As playwright, actor, and director, Sharon Pollock's career in the theatre spans over thirty years. Winner of two Governor General's Awards (for Blood Relations [1981] and Doc [1985]) and recipient of three honorary doctorates, Sharon Pollock continues to be a dynamic, mesmerizing presence in the Canadian and international theatre community. Her plays have been produced throughout Canada and in the U. S., the U.K., Australia, India, Japan, Belgium, and Greece. Walsh, her historical documentary examining Chief Sitting Bull's relationship with the Northwest Mounted Police Superintendent James Walsh, which premiered in Calgary in 1973, has been produced at the Stratford Festival and was remounted by Theatre Calgary for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Blood Relations, the docu-drama investigating the Lizzie Borden axe-murder case, which premiered in Edmonton, was given a major new production at the Shaw Festival in 2003.

Sharon Pollock's return to the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta as a Distinguished Visitor in Fall 2004 provided a unique opportunity for WWR to capture several examples of her art and influence. Her visit coincided with the Studio Theatre production of her own Moving Pictures

The texts and video clips in this special issue of WWR also coincide with another special honour for Sharon Pollock: the honorary doctorate to be conferred by the University of Alberta on the occasion of the installation of our first woman President, Dr. Indira Samarasekera, at the end of September 2005.

Patricia Demers
Co-Editor, WWR Magazine