TORONTO, November 20, 1997 -- A new chapter in Canadian theatre publishing will open November 24 with the launch of the first two volumes of Questionable Activities - Canadian Theatre Artists Interviewed by Canadian Theatre Students, a joint publication project of York University's Theatre Department and Playwrights Union of Canada (PUC).

This new chapbook series, conceived and edited by theatre professor, dramaturg, author and PUC member Judith Rudakoff, features conversations between York University theatre students and professionals working in all areas and types of theatre across the country over the past three decades.

Artists profiled include award-winning playwrights John Mighton, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Dennis Foon, John Palmer, Stewart Lemoine, and Tomson Highway; artistic directors Cynthia Grant, Jim Garrard, Martha Ross, Sky Gilbert and John Van Burek; puppeteer Ronnie Burkett; choreographer Bill James; actor and director Janet Amos; playwright and performer Daniel MacIvor, and many others. Topics discussed range from clown, dramaturgy and storytelling to issues of voice, funding, mandate, and the perennial quandary over exactly what constitutes a Canadian play.

The result of these frank and far-ranging conversations is a highly personal chronicle of the evolution of Canadian theatre and the "state of the art" today as seen by some of its leading practitioners.

Questionable Activities started two years ago as a class assignment in Rudakoff's fourth-year Canadian theatre seminar. Students are involved in all facets of the project: researching the artists, plays and companies, formulating questions and conducting interviews, transcription and preliminary editorial work.

Although these interviews may serve as a nascent Who's Who in Canadian theatre, they are, as Rudakoff points out, equally concerned with the 'why' and the 'how'.

"Canadian theatre is an evolutionary and revolutionary process", Rudakoff says, "and recording and understanding it will always be a work-in-progress. Who better to spark the discussion than the next generation of theatre professionals?"

The publication series will likewise be ongoing. PUC plans to publish a new volume of Questionable Activities each year.

"The series is a unique research tool for students, teachers and theatre professionals," says PUC executive director Angela Rebeiro. "It's also an intriguing read for anyone interested in Canadian theatre."

Questionable Activities is just the latest collaboration in the longstanding cooperative relationship between York's Theatre Department and Playwrights Union of Canada. PUC also hosts weekly meetings of Rudakoff's senior level playwriting class, and houses a library of more than three dozen Canadian theatre archive books compiled and donated by York University theatre students.

York University's Theatre Department - the largest in eastern Canada - offers undergraduate and graduate programs combining academic and professional training in all aspects of theatre, from history and criticism to directing, playwriting, performance, and production.

Playwrights Union of Canada represents 350 professionally produced playwrights across the country.

Book Launch
Questionable Activities - Canadian Theatre Artists Interviewed
by Canadian Theatre Students, Vols. I and II
Monday, November 24, 7:30 p.m.
TheatreBooks, 11 St. Thomas Street, Toronto
Co-sponsored by the Department of Theatre, York University,
TheatreBooks and Playwrights Union of Canada

For more information please contact:

Brigitte Kleer
Manager, Public Relations
Faculty of Fine Arts
tel: (416) 736-2100, ext. 77143
email: bkleer@yorku.ca

Angela Rebeiro
Executive Director
Playwrights Union of Canada
tel: (416) 703-0201
email: cdplays@interlog.com