The Piano Teacher
A Healing Key
Winner of 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama
The Piano Teacher, by acclaimed playwright and musical director Dorothy Dittrich, is a play about loss, love, friendship, and the healing power of music. When Erin, a classical pianist, experiences the loss of the life she knew, she finds herself dealing with the departure of her own musical expression. Navigating her way through this change, she meets an unconventional piano teacher who gives her new hope for the future. As Elaine gently reacquaints Erin with her instrument, other life changes naturally follow – not just for Erin but for Elaine as well. The Piano Teacher is replete with lessons about moving through grief, friendships, music as a healing art, the temptation of self-deception, compassion, and love.
Dorothy Dittrich is a playwright, musical director, sound designer, and composer. Her most recent play, The Piano Teacher, is an Arts Club Theatre Silver Commission and Production that went on to win the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Original Script. Her other plays include The Dissociates, Lesser Demons, Two Part Invention, and If the Moon Falls, a thirty-minute monologue commissioned by the Solo Collective. Her musical When We Were Singing has been produced across Canada and in the U.S. It received a workshop in New York with MTC. Dorothy’s work has garnered her a number of Jessie Awards and nominations including two Dora Mavor Moore nominations for When We Were Singing. She is the proud recipient of the Sydney J. Risk Award for Emerging Playwright. Dorothy continues to write and read Tippi and Stan, a comedy series set in Vancouver.
