The finalists for the 2014 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre for playwriting have been announced.

With an annual prize worth $100,000, The Siminovitch Prize is one of Canada’s richest arts prizes.

The 2014 Siminovitch Prize goes to a playwright.

Over a three-year cycle, the prize celebrates a professional director, playwright or designer, an acknowledged leader in the theatre whose work is transformative and influential. The Siminovitch Prize also encourages and supports emerging talent with a protégé prize awarded to a theatre artist chosen by the recipient.

The 2014 finalists are: Michel Marc Bouchard (Lilies and Christina, The Girl King); Olivier Choinière (Autodafé, Félicité/Bliss); Hannah Moscovitch (East of Berlin, This Is War); and Colleen Murphy (The December Man/L’homme de décembre, Pig Girl).

MICHEL MARC BOUCHARD
Michel Marc Bouchard has written more than 20 plays, which are translated into many languages and performed worldwide, with six adapted for film. Michel Marc is currently working on La Divine Illusion (The Divine), which will have its world premiere in 2015 at the Shaw Festival in translation.
He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and Knight of the National Order of Quebec.

OLIVIER CHOINIÈRE
Olivier Choinière graduated in Playwriting from the National Theatre School in 1996. He first made a name for himself with Le bain des raines (1998) followed by Autodafé, created by André Brassard in 1999.
His latest play, Ennemi public, will be created in February at the Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui. The Canada Council has recently awarded him the prix Victor-Martyn-Lynch-Staunton in theatre.

HANNAH MOSCOVITCH
Hannah’s writing for the stage includes East of Berlin, This is War, Little One, The Russian Play, Essay, Other People’s Children, The Huron Bride (a ghost story) and In This World (for teenage audiences).
Hannah is writing a combination of TV, opera, theatre, and film projects, including commissions with the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. As part of the 2014/2015 season, Hannah is premiering two new plays: Infinity, co-produced by Tarragon and Volcano Theatre, and What a Young Wife Ought to Know, co-produced by Neptune and 2b Theatre in Halifax.

COLLEEN MURPHY
Colleen Murphy is a playwright, filmmaker and librettist. She has received a Governor General’s Literary Award for English Language Drama for The December Man (L’homme de décembre), the Canadian Authors’ Association/Carol Bolt Award and the Enbridge playRites Award.
Colleen has served as Playwright in Residence for Finborough Theatre in London, UK, Factory Theatre and Necessary Angel Theatre in Toronto, and she continues to serve as Guest Playwright at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. She is currently the Lee Playwright in Residence at the University of Alberta.

Don’t miss my podcast interview with last year’s award winner Chris Abraham.

The 2014 Siminovitch Prize will be awarded Monday, October 20 • University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre
For more details please visit: The Siminovitch Prize for Theatre