Playwright Marty Chan wins award

EDMONTON - Popular national playwright Marty Chan was presented the Arts Achievement Award by the City of Edmonton at the 48th Annual "Salute to Excellence Awards" during a gala ceremony held at the Winspear Centre downtown.

Chan accepted the Award from Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith with a planned stutter-step on stage to the applause and laughter of the invited crowd which numbered over 1,000 in the city's impressive concert hall.

Chan is well-known as a CBC Radio commentator (_Dim Sum Diaries_) and for his television series, _The Orange Seed Myth and Other Lies Mothers Tell_. The latter captured a gold prize at the 1997 Worldfest Charleston Film Festival, a Gemini nomination for Best Writing in Children's Program and two Alberta Motion Pictures Industry Award nominations.

His repertoire ranges from wry romantic comedies such as _Polaroids of Don_, which won 5 Sterling Award nominations, and _Maggie's Last Dance_ (1995) to topical satires such as the politically-inspired black comedy _The Old Boys' Club_ (1997).

Most recently, Chan's comedy, _Mom, Dad, I'm Living with a White Girl_, which examines interracial romance, played to rave reviews in Toronto, Vancouver, and Edmonton. He is a contributor to a long list of professional associations and is currently the story editor for _Incredible Stories Studio_, a television series in Regina which features the writings of junior high school students in episodal teleplays for children.