Fonds F0326 - Mary G. Cairns fonds

Mary G. Cairns, 1911-2006 , was born in Edmonton, the daughter of Thomas F. and Gertrude Cadzow. Mary attended the University of Washington and the University of Alberta and received a BA in English. She worked as a free-lance writer in Toronto, a radio announcer at CFAC (Calgary), and wrote and acted in a weekly half-hour radio program on CBC. She met her husband, Bert Cairns, ?-1989, when they acted in and produced plays together. Mary and Bert founded the Calgary Arts and Letters Club which presented plays in Calgary ca. 1951-1965. They also formed the Playwright's Workshop in 1964 to encourage new Canadian plays. Some of these plays were presented on CHQR radio. By 1973 Mary had written many radio scripts and over 38 plays. She won Best Play Award (Alberta) in 1963 and the Canadian Drama Award (1973). One play was commissioned by the John Howard Society and subsequently produced on film. A number of her plays were produced on CBC television. In the 1970s she worked for the Fine Arts Department of the Calgary Public Library, and she and Bert established a broadcast consulting agency in 1979. The couple had two children, Michael and Penny.