The NPD is a dedicated group of Alumnae playwrights. The NPD meets monthly to read scripts written by participants and offer feedback through informal discussion led by experienced dramaturges, to talk about playwriting, and to set themselves playwriting challenges to hone their skills.
The Group provides a meeting place for seasoned playwrights of produced works and beginning writers who wish to polish their craft. They present two public events each year:
BIG IDEAS - a spring event that showcases short plays and scenes from full-length scripts that members of the group have in development.
WRITE NOW in October, a 48-hour playwriting challenge, taking place over a weekend and open to all Alumnae members. It culminates in the presentation on the Sunday of rehearsed readings of all the entries.
In addition to the regular public events, there are opportunities to dramaturge and workshop individual scripts-in-progress, including rehearsed readings before an audience.
Several plays, nurtured by NPD, have gone on to major success. Some have received full productions at the Alumnae and elsewhere, and some have won awards and been produced at festivals and competitions all over Canada and the U.S.
Any Alumnae member who has a serious interest in playwriting is welcome to join the NPD.
Recent NPD Events
The Monologue - A Life In Miniature
Sunday 29 May 2011 at 2 pm in The Studio
A laboratory exercise with 11 new 2-minute monologues
A good Monologue is a sharply lived moment that encompasses a whole life. You’ll have a chance to trace the development of each of these eleven pieces – offered to you first in its raw state with a 'cold' reading by an actor. Questions will be asked, then the playwright and actor will take it away to develop it with a director/dramaturge. You’ll get to see inside the process during the workshop sessions and when the final version is performed and discussed.
Here's the program:
| Play Title | Writer | Director | Actor |
| Retirement | Marianne Fedunkiuw | Anne Harper | Patricia Dawson |
| Don't I Know You? | Ramona Baillie | Dorothy Kelleher | Michelle Harris |
| I'm Sorry, Steph | Joan Burrows | Barbara Larose | Patricia Hawk |
| The Golden Bell | Norma Crawford | Jane Carnwath | Neale Kimmel |
| Hi, It's Sam! | Marianne Fedunkiuw | Pat McCarthy | Derek Perks |
| The Absence Of Music | Carol Libman | Dinah Watts | Lynn Zeelenberg |
| You Gotta Do This… | Ramona Baillie | Molly Thom | Robert Legare |
| Sexiled | Carolyn Zapf | PJ Hammond | Navneet Rai |
| Do You Really Want To Know? | Carol Libman | Nonnie Griffin | Tina McCulloch |
| Samira | Catherine Frid | Joan Burrows | Ashley Singh |
| Bathroom Scales | Annie MacMillan | Laurie Williams | Morna Wales |
FOR MORE INFORMATION about NPD membership and events please email: contactus@alumnaetheatre.com
ALUMNAE THEATRE COMPANY
70 Berkeley Street
Toronto, Ontario • M5A 2W6
Phone: 416-364-4170
Email: contactus@alumnaetheatre.com