Evalyn Parry
Evalyn Parry | |
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![]() Parryhd | |
Occupation | singer/songwriter/playwright/director |
Known for | spoken word/theatre/music |
Website | |
evalynparry |
Biography
Evalyn Parry is a Canadian singer/songwriter and actor/playwright/director who grew up in Toronto, Ontario in the Kensington Market Neighborhood. Her music combines elements of spoken word and folk. She is a Quaker.
Evalyn Parry is the daughter of David Parry, an English-born Canadian singer and theatrical director who died in 1995, and performer and author Caroline Balderston Parry. Her brother Richard Parry performs with the bands Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire. She is married to Canadian writer Suzanne Robertson.
Parry has performed at numerous music, poetry and Pride festivals across North America, including Toronto Pride Week, Hillside Festival, The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals]annual conference, North by Northeast Music and Film Conference and Festival (Toronto), The Vancouver Storytelling Festival, (Ontario), the CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival, the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), the Lincoln Center Out of Doors in New York City.
Music
Parry sometimes performs with the group Girls with Glasses, a quartet of female songwriters including Parry, Eve Goldberg, Allison Brown, and Karyn Ellis.
Theatre
Parry is a theatre writer, actor, director and educator. Her plays have been produced in Toronto at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille and others, and have toured extensively around Canada. She writes and performs with the all-female theatre company Independent Aunties (with Anna Chatterton and Karin Randoja). Parry's 2011 musical and theatrical show SPIN makes use of an electronically amplified bicycle to accompany a cycle of songs and stories that chronicle the history of women and cycling in the late 19th century. Parry is the director of the Young Creators Unit at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. She is the recipient of the Ken McDougall Award for Upcoming Director (2009), Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award (2003) and the Beth Ferguson Award for Upcoming Songwriter (Ottawa, 2001). In 2012, she directed Buddies' production of Tawiah M'carthy's Obaaberima, garnering a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play.
Plays
- SPIN by Evalyn Parry
- "The Freelance Lover" by Evalyn Parry
- Breakfast by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
- Clean Irene and Dirty Maxine by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
- Francis Mathilda & Tea by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
- The Mysterious Shorts by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
- Robbers Daughters' by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
- Nancy Drew Without a Clue, adapted by Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
Discography
- Things that should be warnings (2001, LP)
- Unreasonable (2003, LP)
- Live at Lula (2006, concert DVD)
- Small Theatres (2007, double LP)
- SPIN (2011, LP)
Awards
- Beth Ferguson Award for Upcoming Songwriter (Ottawa, 2001)
- Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award (2003)
- Ken McDougall Award for Upcoming Director (2009)
References
- Porter, Catherine. ""The Toronto Star, 2010-17-05.
- Deschamps, MJ. "Evalyn Parry takes quirky tour across country", Xtra!, 2008-06-26. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- Levesque, Roger. "Artist combines spoken word, song on 2-CD package", Edmonton Journal, 2008-07-01. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- Nikodym, Carolyn. "Prevue – Evalyn Parry", Vue Weekly, 2008-07-03. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
- Varty, Alexander. "Straight white men and IKEA provide inspiration for Evalyn Parry", The Georgia Straight, 2008-07-03. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.
External links
- Evalyn Parry Official Website
- Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
- Borealis Records
- Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award
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