David Haas, well-known for his work in the St. Albert and Edmonton theatre communities, has won the Alberta Screenwriters Accelerator Program (ASAP) award from the Edmonton Short Film Festival (ESFF) for his screenplay Stage Door Johnny.

Check out some press about the ASAP program and David here:
https://www.stalberttoday.ca/entertainment-news/st-alberts-david-haas-wins-edmonton-short-film-festival-award-5086663
https://edmonton.taproot.news/news/2022/01/20/retired-lawyer-turned-playwright-wins-screenplay-competition

This inaugural program was created by the Edmonton Short Film Festival and offered to emerging screenwriters who have never had a screenplay produced into a film. The $20,000 prize covers everything from script editing to shooting the film to post production, including mentorship from award-winning writer, Neil Chase, and successful director, Gilbert Allan. This program is only possible with the support of local industry professionals, Edmonton Production Rentals, the Edmonton Screen Industries Office, OMD4 Makeup, Groove Soldier Productions and Studio Post.

After receiving a number of excellent script submissions from Alberta writers, making a final selection was not easy. Honourable mention goes to Sonja Jarrett (Slave Lake) for Summoned and Amanda Lim (Edmonton) for Yellow and Blue.

Stage Door Johnny is Haas’ first venture into screenwriting, but he is an experienced writer of stage plays; notably:

• His Day In Court (winner of the 1978 Edmonton Journal One Acts and the 1983 Alberta Culture Awards One Acts).
• Pacific Time (winner at the second annual Graffiti Mix Arts Festival in 2014 and also performed at the festival). It also appeared at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in 2015
• Also staged at the Edmonton Fringe Festival were Wolfman Crossing (2016), Crazy Train (2017) and Where Heroes Lie (2019).
• In addition to his writing, Haas set up Charabanc Theatre. In 2021, the Charabanc Theatre put on live Zoom readings of five of his plays. He is also an accomplished musician.

Stage Door Johnny premiered at the Edmonton Short Film Festival on October 15, 2022 and is now on the festival circuit.