Erika Ritter

Last updated
Erika Ritter
Born (1948-04-26) April 26, 1948 (age 76)
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
OccupationPlaywright, humorist, journalist

Erika Ritter (born 26 April 1948) is a Canadian playwright, essayist, broadcaster and humorist. [1]

Contents

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, she attended Sacred Heart Academy for High School, and studied drama at McGill University and the University of Toronto.

A Visitor from Charleston was Ritter's first play to be professionally mounted; it was performed at the Manitoba Theatre Workshop in 1976. [2] [3] Ritter's most produced play is Automatic Pilot, which focuses on a self-deprecating female stand-up comic and her relationships with men. [1] [4] The play won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award in 1981. [3] Automatic Pilot was also adapted for the radio in 1981, for which Ritter won Best Writer, Radio Drama at the ACTRA Awards. [3] [5] Two of Ritter's plays, The Passing Scene and Murder at McQueen, have been produced at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre. [6]

In addition to her work as a playwright, Ritter has written and hosted programming for CBC Radio. Ritter was host of Saturday Stereo Theatre (1983–1984), Dayshift (1985–88), Air Craft (1988–1990) and Ontario Morning (2000–2005). She has also served as guest host on numerous programs, including As It Happens , The Sunday Edition , The Arts Tonight , Here and Now [7] and Fresh Air, all on CBC Radio One. [8]

Ritter has also served as a writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto, [9] and the University of Prince Edward Island. [5]

Bibliography

Stage plays [1]

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Prince Edward Island</span> University in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is a public university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the only university in the province. Founded in 1969, the enabling legislation is the University Act, R.S.P.E.I 2000.

David Benson French, OC was a Canadian playwright, most noted for his "Mercer Plays" series of Leaving Home, Of the Fields, Lately, Salt-Water Moon, 1949 and Soldier's Heart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarragon Theatre</span> Theatre in Toronto, Canada

The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. Located near Casa Loma, the theatre was founded by Bill and Jane Glassco in 1970. Bill Glassco was the artistic director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982, Urjo Kareda took over as artistic director and remained in that role until his death in December 2001. Richard Rose was appointed artistic director in July 2002, and Camilla Holland was appointed general manager in July 2006. Mike Payette assumed the role of artistic director in September 2021 upon Rose's retirement.

André Alexis is a Canadian writer who was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, grew up in Ottawa, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario. He has received numerous awards including the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, the Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and the Trillium Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel MacIvor</span> Canadian actor and director

Daniel MacIvor is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom Twitch City.

William Grant Glassco, was a Canadian theatre director, producer, translator and founder of Toronto's Tarragon Theatre.

Diane Flacks is a Canadian comedic actress, screenwriter and playwright.

Jason Sherman is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter.

Marie Clements is a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter. She was the founding artistic director of Urban Ink Productions, and is currently co-artistic director of Red Diva Projects, and director of her new film company Working Pajama Lab Entertainment. Clements lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia. As a writer she has worked in a variety of media including theatre, performance, film, multi-media, radio and television.

Don Hannah is a Canadian playwright and novelist. He won a Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award for his first play, The Wedding Script.

Greg Morrison is a Canadian composer and writer best known for his work on the Tony Award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone, written with songwriting partner, Lisa Lambert. The Drowsy Chaperone was their first collaboration. In 1999 Lambert asked Morrison to work on a musical to perform at the wedding stag party of their friends, Bob Martin and Janet Van De Graaff. Also a part of this original writing team was filmmaker, Don McKellar. That was the first incarnation of The Drowsy Chaperone. This was followed by an expanded production of the show at the Toronto Fringe festival, where Martin joined as a co-writer and performer.

Hannah Moscovitch is a Canadian playwright who rose to national prominence in the 2000s. She is best known for her plays East of Berlin, This Is War, "Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story", and Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, for which she received the 2021 Governor General's Award for English-language drama.

David Yee is a Canadian actor and playwright. His play lady in the red dress was a shortlisted nominee for the Governor General's Award for English language drama at the 2010 Governor General's Awards. His play carried away on the crest of a wave won this award at the 2015 Governor General's Awards. In 2023, David was named as the Laureate of the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, which recognizes artists whose groundbreaking work is advancing the art form. The Siminovitch jury praised David's unique and prolific voice as well as his advocacy in the Asian Canadian community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Gall</span> Canadian writer, actor and producer

Brendan Gall is a Canadian writer, actor and producer living in Toronto, Ontario.

Joan MacLeod is a Canadian playwright. She is best known for her award-winning plays of the 1990s, particularly Amigo's Blue Guitar (1990) and The Hope Slide (1993).

Deborah Kimmett is a Canadian writer and comedian.

Bobby Theodore is a Canadian screenwriter, playwright and translator. He has worked mainly in television and theatre, and is most known for his translation of François Archambault's 15 Seconds, for which he was nominated for a Governor General's Award in 2000. In 2016 he is the host of the Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac, a retreat that allows playwrights, translators and adaptors from across Canada to develop their projects and exchange ideas with each other. Theodore currently lives in Toronto's annex.

Audrey Dwyer is a Canadian writer, actor, and director. She is a former associate artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. She wrote the 2018 comedy, Calpurnia.

<i>Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes</i> Play by Hannah Moscovitch

Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes is a 2020 play written by Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch. It is the winner of the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language drama. The play was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Erika Ritter". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  2. "Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Ritter, Erika". www.canadiantheatre.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library Ritter, Erika, 1948-". Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  4. Richards, David (1985-09-08). "Theater: Continuing Evolutions And Radical Transformations". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  5. 1 2 "Erika Ritter: UPEI Writer in Residence". UPEI. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  6. Tarragon Theatre Archived 2007-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Peter Goddard, "Benoit to host Here & Now". Toronto Star , August 5, 1999.
  8. "Erika Ritter – writer – biography". Archived from the original on 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  9. "The Jack McClelland Writer-in-Residence | Department of English". www.english.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-28.