The shows must go on!
Yukon theatre companies are finding creative ways to present work. Adapting shows and developing unique formats to fit with our new reality.
24-Hour Playwriting Competition
Curtains Up!
On April 4th Nakai Theatre invites theatre lovers, supportive friends or simply the merely curious to attend their 24 Hour Playmaking Cabaret, held at The Deck at the High Country Inn. The event, which has been held for nearly 25 years, revolves around Nakai’s 24 Hour Playmaking Challenge, which took place March 11 to 12. …
The Birthing
When a play hits the stage for its first full production , it’s travelled a long way. Often a playwright begins showcasing her work by reading a scene or two in front of friends. After that, perhaps she recruits actors and presents those same scenes in a coffeehouse setting, then there might be a staged …
Playwrought
After hearing artistic director David Skelton talk about Nakai Theatre’s 24 – Hour Playwriting Competition on the radio, I decide to sign up. I’m not a playwright , but, then again — maybe I am. Maybe my passion for writing has been waiting for me to direct it at theatre, at which point my true …
Nebula of novelists take the NaNoWriMo challenge
What do you call a group of novelists? A narrative of novelists? A nonsense? A nuance? A nebula? A collective name would come in handy, seeing as there will be at least 23 people in the Whitehorse area simultaneously writing a novel during November. The writers are all taking part in National Novel Writing Month, …
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24-hour contest can be a whacky first step
Bringing a play from the idea stage to the big stage can be overwhelming. Where do you start? Who is there to help? What the heck is dramaturgy and why is it important? During the first part of this year, Nakai Theatre has been working through a strategic-planning process and has been confirmed that it …
It’s a ‘building year’ for Nakai
This year, Nakai Theatre will not be producing any plays. David Skelton, Nakai’s artistic director, says the company will be concentrating, instead, on developing local scripts. This means that instead of spending money on a venue and staffing to produce a play, it will use some of that money to bring up DD Kugler, a …
A room with a current
It is fall of 2005. I have just arrived in the Yukon. I am amazed to be accepted into an advanced playwriting course with the famous Canadian playwright, Tomson Highway. I spend a week with five other lucky writers as Tomson leads us through the steps of building the first draft of a play. I …
A Play in 24 Hours
If you ask Whitehorse resident Justine Davidson if the $50 fee to participate in Nakai Theatre’s 24 Hour Playwriting Competition is worth it, you’ll most likely get a resounding yes. Not only was she provided a hotel room at the Westmark, snacks galore and yoga sessions, but her play, Subway, ended up being selected as …
Wolves, Words & French Press
Not everyone who enters Nakai Theatre‘s 24-hour playwriting competition is as prolific as Eva van Loon. Some writers manage to eke out nine pages or so. Others produce a respectable 28 or 30. Some miraculously manage 60 pages or more in the time allotted. In 2009, van Loon cranked out a full three-act play, called …