MEDIA RELEASE

May 11, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Young playwrights shine at Canadian sustainability playwriting competition

Youth voice their concerns and ideas about sustainability with a splash of creativity through the 2009-2010 Act NOW! National Playwriting Competition

Vancouver, BC, Canada – Two young people passionate about raising awareness and taking action on sustainability, Deborah Vogt and Samantha Landa, have won the second annual Act NOW! National Playwriting Competition. In addition to each receiving $500 in cash prizes, Vogt and Samantha will see their plays aired on Sustainability Television and performed across Canada by local troupes.

The annual Act NOW! National Playwriting Competition challenges Canadian youth ages 14-26 to holistically evaluate issues in sustainability and devise interdisciplinary solutions. The competition is organized by the NOW! Organization, a youth-run non-profit based in Vancouver, in collaboration with numerous local and national groups including the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the Engineers without Borders, and Let’s Talk Science.

“The competition is dedicated to engaging and empowering youth by establishing a platform to sharing innovative solutions toward social, environmental, and economic sustainability,” says Vivian Xudan Pan, Vice President of Media Relations.

“Sustainability can be such a nuanced concept that it’s always a good idea to look at it from a variety of perspectives,” comments Dr. Dave Ng, Director of the Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory at the Michael Smith Biology Lab at the University of British Columbia. “It’s great to have avenues such as Act NOW!, where youth have a chance to take in these different perspectives as well as creatively share their own.”

Samantha Landa, winner of the senior category, is a 23-year-old geography student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. Her short play Lights Out innovatively weaves sustainability and imagination into an accidental black out.

Deborah Vogt, a 17-year-old student at the University Hill Secondary school in Vancouver, BC, is the winner of the junior category with her memorable entry Fallen Heads.

The competition and the performance of the winning plays have attracted significant interest from organizations, theatre groups, educators, and students across Canada. The participants from this year’s competition come from over 10 urban and rural communities in Canada as well as Nigeria. The winning plays from last year’s Act NOW! National Playwriting Competition have been performed to more than 1500 students by local youth groups. Judges include prominent community leaders from diverse walks of life.

About the NOW! Organization

NOW! inspires and empowers synergistic solutions toward social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Founded in 2006, NOW! is a grassroots non-profit organization run entirely by dedicated youth volunteers. Please visit us at http://www.now-org.com for more information.

Competition judges, partners, and sponsors

Judges

Julia Ainsworth
Special Projects and Workshop Coordinator, Quebec Drama Federation
Artistic Director, Zeitgeist Theatre Collective

Wendy Avis
Project Manager, BC Hydro Environment & Sustainability

Samantha Charlton
Urban Agriculture Coordinator, Environmental Youth Alliance

Jennifer Corriero
Co-founder, TakingITGlobal
“Social Entprereneur, Advisor & Consultant, Speaker & Facilitator, Learner & Researcher, Thought Leader, Traveller & Artist”

David Diamond
Artistic and Managing Director, Headlines Theatre

Carolyn Fe
Artistic Director, Altera Vitae Productions

Nicole Gordon
Dramaturge Intern, Solo Collective Theatre
Writer, actor, and instructor

Kevin Kerr
The Electric Company Theatre
Award winning playwright

Vanessa LeBourdais
Artistic Producer
DreamRider Theatre

Shawn Macdonald
Award-winning playwright, instructor and actor, Vancouver Arts Club

Mark Masongsong
Board of Directors, Global Agents for Change
Director of Partnerships and Planning, Spirit Bear Youth Coalition

Bill McKibben
Co-founder, 350.org
Environmentalist and award-winning author

Kevin Millsip
Vancouver School Board Sustainability Coordinator
Executive Director, Check Your Head

Parker Mitchell
Co-CEO, Engineers Without Borders

Professor Janet Moore
Provincial Leader, Walking the Talk
Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue, Simon Fraser University

Dr. David Ng
Faculty, The University of British Columbia
Michael Smith Laboratories
Terry*

Sean Peters
Chair, Global Agents for Change Board of Directors
Consultant, Friuch Consulting

Lars Rose
Researcher and Ph.D candidate, National Research Council Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation

George Roter
Co-CEO, Engineers Without Borders

Dr. Bonnie Schmidt
Founder and President, Let’s Talk Science

Marisa Victor
Lawyer, playwright, actress, director and producer

Partners

International

Sustainability Television
Bicycles for Humanity

National

Playwrights Guild of Canada
Shad Valley
Student Biotechnology Network
National Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program
Changing Climates Education Society
Green Kids
Youth Canada
Campus Climate Network
UNICEF Canada
Engineers Without Borders

Provincial and Regional
Quebec Drama Federation
Quebec Writers’ Federation
Theatre BC
The Environmental Youth Alliance
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Sustainability Office
The Terry Project
World Changing Careers Conference
Otesha
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal
International Business Club
Walking the Talk
UBC Neglected Global Diseases Initiative
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
UBC Commerce Undergraduate Society Sustainability Initiative

Sponsors

• University of British Columbia Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory
• Sustainability Television
• Personal donations
• Aer Marketing (website)

Media Contact:
Janny Ke
janny.ke@now-org.com
(c) 604-339-1251

Vivian Pan
vivian.pan@now-org.com
(c) 604-351-1505