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Winnipeg playwright named literary award finalist |
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Written by Rebeca Kuropatwa
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
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Winnipeg – Michael Nathanson, born and raised in Winnipeg, was thrown for a loop when he heard that he was nominated to be a Governor General’s Literary Awards (G-G) finalist, for his play Talk.
Talk is a humorous, thought-provoking, touching play about the dissolution of a friendship when the wrong word is introduced suddenly one night. It is now being considered by eight Canadian theatres.
Nathanson, who is the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre’s artistic producer, said he heard the news from his wife Rebecca, who called him in tears (along with their daughter) on his cell phone.
“Being Jewish and a bit of a worrier, I immediately assumed the worst,” said Nathanson. “My wife reassured me all was okay. She then blurted out the news – that Talk has been nominated for the G-G.”
Overjoyed with the news, Nathanson said, “I can’t quite imagine winning. Should the improbable happen, I think it would be difficult to come down to earth for a while. I hope the G-G jury was engaged by the story and how it was told.”
Nathanson recalls regularly going to see plays from a very young age. His love for the theatre began with his late father, who shared his passion for the stage.
When he was just 13, Nathanson did two seasons on the children’s television show Let’s Go! and the Stage West production of On Golden Pond.
Originally enrolling in the University of Winnipeg (U of W) with the intention of becoming a lawyer, Nathanson said one teacher helped steer his career path to where it has evolved today.
“I had an extremely talented and charismatic first-year instructor, Alan Williams, who read a small scene I had written that summer. So I decided to get involved with a production he was getting together.”
This group of first-year students became a theatre company, The Rude Players, and stayed together for five years, touring Canadian Fringe Festivals.
Nathanson left the group to focus on writing and directing, including writing several Fringe shows in the late ’80s and early ’90s, as well as one for the Manitoba Theatre Centre.
In 2004, Nathanson’s father-in-law asked him to write a play for his Honours acting class at University of Winnipeg.
“I was thrilled to be asked to write but had little expectation of making my living in the theatre.”
Nathanson said he aims to produce theatre that “entertains and enlightens. It’s a kind of tikkun olam (repairing the world) by presenting plays that make people think and reflect, look at their own lives and hopefully be inspired or even more conscious of the choices they make.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 November 2009 )
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