LIB393
Prairie Trailblazers: Canada's First Women Playwrights
Every region of Canada has its own unique theatre based on the geography, the people, the cultures and the history of that region. Prairie playwrights bring the endless rolling landscape and big skies into the theatre, exploring drought, fierce winter storms, isolation, and family and community tensions. Prairie women playwrights often focus on the dilemmas and struggles of women in a manifestly male-oriented culture. We’ll meet six trailblazing prairie women playwrights, from the 1930s to the present, and trace the themes that have occupied their imaginations.
Note: This course involves small-group discussion and reading plays aloud.
A $50 discount will be applied automatically for adults 55+.
This course will be offered online on Tuesdays, Feb 25-Apr 1, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm.
Overview
Location: Online
Format: Self-paced with weekly virtual class
Duration: 6 weeks
Tuition: $180
Can be applied to:
Liberal Arts for 55+ Certificate
Upcoming Offerings
- Tue, Feb 25, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (virtual class)
- Tue, Mar 4, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (virtual class)
- Tue, Mar 11, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (virtual class)
- Tue, Mar 18, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (virtual class)
- Tue, Mar 25, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (virtual class)
- Tue, Apr 1, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (virtual class)
Course outline
- Week 1: Gwen Pharis Ringwood
Still Stands the House was first produced in 1938 and set the bar for playwrights in Canada. Ringwood’s long and prolific career, both in Alberta and B.C., has had a lasting impact for women playwrights. - Week 2: Betty Lambert
Jennie’s Story, while connected profoundly to the land of southern Alberta, examines the health policies of mid-20th-century Alberta, in the character of Jennie, a young and hopeful farmwife. - Week 3: Sharon Pollock
Generations is an early play from Canada’s most important woman playwright, which examines the different expectations of three generations of farmers as the world changes around them. - Week 4: Katherine Koller
Last Chance Leduc is set literally at the first Alberta "gusher" that started the oil boom after the Second World War. The play considers the impact on a young mother living in a tarpaper shack while her husband is working on the rig, and the impact to the land.
- Week 5: Yvette Nolan
The Unplugging is an unexpectedly humorous and heartwarming play, tackling the realities of a world plunged into chaos without electricity and technology, and the role elders can play. - Week 6: Beth Graham
The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble is both funny and heart-wrenching as siblings, coming to terms with their mother’s early-onset dementia, are derailed by her decision to exit before she is no longer capable of taking action.
What you will learn
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Discuss a range of prairie woman playwrights and their works
- Relate the themes that are foundational to prairie writing
- Consider the differences men and women have faced in their roles in agriculture
How you will learn
- Individual reading of plays
- Participation in Zoom seminars
- Group reading aloud in class
- Small group discussions and collaborative exercises in breakout rooms
- Listening in a talking circle format
- Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)
Learning Materials
Access to a copy of each play is required. We will provide PDF copies where possible or links to electronic copies available through the SFU Library with a student barcode. Three plays, The Unplugging, The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble and Last Chance Leduc, may be purchased through Canadian Play Outlet.
Technical Requirements
For online courses, you will need a computer with audio and microphone that is connected to the internet. Canvas is the online system that will be used for the course. For more information and online support, visit Online Learning.