Franco Catanzariti is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

playwright,"La vie comme exil". ''

Canadian Literature Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, English, Canadian French, French, and various Indigenous Canadian languages. It is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in th ...

'' #190, Fall 2006. whose play ''Sahel'' was staged by the

Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (''Theatre of New-Ontario'') is a Canadian professional theatre company. Located in Sudbury, Ontario, the company produces French language stage productions. The company was founded in 1971 by the Coopérative des ar ...

and published by

Prise de parole Prise de parole ("Speaking Out") is a Canadian book publishing company. Located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, the company publishes French language literature, primarily but not exclusively by Franco-Ontarian authors. History The company wa ...

in 2003."Play tells stark, dramatic story". ''

Sudbury Star ''The Sudbury Star'' is a Canadian daily regional newspaper published in Sudbury, Ontario. It is owned by the media company, Postmedia. It is the largest daily paper in Northeastern Ontario by circulation. History The ''Sudbury Star'' began ...

'', February 15, 2003. It was a shortlisted finalist for the

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award ( or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is overseen by ...

and the

Governor General's Award for French-language drama This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-language drama. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for French language poetry or drama was divided. Because the award is presented for plays publ ...

, and won the Prix Christine-Dumitriu-Van-Saanen from the

Salon du livre de Toronto The Salon du livre de Toronto is an annual book fair in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held to celebrate and publicize French language literature."'Les livres' celebrated in Toronto". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 8, 1993. Launched in 1993 as the firs ...

, in 2004. The play was inspired by a trip to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

which Catanzariti undertook in the 1970s, during which he spent time among the nomadic

Wodaabe The Wodaabe (, , ''𞤏𞤮𞤯𞤢𞥄𞤩𞤫'') is a name that is used to designate a subgroup of the Fula ethnic group who are traditionally nomadic and found primarily in Niger and Chad. All Wodaabe people should not be mistaken as Mbororo ...

people, and depicted a mother and daughter struggling to survive after being abandoned in the desert. The play's set design and construction was complex, consisting mainly of sand but requiring the ability to pull objects into "vortexes" of sand and out of view. At the time of the play's production, Catanzariti was living in

Ailsa Craig Ailsa Craig (; ) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the remains of a magmatic pluton formed d ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. As of 2017, he was listed as a director of the Burundi Education Fund, a charitable organization based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Ontario."Federal Corporation Information - 797786-7: Burundi Education Fund"

Industry Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; ; )''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Industry (). is a department of the G ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catanzariti, Franco 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French Canadian people of Italian descent People from Middlesex County, Ontario Writers from Ontario Living people Year of birth missing (living people)