A Funny Story About Making "Us"

One of Jeffery Straker's wonderful songs that made their way into our new musical "Us," (world premiere, Globe Theatre Feb 28, 2018 – Mar 18, 2018) --funny story about this one. This is the song I chose for the last few moments of my last show as host of CBC's SoundXchange--and you can tell why. Is there a more hopeful and uplifting way to end something? It just kept playing in my mind--so much so that my next call was to Jeffery Straker. I asked him if he wanted to create a musical with me, set at an LGBT2QP+++ youth camp--like the amazing Camp Fyreflysask--where he'd been a resident artist (and I was about to become one). He said yes. The rest is...the hopeful, uplifting made-in-Saskatchewan."Us." http://globetheatrelive.com/plays/1718-mainstage/us

"Us" by J. Straker and yours truly WINS Stage​ ​West​ ​Pechet​ ​Family​ ​New Canadian Musical​ ​Award

Straybird Productions

Regina, Saskatchewan

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 29, 2017

Contact: Kelley Jo Burke: 306-596-0757/kelley.jo@sasktel.net or

Jeffery Straker: 416-882-0992/jeffstraker88@rogers.com

New Canadian Musical, “Us” by Kelley Jo Burke and Jeffery Straker

Announced as winner of the Playwrights Guild of Canada

“Stage West Pechet Musical Award”

at the 2017 “Tom Hendry Awards” Gala

TORONTO, ON—The Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) has awarded the new Canadian musical “Us” by Kelley

Jo Burke and Jeffery Straker with the “Stage West Pechet Musical Award” at the annual Tom Hendry Awards.

The award is presented annually to a PGC-member recognizing the best new Canadian musical in development.

Co-created by playwright Kelley Jo Burke (book) and singer-songwriter-pianist Jeffery Straker (score) of Regina,

Saskatchewan, the duo is thrilled to be receiving the recognition from the PGC as well as the $5000 prize. Their

new work is already part of the current season at The Globe Theatre (Regina, Saskatchewan) where a main

stage production run is scheduled for February 28 – March 18, 2018.

Kelley Jo Burke was present in Toronto to receive the award at The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto remarking:

“Thank you to- The Sask Arts Board, Sask Playwrights Centre, Roberta McKay and Elmer Brennan, the Centre for

New Play Development at the U of R, and a huge thanks to Ruth Smilie and the Globe Theatre in Regina who will

give our show its premiere stage in March, and to our director Val Pearson for her faith in the project. But my

hugest thanks must go to the staff, volunteers, and above all the campers of Camp fYrefly Saskatchewan and

Alberta—Canada’s leadership retreat for gender and sexually diverse youth—because they are warriors—and

this project would have been wholly impossible for Jeff and I without the gift of their voices, and the gift of their

inclusion of us.

The new musical is set at a summer camp for LGBTQ youth and is an exploration and celebration of the search

for identity amongst a wonderfully diverse group of young people. The creation team has been writing and

developing the piece for the past 2.5 years.

The ‘Stage West Pechet Musical’ award is sponsored by the PGC and Stage West Restaurants. Past recipients

include: ‘Come from Away’(2013), ‘Onegin’ (2014), 33 1/3 (2015), Prom Queen (2016).

For more information regarding the co-creators, refer to contact info at top of this release.

For more information regarding the 2018 production of “Us” at Regina’s Globe Theatre:

http://globetheatrelive.com/plays/1718-mainstage/us

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"Us" by J. Straker and yours truly, short-listed for Stage​ ​West​ ​Pechet​ ​Family​ ​Musical​ ​Award

So happy to finally announce: Us, the musical written by Jeffery Straker and yours truly, which opens in March 2018 at Globe Theatre main stage, has been short-listed for the Stage West Pechet Family Musical Award (Playwrights Guild Canada) for best new Canadian musical. So honored to be on this list. Huge thanks to Camp Fyreflysask, Globe Theatre, Saskatchewan Arts Board, University of Regina MAP dept, Roberta McKay & Elmer Brennan and Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre for their indispensable support of this project. Winner announced Oct 29 at the Tom Hendry Awards in TO.

Stage​ ​West​ ​Pechet​ ​Family​ ​Musical​ ​Award​ is given annually for a new musical work by a PGC-member, which has not yet had a premiere production. JURY: Ted​ ​Dykstra​ (Chair), Clara​ ​Bullock​, Meghan​ ​Gardiner​, and Peter​ ​Jorgensen​. Kelley​ ​Jo​ ​Burke​ ​(Co-creators:​ ​Jeffrey​ ​Straker)​ (​ SK) for​ ​Us​, Julie​ ​McIsaac​ ​&​ ​Corey​ ​Payette​ ​(BC) for​ ​Les​ ​Filles​ ​Du​ ​Roi​,​ ​and Joe​ ​Slabe​ ​(AB) for​ ​The​ ​Urban​ ​Jungle​ ​Book​.

Watch the announcement HERE