Nightwood Theatre is thrilled to announce the winner of this year’s Arts Etobicoke President’s Legacy Scholarship Fund, the Louise Garfield Scholarship – playwright, actress and singer-songwriter Carolyn Fe. This annual cash prize is presented to an artist whose work has received development support from Nightwood as a ‘later in life’ emerging creator. The recipient connects deeply to the company’s feminist mission and will have significantly enriched their community’s cultural or civic life. We are grateful that Louise has chosen Nightwood Theatre as the artistic home for this special award. It is part of Arts Etobicoke’s Presidents’ Legacy Scholarship Fund and is given annually and in perpetuity alongside 16 scholarships through an endowment fund at the Ontario Arts Foundation.

Carolyn Fe is a late-blooming Filipino-Canadian, award winning tri-lingual Actress (English/French/Tagalog), an award winning Singer-Songwriter-Lyricist and a former contemporary Dancer-Choreographer. Carolyn’s continuous pursuit of artistic evolution adds new instruments to her creative portfolio as a published Writer and emerging Playwright. At the time of this publication, she is currently in two playwright residencies: Montreal’s Teesri Duniya Theatre’s 2021-2022 Fireworks Playwrights’ Programme and Toronto’s Factory Theatre’s 2022 The Foundry New Work Creation Group. Carolyn is supported by Recommender Grants from Cahoots Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, The Factory Theatre via The Ontario Arts Council and The Toronto Arts Council. Some TV/streaming credits include Lola (Grandma) in the Nickelodeon children’s show “Blue’s Clues & You!”, Madame Z in the award winning French series “Meilleur Avant” and voices on various animated series such as DreamWorks’ “Pinecone & Pony”. Some Theatre credits include: Three Women of Swatow (Tarragon Theatre), Calpurnia (Nightwood/Sulong), Through the Bamboo (Uwi Collective) and Miss Orient(ed) (Teesri Duniya Theatre). When Carolyn is not on the theatre’s stage or front of the camera, she is most likely performing songs from her four albums or song writing with musicians around the globe. Please click here to learn more about Carolyn.

Carolyn shares, “In the practise of inclusivity, be aware of who is being excluded. I am old, not outdated. #OldNotOutdated”

Louise Garfield is a veteran of the thriving cultural community in Toronto since the 1970s. Her varied background in dance, theatre, film & television, as a producer, performer and choreographer lend her administrator’s eyes a distinct sensibility. She is Executive Director Emerita at Arts Etobicoke, where she lead the organization for fourteen dynamic years. In 2017 Louise received an Urban Hero Award for her contributions to the arts and culture in Etobicoke.

“In so many ways, this scholarship completes a wobbly, uneven circle in my life,” says Garfield. “Years ago, Nightwood nurtured The Clichettes in the early stages of our development. It was part of the root system as feminist artists in Toronto. So the idea of bringing along another wave of artists to be supported while they create new work, is just a thrill! My heartfelt thanks to both Arts Etobicoke and Nightwood Theatre for the honour.”

Photo: Carolyn Fe. © 2022 Dahlia Katz.