Oakville woman recognized nationally for playwright work

The national awards celebrate outstanding new Canadian plays, which bring to life a variety of characters and tell a diversity of stories.

Clunie was awarded for her play “Gringas.”

“‘Gringas’ is a beautifully written poetic piece that dissects what it means to be perceived,” said the peer assessment panel for the RBC Emerging Playwrights Award.

“A funny, imaginative work that plays with metaphor and has created a strong ensemble of characters. It is a magical-realism coming of age story about seven first- and second-generation Latina immigrants forced to attend a Spanish-only summer camp in Muskoka, Ontario, by their mothers’ attempts to reconnect with their Latin-American roots.”

Clunie describes herself as a queer, Chilean Canadian playwright, actor, and poet.

She holds a BFA in acting from York University, where she wrote and directed two of her own plays “Splinters” (2023) and “Prude” (2022).

In a press release, Clunie noted that her work explores topics such as girlhood, culture, sexuality, and language through diverse formats that both disrupt traditional conventions and celebrate the essence of theatre.

The Playwrights Guild of Canada is a national arts service organization focused on advancing the creative rights and interests of Canadian playwrights; promoting Canadian plays nationally and internationally; and fostering an active, evolving community of writers for the stage.