|
________________
CM . . . .
Volume VII Number 18 . . . . May 11, 2001
For the last 17 years, Rory Runnells has been the coordinator of the
Manitoba Association of Playwrights, an organization which he has held
together throughout the many vicissitudes to which such voluntary artistic
groups are subject. Doug Arrell, from the Theatre Department at the
University of Winnipeg, writes in his preface to A Map of the
Senses that there is hardly one play among the dozen appearing in the
volume that does not owe something to Runnells. Most of the plays in this
volume (many of which are in print for the first time) were originally
viewed by small audiences at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival or produced by
out-of-the-mainstream groups such as Popular Theatre Alliance or Red
Roots.
Produced from 1982 to 1998, the twelve plays in A Map of the Senses feature small casts of 2
to 6 characters. Runnells believes that each piece fits his critical "bon mot" on the main themes
inherent in Manitoba drama: that is, history revisited, the political-personal/ social action play and
the social urban realism play. In his introduction to the anthology, he writes, "Here are diverse
plays representing the tensions, obsessions and temperaments of the times."
Contributors include such nationally acclaimed playwrights as Maureen Hunter ("Footprints on
the Moon") and Bruce McManus ("Calenture"). Other Manitoba playwrights represented in A
Map of the Senses are Alf Silver ("Thimblerig" produced by MTC in 1982), Rick Chafe ("Zac
and Speth") Ross McMillan ("Washing Spider Out"), Deborah O'Neil ("Worm Moon"), Harry
Rintoul ("Between Then and Now"), Ian Ross ("Heart of a Distant Tribe"), Elise Moore ("Live
With It"), Yvette Nolan ("Blade"), and Dennis Trochim ("Better Looking Boys"). According to
the editor, a collection such as this one is much needed in the continuing effort to make good
Manitoba playwrights matter to themselves and to their audiences.
Librarians and teachers should be aware that the language and content of these plays are decidedly
adult and may be thought inappropriate in some communities. A Map of the Senses should find
its niche, however, in the professional resource collection of the high school library, where
English and drama teachers will be pleased to find it.
Recommended.
Valerie Nielsen is a retired teacher-librarian who lives in Winnipeg, MB.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission.
Published by
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - May 11, 2001.
AUTHORS |
TITLES |
MEDIA REVIEWS |
PROFILES |
BACK ISSUES |
SEARCH |
ORDER |
CMARCHIVE |
HOME
|
