acting: Jessica Tomlinson in Thick Blood
• UTM / Directing: Victor Pokinko for Twilight Soldier
• UC Follies / Acting: Sally Nakazi in Teen Fiction
• UTM / Acting: Adam Cresswell in Days Like These

IATSE Local 58 Award for Technical Achievement
Group: UTM
Play: Twilight Soldier
For: The Company

Hart House Theatre Award for Best Performance
Group: UTM
Play:Trail of Embrace
For: Ensemble

Robertson Davies Playwriting Award
Group: UTM
Play: Trail of Embrace
For:  Kylah Thomson

Robert Gill Award for Best Direction
Group: Hart House Players
Play:  Mannequin Ensemble
For: Carter West

President’s Award for Best Production
Group: UTM
For: The Company of Trail of Embrace