Ryan Griffith has been announced as the winner of the inaugural Jenny Munday Atlantic Canadian Play Award.
Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC) held a special ceremony earlier this week at Eastern Front Theatre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, to present the inaugural Jenny Munday Atlantic Canadian Play Award. This award honours Jenny Munday, PARC’s inaugural Artistic Director who dedicated 20 years of service to the organization, celebrating her legacy while providing vital support and recognition to playwrights from Atlantic Canada.
Wharf by Ryan Griffith (New Brunswick) was selected as the 2024 winning play. Griffith’s award-winning play explores the mystery surrounding a missing fisherman in a tight-knit island community. The play delves into the ripple effects of violence and the complexities of human relationships. The jury, composed of award-winning artists Don Hannah, Lara Lewis and Natasha MacLellan, praised the work’s “beautiful construction” and its exploration of a single event’s impact on multiple characters over time.
Several of Griffith’s plays have been produced by Theatre New Brunswick and Next Folding Theatre Company over the past many years. His apocalypse epic Fortune of Wolves premiered at TNB in 2017 and was later produced as a 13 episode podcast featuring a diverse cast of New Brunswick artists.
Deepwater by Dan Bray (Nova Scotia) and Dayboil by Sharon King-Campbell (Newfoundland and Labrador) were named first and second runners-up, respectively for their outstanding dramatic merit.
2024 Award winner will receive a $1,500 cash prize and a PARC membership and both runner-ups a $500 cash price each.Additional shortlisted plays included: The Weatherman by Brynn Cutcliffe (Prince Edward Island) and White or Red by Sara Tilley (Newfoundland and Labrador). During this ceremony, it was also announced that Santiago Guzmán will continue at the helm of PARC now as Artistic Director of the organization after a very successful interim year.
