Lists, lists, lists

[Valerie Senyk]

Usually, the only lists I get to make are shopping lists...

I think "Canadian" plays is a category that we need to be attentive to.
Of course, we are all aware that the world is abundant with nationally,
culturally, individually diverse art: that's a given. It's also a given
that good is good, and mediocre is what it is, no matter where it's
from.
But I am discouraged that too many play anthologies of world theatre do
not include works by Canadian playwrights. Why? We have enormously
exciting "voices" in the theatre, such diversity...I don't have a
nationalistic bone in my body, but I am quite at loss about how low-key
we are about our own theatre. And again I ask -why?
I would LOVE to see people's "lists"...I WANT to see these lists. I'm
sure there are plays and playwrights out there that I have no knowledge
of. When you live in cities other than Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, as
I and hundreds of other theatre artists do, there is less exposure to
new works, let alone Canadian works. Gaetan's "list" idea could have
further (positive) ramifications than what he intended.

Cheers,
Valerie Senyk

p.s. I recently reviewed Kit Brennan's anthology of Canadian women's
plays...it's a worthy effort, and contains short and long plays by
writers I'd never heard of. I was glad to read it.