Wajdi Mouawad was born in Lebanon in 1968. Mouawad fled the war-torn country with his family; they lived in Paris for a few years, then settled in Montreal. In 1991, shortly after graduating from the National Theatre School, he embarked on a career as an actor, writer, director, and producer. In all his work, from his own playsâÂ?Â?a dozen so far, including Journée de noces chez les Cromagnons (Wedding Day at the Cro-MagnonsâÂ?Â?), Littoral (Tideline), and Incendies (Scorched- which served as the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Incendies)âÂ?Â?Wajdi Mouawad is guided by the central notion that âÂ?Â?all art bears witness to human existence through the prism of beauty.âÂ? From 2000âÂ?Â?2004 he was the artistic director of MontrealâÂ?Â?s Théâtre de QuatâÂ?Â?Sous; in 2005 he founded two companies specializing in the development of new work: Abé carré cé carré in Canada (with Emmanuel Schwartz), and Au carré de lâÂ?Â?hypoténuse in France. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honours for his writing and directing, including the 2000 Governor GeneralâÂ?Â?s Literary Award for Drama (Littoral), the 2002 Chevalier de lâÂ?Â?Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres (France) and the 2004 Prix de la Francophonie. He is currently Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre French Theatre.

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Shelley Tepperman has a long history in Canadian theatre specializing in new play dramaturgy, project development and translation for the stage. Her many translations from French (and occasionally, Spanish and Italian)—have been produced at CBC radio and on stages across North America, and two were nominated for the Governor General’s Award. Her play translations include Suzanne Lebeau’s A Giant in the Land of Men (Comment vivre avec les hommes quand on est un géant), Michel Monty’s Freak Accidents (Accidents de Parcours) and Dominic Champagne’s The Forbidden City (La Cité Interdite) and Playing Bare (La Répétition). Tepperman has worked for CBC Radio developing, adapting and directing/producing radio dramas for national broadcast. She also works in documentary film and television as a writer, story editor and director. She holds a Master’s Degree in the Dramatic Arts from the Université du Québec.

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