One of my volunteer positions is coordinating The CASA Project, a charitable arm of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, initiated by PGC's Women's Caucus. The goal of the project is to create meaningful connections between Canadian and African women playwrights. We are a small charitable endeavor but passionate! Every year we give out The CASA Award, a $5000 cash prize given to a woman (cis or trans) or non-binary playwright living in South Africa who has demonstrated a commitment to playwriting and would benefit from dramaturgical and financial support.
CASA evolved after a group of Canadian playwrights attended the 2015 Women Playwrights International Conference in Cape Town. We were struck by how few African women playwrights were represented at the conference. However, the South African theatre makers who did attend were extraordinary, with unique and important stories to tell. This award promotes the belief that theatre is an imperative and vital voice, advocating for change as it responds to and reflects the world we live in.
The funds are expected to support the playwright while they write for a period of three months on a specific project: one that speaks to today’s South Africa. In addition, the winner is partnered with two senior mentors: a Canadian dramaturge and a South African director, and receives a small collection of Canadian plays, generously donated by Playwrights Canada Press and Scirocco Drama. Past winners are Rehane Abrahams, Genna Gardini, Kela Maswabi, Koleka Putuma, Tamara Schulz, and Philisiwe Twijnstra.
The award is a partnership between PGC and the African Women Playwrights Network. Our South African coordinator is the amazing Amy Jephta and our South African partnering organizations are Theatre Arts in Cape Town and The Outreach Foundation Performing Arts Project in Johannesburg. The Canadian committee consists of Beverley Cooper, Cheryl Foggo, Marcia Johnson, Natalie Meisner, Sally Stubbs and Colleen Wagner, with PGC advisors Rebecca Burton (Membership Manager) and Nancy Morgan (Executive Director). We have also have extraordinary support from ARC Theatre Company in Toronto.
To give an example of the impact of the CASA award…In 2017, one of our winners was Koleka Potuma. The funds bought Koleka time to work on her play No Easter Sunday for Queers. We found her a writing space at the Outreach Foundation in Johannesburg. She worked via Skype with Canadian dramaturge Diane Flacks and in person with South African director Mwenya Kabwe. In 2020, No Easter Sunday for Queers had a celebrated production at the prestigious Market Theatre, directed by her CASA mentor Mwenya.
We continue to do other small outreach initiatives, so stay tuned!
