Dec. 7, 2020
Seneca News
Acting graduate selected for protégé prize
Joelle Peters wins $25,000
A graduate of Seneca’s Acting for Camera & Voice (ACV) diploma program has been selected the protégé of this year’s Siminovitch Prize.
Joelle Peters is a Toronto-based performer and playwright from Walpole Island First Nation. She was selected by the Siminovitch Prize’s 2020 laureate Tara Beagan as an emerging talent. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Beagan described Ms. Peters as “a huge talent who tirelessly expands her skills, driven by passion for her community and the unique voice she’s been gifted. She is humble, kind and wise.”
Ms. Peters has performed across Canada at festivals and theatres such as Western Canada Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Factory Theatre, Summerworks Festival and Theatre Passe Muraille. Currently, she is part of the Animikiig Creator’s Unit at Native Earth Performing Arts, writing a full-length coming-of-age play called Niish (mentored by Falen Johnson). She also co-wrote Frozen River with Michaela Washburn and Carrie Costello, which is set to premiere at Manitoba Theatre for Young People in next spring.
“My time at Seneca was hugely beneficial to my life as a storyteller,” Ms. Peters said. “Some of my professors are now colleagues in the industry and I’m so thankful for their lessons and continued guidance. There’s quite a few things I keep in my actor’s toolbox that I learned during the ACV program.”
As part of the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize, Ms. Peters will receive $25,000 as Ms. Beagan’s selected protégé.