Vern Thiessen is one of Canada's most produced playwrights. His plays have been seen across Canada, the UK, United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, and have been translated into five languages. His works include Of Human Bondage, Vimy, Einstein's Gift (Governor General's Literary Award winner), Lenin's Embalmers (Governor General's Literary Award finalist), Apple, and Shakespeare's Will. He has been produced off-Broadway five times. Vern is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Dora and Sterling awards for Outstanding New Play, The Carol Bolt Award, the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award, the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award, the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence, The Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, and the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama, Canada's highest honour for a playwright. He was also a finalist for the Siminovich Prize in Playwriting. Vern received his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg and an M.F.A. from the University of Alberta. He has served as president of both the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta. For six years he served as Artistic Director of Workshop West Playwrights Theatre, one of Canada's leading new play companies. He is married to acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Susie Moloney.

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John Murrell is one of the most frequently produced Canadian playwrights. His plays have been translated into fifteen different languages and performed internationally. His work for the stage includes Waiting for the Parade, a Canadian classic; Memoir, which has been produced world-wide; Chalmers Best Canadian Play Award winners Farther West and The Faraway Nearby; and the libretto for the acclaimed opera Filumena. As a translator, he has created frequently revived versions of Chekhovâ??s Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, and The Cherry Orchard; Ibsenâ??s The Doll House; Rostandâ??s Cyrano de Bergerac; and The Four Lives of Marie, Elisaâ??s Skin, and Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse, all by Carole Fréchette.

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