About me
Elaine Ávila (she/her), of Azorean descent, was one of the first Fulbright Portugal Scholars at the University of the Azores. Elaine writes plays based on untold, true stories of women, workers, Portuguese immigrants and the climate crisis, incorporating humour and music. Elaine is described as “a wonderful writer, tremendously gifted, and innovative” (Suzan-Lori Parks), “fully engaged with the immense political, cultural, and aesthetic complexity of fado’s history” (Jeff Parker); her writing as “gorgeous…a piercing cry to the soul” (Katherine Vaz) and “bold, intelligent, forthright, spirited, compassionate…inviting, wide-ranging” (Caridad Svich). Her plays have been produced in over forty cities/countries, including: Panamá City, Sintra, Pico, Costa Rica, Paris, Peru, London, New York, Lisbon, Australia, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria. Best New Play Awards include: Jane Austen, Action Figure (Festival de los Cocos, Panamá City), Lieutenant Nun (Victoria Critics Circle), and Café a Brasileira (Disquiet International Literary Program in Lisbon). Her books are available from NoPassport Press and Talonbooks. She has taught in universities from Portugal to Lutruwita (Tasmania), China to Panamá. Currently on the Creative Writing Faculty at Douglas College, she is the founder of the LEAP Playwriting Program at the Arts Club (the largest theatre in Canada) and co-founder of the International Climate Change Theatre Action, now reaching 45,000 audience members worldwide.
