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, British Columbia.
Zylin attended the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1968 with Bachelor of Arts degree.[2] Zylin later received an MFA from the University of British Columbia's directing program.[3] For her MFA thesis, Zylin originally directed Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, with an all female cast. (García Lorca's play, as he wrote it, has only female characters.) It was deemed ineligible as a thesis production, as her all female cast did not "reflect the human condition".[4] Zylin then directed John Herbert’s Fortune and Men's Eyes with an all-male cast which was deemed to meet the MFA requirements.[5]
Zylin died in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 15, 2002.[6]
Career
In 1972, Zylin founded the Women's Theatre Collective in Vancouver, British Columbia.[7] From 1988 to 1991, Zylin ran the Playwright's Workshop in Montreal, Quebec.[1]
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 and was a live, improvised soap opera. A Wedge of Night featured local actors such as Randy Parker, Sybille Forster, Bill Zaget, and Melanie Brown.[8]
Zylin's play The Destruction of Eve premiered in 1998 with the Company of Sirens at the Annex Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.[9]The Destruction of Eve is a feminist, musical take on the Bible and its female characters. The musical features music and lyrics by Connie Kaldor. The Company of Sirens premiere featured Ellen Rae Hennessy, Alex Fallis, Carol Greyeyes, Kathleen McAuliffe, Simrata Shakla and Shakura S'Aida.[10]
In 1999, Zylin was appointed theatre and dance touring officer for the Manitoba Arts Council. The position was supposed to last for three years[1] but was cut short due to Zylin's death. Zylin died in Winnipeg on July 15, 2002.[6]
^Wagner, Vit (1991-05-14). "Djuna a stylish theatre piece: [FIN Edition]". Toronto Star. p. F3. ISSN0319-0781 – via ProQuest.
^"Hamson, Leslie. "Last rites" // Play". Canadian Theatre Review. 75. University of Toronto Press: 56–71. 1993. eISSN1920-941X. ISSN0315-0836 – via ProQuest.