2025 Play Right Prize winners create compelling written tales

Tales of friendship, youth and motherhood are the topics of the winning scripts of the 2025 Play Right Prize Competition.

Carter Popielarz, Levi Mason and Maddie McKee are the winners of this year’s competition, highlighting the breadth and depth of talent that University of Lethbridge students possess in creative writing.

The Play Right Prize, sponsored by Chancellor Terry Whitehead (BA ’94), is an annual competition that awards $2,500 in cash prizes to students and supports their professional development in playwriting.

The winners from this year’s competition will be recognized at the annual Play Right Prize Gala, which takes place on Wednesday, March 19 at 5 p.m., in the David Spinks Theatre (W425).

Honk if You’re Lonely

Drama (Performance) student Carter Popielarz won first place in the competition for his script, Honk If You’re Lonely. Described as a generous character study of friendship between two older men, Carter says he was intrigued by what it means to leave old lives behind, particularly later in life, exploring themes of change and regret.

“Honk If You’re Lonely had been floating around in my mind for around two years before I wrote it down.  When it came time to write it, I had spent so much time with both characters in my mind that the first draft just poured out of me,” he says.

“From there, I edited to ensure that the characters’ voices stayed as consistent as possible, but by and large the story and structure of the play stayed as I had initially envisioned.”

Play Right Prize jury members Jenn Taylor, Managing Director of the Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and award-winning playwright and alumna Chelsea Woolley (BA/BEd ’14) took note of Carter’s nuanced writing.

“Honk If You’re Lonely is the story of a man at a crossroads in his life. After a chance meeting at a small-town motel, he begins an unexpected journey with an uncertain end.” Jenn says. “This beautifully self-contained narrative explores questions of genuine connection and vulnerability in two lives constrained by expectations.”

“[Carter] writes dialogue with impressive technical skill, and crafts characters with great subtly and maturity," Chelsea adds.

For Carter, entering the Play Right Prize competition is a great way to get eyes on his work, as he receives valuable dramaturgical feedback. Winning the cash prize also allows students like Carter to learn without financial strain, kickstart projects and begin building a name in the industry.

“I feel very honoured to be recognized for a piece of work that has been so close to my heart for the past two years,” he says.

“I am interested in having the show fully produced in the next few years. I think a local theatre company would be a good option, as there are often many great actors in their forties and fifties in the community who could really have a great time with it.”

For his win, Carter receives $1,500 and professional dramaturgical support to refine his script.

God is a Black Hole

English student Levi Mason is the second place winner with his play, God is a Black Hole. In this script, three childhood friends meet at the edge of the apocalypse, confronting their choices and regrets as they seek validation from their found family.

Levi says the bleakness of his play, first one of his biggest obstacles, turned into something that he found joy in writing.

“How could I make something about existentialism, nihilism and the end of the world and make it something that people actually want to read and watch? Despite the heaviness of the themes in this play, I actually find it quite joyful in a lot of ways,” Levi says.

“It might be a play about the end of the world and trying to accept that nothing matters and dealing with religious trauma, but it’s also a play about friendship and healing and playing at the park.”

Levi adds that much of the inspiration for his play came from his own experiences and was sparked during an English class.

“The class I’m currently taking is taught by Dr. Jay Gamble and is called Literature and Nothingness. It has been an absolutely fascinating class and in one of our discussions of nothingness, there was a comment made about god and black holes and nothingness, and an idea was born.”

The Play Right Prize jurors noted that Levi’s play is a sweet, contemplative tale.

“In a moment at the end of the world, who would you turn to form comfort?,” Jenn notes. “In God is a Black Hole, three childhood friends meet at the edge of the apocalypse. Together, they confront the choices they've made and the regrets they have, seeking validation from their found family.”

"God is a Black Hole muses on youth and friendship with great imagery that reveals both the small, and astronomical aspects of growing up queer,” adds Chelsea.

Levi says being a playwright has been a long-held dream for him and theatre has always been a significant part of his life.

“For the past five years or so I’ve been a performer, sound technician, assistant director and director. I have always loved to write, and as my passion for theatre only continues to grow, playwriting naturally became my dream. I only heard about the Play Right Prize contest last year, and it became an opportunity to try to make my dream a reality.”

Winning the prize adds to this reality, as Levi adds it is a big step in a positive direction.

“It is incredibly validating, to be able to say that other people think that there is merit to my work, that it means something to people. It tells me that my dream doesn’t have to stay just a dream. I can’t begin to describe the hope and the ambition that it has ignited in me.”

For second place, Levi receives dramaturgical support for his script and $750. 

Create

Drama (Performance) student Maddie McKee took third place in the Play Right Prize competition for her play, Create. Described as an absurdist horror that follows a pregnant woman struggling to find inspiration to give birth, Maddie says she began writing the play in her second year during a playwriting class.

“Create is very personal to me and is a representation of how easily we can limit ourselves through our own self-doubt. Creating art is so vulnerable and intimidating, and the character’s journey reflects the complicated feelings artists have towards their work.”

“I have always been inspired by tragedy and horror, interested in what makes an audience compelled to keep watching or, perhaps, unable to look away,” Maddie adds.

“There is something so human in tragedy, in failure. It is brave to create; Create displays the (often unseen) process behind creation and the fear we face in our pursuit of making something worthwhile.”

Maddie says as she continued to write new drafts of Create, each iteration became clearer as she grew as an artist and her relationship to the play grew stronger.

“The process has been long but very rewarding. I am very proud of this play and honoured that it has won third place. What started out as a play to put my artistic frustrations into words has bloomed into something deeper, darker, realer, and oh so hard to look away from. There is something so morbid about how the body changes when a new being starts to emerge from within it.”

The Play Right Prize jurors note their delight at diving into Maddie’s created world of surreal magic and absurdism, which asks audiences to lean in and ride through the mountains of metaphor and poetic text.

“Create is a thoughtful exploration of the complexity of motherhood, perfectionism, creation and family,” says Chelsea.

“A surreal journey through the act of becoming a mother, Create is a complex story birthed from a unique metaphor,” Jenn adds. “Through the relationship between an artist and her muse, the audience comes to understand some of the anxiety, pressure and the need to be perfect that expectant mothers experience.”

For Maddie, winning the Play Right Prize reminded her of the importance of her voice, prompting her to continue writing plays.

“Paid opportunities are crucial for emerging artists! It validates our art and proves that students deserve to be paid for their work. This is why the Play Right Prize is so important: because it proves to students that we can be paid for our work, even as emerging artists, even before we finish our degrees.”

Maddie adds that Create is being produced by a local theatre company, Experience Theatre, with her directing. For winning the prize she receives $250 and dramaturgical support.