Lee Playwright in Residence
Updated: Oct 13, 2022
Beth Graham is the Department of Drama’s current Lee Playwright in Residence, a unique opportunity for a playwright to devote time to writing, while making a significant contribution to new play development within the university and theatre community in Edmonton. The residency offers paid writing time, but also requires outreach to local playwrights, students, community partners and professional theatres. A prominent aspect of the residency is the creation of a new play for the graduating BFA Acting class. Weasel is the play Beth wrote for this group of BFA actors.
Beth is the sixth Playwright-in-Residence, following in the footsteps of Don Hannah, Kevin Kerr, Greg MacArthur, Colleen Murphy, and Meg Braem.
Lee Playwright in Residence Mission Statement:
The Lee Playwright in Residence Endowment is dedicated to the creation of new Canadian plays and to the development of emerging and established Canadian playwrights. This permanent Playwright in Residence program at the University of Alberta was established in 2005 and was the first of its kind among Canadian universities. The innovative residency offers a unique opportunity for a Canadian playwright to devote time to their writing and to make a significant contribution to new play development within the university and professional theatre community in Edmonton. In addition to the residency, the Lee Playwright may also accept a commission to write a new play for the Department of Drama's main stage UofA Studio Theatre season, as was the case when the University of Alberta Department of Drama commissioned Lee Playwright-In-Residence, Greg MacArthur, to write The Missionary Position.