Svetlana Zylin (1948-2002) was a Belgian-born Canadian theatre director and playwright. She was also the founder of the Women's Theatre Collective in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Biography

Zylin was born in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1948. Her family immigrated to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1954. Zylin attended the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. Zylin later received an MFA from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

's directing program. For her MFA thesis, Zylin originally directed

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

’s ''The House of Bemarda Alba'' with an all female cast. The production was deemed ineligible as her thesis production as her all female cast did not "reflect the human condition." Zylin then directed John Herbert’s ''Fortune in Men’s Eyes'' with an all-male cast which was deemed to meet the MFA requirements.Paterson, Erika. ''Ordering Chaos: The Canadian Fringe Theatre Phenomenon''. 1997. University of Victoria, PhD Thesis, p. 26. Zylin died in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 15, 2002.

Career

In 1972, Zylin founded the Women's Theatre Collective in

. From 1988 to 1991, Zylin ran the Playwright's Workshop in Montreal, Quebec. Zylin created "Toronto's only continuing, improvised soap", ''A Wedge Of Night''. ''A Wedge of Night'' ran in the late eighties at the Midtown Cafe Theatre Society (formerly the Ritz Cafe Theatre) in downtown

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and was a live, improvised

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

. ''A Wedge of Night'' featured local actors such as Randy Parker, Sybille Forster, Bill Zaget, and Melanie Brown. Zylin's play ''The Destruction of Eve'' premiered in 1998 with the

Company of Sirens Company of Sirens is a Canadian feminist theatre company formed in 1986. Company of Sirens developed the feminist play ''The Working People's Picture Show''. History Company of Sirens was officially founded in 1986 by Lina Chartrand, Aida Jord ...

at the Annex Theatre in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. ''The Destruction of Eve'' is a feminist, musical take on the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and its female characters. The musical features music and lyrics by

Connie Kaldor Connie Isabelle Kaldor, (born 9 May 1953) is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. She is the recipient of three Juno awards. Early life and education Kaldor was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She graduated from Campbell Collegiate in Regina in 1972 ...

. The Company of Sirens premiere featured Ellen Rae Hennessy, Alex Fallis, Carol Greyeyes, Kathleen McAuliffe, Simrata Shakla and

Shakura S'Aida Shakura S'Aida is a Canadian blues vocalist, songwriter and actress. She is sometimes credited Shakura. History Shakura S'Aida was born in Brooklyn and lived in Switzerland before moving to Canada. S'Aida was lead singer of the 13-piece worl ...

. In 1999, Zylin was appointed theatre and dance touring officer for the

Manitoba Arts Council , type = Council , formed = 1965 , headquarters = 525 – 93 Lombard Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3B1 , budget = $10.2 m CAD (2020) , chief1_name = Roberta Christianson , chief1_position = Chair , chief2_name = Randy Joynt , chief2_position = Exec ...

. The position was supposed to last for three years but was cut short due to Zylin's death. Zylin died in Winnipeg on July 15, 2002.

Select directorial credits

* ''Rites of Passage'' -

Great Canadian Theatre Company The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) is a professional theatre company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1975 by a group of professors and graduate students at Carleton University. Riding a wave of cultural nationalism, ...

, 1978–79 season * ''One on the Way'' - Mulgrave Road Theatre, 1980 * ''Requiem for August'' by Helen Posno - 1982

Rhubarb! Festival Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

* ''Signs of Life'' by Joan Schenkar -

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

* ''Djuna: What Of The Night'' -

, 1991 * ''Last Rites'' by Leslie Hamson - Nakai Theatre Ensemble, Festival of the

Yukon Arts Centre The Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) an arts centre and gallery located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The art centre opened in May 1992 and contains a 428-seat theatre, and a used to hosts arts performances and exhibitions. The arts centre permanent colle ...

1992 * '' The Suicide'' by

Nikolai Erdman Nikolai Robertovich Erdman ( rus, Николай Робертович Эрдман, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈrobʲɪrtəvʲɪtɕ ˈɛrdmən, a=Nikolay Robyertovich Erdman.ru.vorb.oga; , Moscow – 10 August 1970) was a Soviet dramatist and screenwriter ...

- Dalhousie Theatre Department, 1993

Plays

* ''The Destruction of Eve'' - written by Svetlana Zylin, music and lyrics by Connie Kaldor * ''Djuna: What Of The Night'' - co-created by Zylin and Cynthia Grant * ''One on the Way'' - co-created by Zylin, Mary Vingoe, Nicola Lipman, and Gay Hauser

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zylin, Svetlana Canadian theatre directors Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women theatre directors University of Manitoba alumni University of British Columbia alumni 20th-century Canadian women writers Belgian expatriates in Canada Feminist theatre 1948 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights