After reading our largest submissions of scripts in our history…36 plays from Nanaimo to Dartmouth…we are pleased to announce the winners of our 7th Annual Scripts on Fire New Play Competition.

The Grand Prize winner is
“The Incomplete English Dictionary of Lexical Gaps”

by Samantha Machado

Samantha is an emerging disabled writer. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she is a graduate of the University of King’s College. Since 2022, she has been a member of Prairie Theatre Exchange’s playwriting unit. Her writing has been published in Spoke and Word and SNAPline and her short plays have been performed at the National New Market Ten Minute Play Festival.

The Honourable Mention is “Seven Virgins” by Ron Fromstein

Ron is a largely self taught playwright from Toronto and four time winner of the Canadian National Playwriting Competition. When not writing, he can most often be found on basketball courts throughout the land.

Jury

A huge thank you to our jury this year:

David Sklar

Last Year's Winner

David is an actor/playwright who divides his time between Montreal and Calgary. He was artist-in-residence at the Jerusalem Theatre Company, Shakespeare-in-the-Rough, and assistant directed the Canadian Badland’s Passion Play in Drumheller. He has acted with Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Lunchbox, Theatre BSMT, Annerin Productions and Theatre NorthWest in B.C. He has toured across North America with the Dora Award nominated and META Award winning, Jabber, by Marcus Youssef. His latest play, Vial, was shortlisted for the Sharon Pollock Prize and winner of Fire Exit Theatre’s Annual New Play Competition. His voice can be heard in the recently released video game, Assassins Creed: Mirage.

Elinor Holt

Elinor is a veteran of the Canadian Theatre Stage. Some of her select theatre credits, over the last 30 years include: Pig Girl, Theatre Network, The Soul Collector, Catalyst Theatre, The Ecstatics, Northern Light Theatre, Fly Me to the Moon, Shadow Theatre, Matara, Workshop West Theatre, The Blue Hour, Skirts A Fire, Heist, Vertigo Theatre, To the Light, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Humans, Theatre Calgary, Boy Gets Girl, Theatre Junction, Austentatious, Forte Musical Theatre, The Pink Unicorn, Lunch Box Theatre, 9 to 5, Stage West Theatre, Shakespeare's Will, Sage Theatre, Richard III, Shakespeare Co/Hit&Myth, Urine Town, Ground Zero/Hit&Myth, Picnic, Ghost River Theatre, Helen's Necklace, Handsome Alice Theatre, The Piper, Downstage Theatre, The Spitfire Grill, Rosebud Theatre, Bingo Ladies, Hudson Village Theatre, QC, Becky's New Car, Theatre North West, Prince George, BC, The Nutcracker, Caravan Farm Theatre, Armstrong, BC, Romeo & Juliet, The Globe Theatre, SK. Elinor is a co-founder of Concrete Theatre, Evergreen Theatre, and Dirty Laundry, The Improvised Soaps. She has been nominated for numerous awards and received two Betty Mitchell Awards. Elinor lives and makes music in Calgary with her husband, Spider.

Samantha MacDonald

Samantha fell into theatre in high school and despite a determination to become a corporate lawyer, has now spent thirty-five years NOT doing that. She has been lucky enough to play at many wonderful organizations over the years, including Indigenous Theatre at the National Arts Centre (Producer); Lunchbox Theatre, Theatre North West (Artistic Producer); Western Canada Theatre (Associate Producer) and Project X Theatre Productions (Co-Founder & Co-Artistic Producer), as well as offering dramaturgy with ATP, YouthRiot, APN, Fire Exit and Lunchbox. Samantha has had many adventures in theatre including as director, dramaturge, stage manager, communications director, facilities manager, technical director, administrator and now as a freelance Producer.