Allowed only a page of notes, a computer and their imaginations, playwrights from across Ontario spent 24 non-stop hours drinking coffee and pounding out an original play. Some wrote from the comfort of their homes, while others brought their laptops to Kitchener City Hall and wrote in the rotunda.

After much deliberation the panel of judges selected the winners, who were announced at a special reception held at Seven Shores Urban Market & Café in Waterloo.

The winners are:

• Grand Prize: Margaret Clark for You Know I Love You Still.
• Second Place: Johnny Trinh for Sometimes Y.
• Third Place: Evan Tsitsias for Aftershock.
• Honorable Mention: Miroki Tong for Crimson Falling.

Prizes for the winners are

• $500 and a staged reading for first place
• $100 and a reading for second place
• $50 and a reading for third place
• A reading for honourable mention

Grand-prize winner Margaret Clark, a graduate of University of Waterloo, had no idea what she would write about when she signed up for the contest. By focusing on what was urgent to her, Clark wrote a play about a 24-year old woman who was abducted at age 8 and held in a basement for 16 years. The play examines the woman’s first steps into an adult relationship following her re-entry into the world. “I didn’t want to be exploitive,” Clark says. “If you write a play about deep, urgent human issues, you must be responsible for what you write. It forces you, focuses you and with more empathy.”

O’Connell calls the results, “Timely, sweet, funny and poignant.”

Stay tuned for updates on when Pat the Dog presents the readings.

Balloon photo © bfick. Published under a Creative Commons License.