24 - Wednesday, October 2, 1991 - North Shore News - cxaceaurcena NR Artist in exile Vancouver morning and Toronto playwright Joan MacLeod is laughing over the time one of her early works, along with five other finalists, was rejected from a prestigious $50,000 new writer's competition. “tt was really odd,” recalls MacLeod, who grew up in North Vancouver and is now play- wright-in-residence at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre. “The judges, who were from Canada, the U.S. and Britain, couldn't reach a deci- sion...it was obvious they didn’t . think any of the entries could ’ make any money.” *’ Then MacLeod drops the bomb. ~ - One of the contestants was W.P. _Kinsella and his novel Shoeless T'S 10 a.m. on a sunny Joe, which formed the basis for the | _ _ highly‘praised, multi-million dollar film, Field of Dreams., ° .Kinsella’s work wasn’t the only ball the judges fumbled — they ~-, underéstimated-MacLead’s work “re toes e % -” "Her novel'was never published, ~ but itformed the basis of her first ~*> Uplay;jewel; which’ went on to be producéd more than 15 times across the country and has since beén translated into five lan- guages. 2° a Her next play, Toronto Mississippi, inspired from 10 years working with handicapped people at the Mainstream Society in Van- - couver, brought MacLeod public acclaim and cemented her success .. as one‘of Canada’s most produced _ playwrights. ° . . "Now she is about to have her first American production with Perseverance Theatre Company in Alaska. oo. - But the affable playwright, who was in North Vancouver briefly -fast month to read from her new .. play, The Hope Slide, says she. > ‘would never be where she i. today ’ if she had stayed in’B.C. © -: “For a city this size, the * number of theatres is tiny and the money writers get from the pro- vince is non-existent,” says the ‘soft spoken, shaggy-haired MacLeod.’ ~ ““The B.C. government is ap- palling when it comes to support- ing artists, particularly theatre ar- tists. Toronto Mississippi is a good ~. example, It's one of the most pro- Zt Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE duced plays in Canada. If 1 didn’t receive the money [ did from the Ontario government, 1 would never have written it.”’ In marked contrast, her support from the B.C. government never amounted to anything more than a rejection letter from the artistic department of Expo ‘86. ..” Jewel was rejected but MacLeod didn’t receive the letter until after the fair ended. “It was addressed to Mr. MacLeod,” she remembers with disgust about the impersonal way the whole thing was handled. MacLeod is quick to point out that Toronto hasn't been a rose . garden. But, the attitude towards the arts, she says, is healthier. . “Toronto is three times the size of Vancouver, and there are over 100 professional theatres there compared with only a handful here, Non-profit theatres receive funds from the Canada Council and the Ontario government tries to match that.” : MacLeod finds it painful to talk _on this way about a city she loves _and hopes to move back to some- -day. She admonishes herself for letting herself ‘get up on the soap box so early” in the inter- view, and tries to refocus her thoughts. . -But whenever she considers her success and the opportunities af- forded her in Toronto (Tarragon | Theatre has premiered all of her plays) it brings her right back to the subject, and she finds it hard to let go of. It's not just the government who is to blame. Vancuuver audiences, she says, aren't nearly as suppor- tive of their theatre as Toronto- nians, MacLeod even includes hersel among the guilty. , “It is partly my own fault because when |! was living here, ! wasn't involved in theatre, and 1 Piaywright Joan MacLeod flourishes in Toronto didn’t go to the theatre that much.” That’s because MacLeod never waited to be a playwright; her dream since childhood was to become a novelist. “l wrote tons of terrible poetry when I was a teenager,” she laughs. “I always wanted to be a good novelist.” in 1984 with a creative writing degree under her belt, she ven- tured to Banff where she eventual- ly got bitten by the theatre bug at the Fine Arts Centre. Since Toronto Mississippi, . MacLecd has turned out a handfu of plays. Her last play, Amigo’s Blue Guitar, has been produced at least seven times in the last year: The Hope Slide, set in North Vancouver, will! premiere at Tar- ragon Theatre in March. Although she feels closest to Toronto Mississippi, MacLeod says she doesn’t have a favorite play. “t love and hate all of them,” she snickers. For the last two years MacLeod has been thinking a lot about eating disorders. It’s an issue at the ° heart of Little Sister, her current work-in-progress. : After watching the Canadian film, The Famine Within, a heart-wrenching look at anorexia and bulimia, she felt so touched and struck by the widespread ‘nature of eating disorders that she decided to write a play about it. “ve never met a woman who is happy with the body she’s been given...it’s a kind of self-loathing,” ONE OF Canada’s best-known playwrights, Joan MacLeod, wa North Vancouver recently to give a reading at Capilano College. says MacLeod. . “The pressures on women to | laok great at all times is incredibly -destructive. When I was growing up my model was Twiggy —. now women want hard, toned bodies. “The problem is that there’s always just one shape that’s in - style. There’s something very racist __ In that too — that we all have to look like white supermodels: | was- shocked to learn that eating Celebrate Srnall Business Week on the North Shore. Readers want to hear about your products, services and what you've accomplish- ed in the community. Canada’s Smati Business Industry is a grow- ing success and. you're a part of it! Smail Business Week is an annual event saluting the owners and operators of Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses, sponsored by the _ Federal Business Development Bank in ccopera- tion with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and focal chamber and boards of trade. _ Macleod. = “ disorders-can begin a8 early as'age | five. It’s a terrible problem that _ we've all created.” > > As an artist, MacLeod. firids. “incredibly satisfying’ to give >: voice to « problem that has. *<-.- received scant attention. =~ © With regular success, does writ- ing come any easier? “it’s just as. terrifying as ever,” laugh: A Are pleased to present an exhibition of new work by JOSE SALVADOR October 3rd to 12th For information on attending the opening reception October 2nd please call 926-2615 2022 Park Royal, South Mall, Upper Level, West Vancouver, British Columbia V7T 1A1 Gali Display Advertising DEADLINE OCTOBER 117H 980-0511