November 16, 2007

MICHAEL GALVIN WINS THE BRUCE MASON PLAYWRITING AWARD

The winner of the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award 2007 is Michael Galvin whose plays include New Gold Dream, The Ocean Star and Station to Station.  

The award, of $10,000, is provided by Playmarket with generous support from the FAME Trust and Downstage Theatre Society. It provides for a full-length play commission and a funded play reading. Galvin competed with an exceptionally strong field of emerging playwrights who, or order to qualify for consideration, had to have had one or more full-length plays produced to critical and audience acclaim.  

A graduate of Victoria University and Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Michael had an extensive stage career before taking the role of Dr Chris Warner in the inaugural series of Shortland Street. His theatre credits include roles in the New Zealand classics Ladies Night, Foreskin’s Lament, and Blue Sky Boys as well as Phantom of the Opera.

In 1996, Michael took a break from Shortland Street to write and travel. During this time, he had roles in the television productions Highwater and Coverstory, and feature film The Climb, which starred John Hurt. To the delight of his many fans, he returned to New  Zealand and Shortland Street in early 2001.  

Michael has had short stories published in anthologies, The Picnic Virgin and Boy’s Own Stories. His first play, New Gold Dream, is a comedy about the reunion of a once famous performance art group obsessed with 80s music and, more recently, the hugely popular The Ocean Star and Station to Station.