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Local woman wins playwright award

'I’ll be developing a new piece of my own, and this residency also gives me the opportunity to work with emerging writers in our communities'
Kristin Shepherd
Kristin Shepherd. Supplied.

Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, producers of the annual PlaySmelter Theatre Festival, has named North Bay playwright Kristin Shepherd as its Ontario Arts Council 2020 Playwright in Residence.

Shepherd, a strong advocate for northern women’s writing, is one of only a handful of playwrights from across Ontario to receive this award.,

“Kristin is the perfect choice to serve as our Playwright in Residence,” says Lisa O’Connell, Pat the Dog’s Artistic Director in a news release. “Having the OAC recognize Kristin’s work, and our work in northern Ontario is a tremendous acknowledgment.”

Both a playwright and actor, Shepherd’s writing has previously garnered awards.

Her first play, $38,000 For a Friendly Face won the Samuel French Canadian Playwrights Contest and has been produced throughout Canada and the United States. Hope OP, a comedy about yoga, crime and women’s anger was a hit in first-look form at PlaySmelter in 2017 and will premiere in Kitchener March 2020.

“I’m thrilled to serve in residence at Pat the Dog," says Shepherd, “I’ll be developing a new piece of my own, and this residency also gives me the opportunity to work with emerging writers in our communities. There is something really beautiful and urgent about putting the real voices of real women on stage. A residency like this will allow us to emphasize the voices of playwrights working in regions that are too often silenced.”

Founded in 2006 Pat the Dog Theatre Creation is a catalyst for new play creation, providing a home for the creation of extraordinary new works of Canadian theatre.  Pat the Dog has created and produced numerous award-winning plays.

Previous Playwrights in Residence have included Matthew Heiti, a multiple award-winning playwright and Sarah Gartshore who was recently shortlisted for the inaugural Johanna Metcalfe Performing Arts Prize.