Indigenous play to be awarded at Play Right and Spirit Prize Gala

By Lethbridge Herald on March 12, 2026.

UNIVERSITY OF LETBRIDGE PHOTO Naima Rain earned the third-place prize for her script, Goodbye See You Later.

By Alexandra Noad

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter-Lethbridge Herald

A play which explores themes of intergenerational trauma, addiction and the effects of residential schools and was inspired by a conversation the writer had with her grandfather is one of this year’s Play Right Prize Winners, hosted by the University of Lethbridge and supported by Chancellor Terry Whitehead.

Naima Rain, a third-year drama student is the second runner up with her play Goodbye, See you Later for the annual prize and will be recognized with $250 in tuition and dramaturgical support to bring her play to life.

The prize jury praised her submission as a mature and devastating testament of imagination, noting the script acts as both a lullaby and an elegy.

The play explores a relationship between a father and daughter and Rain says the end of the play keeps wondering if the daughter will follow in her father’s footsteps.

“The play itself was inspired by a conversation between my grandfather and me about tipi rings and traditionally how, when someone passed away, their tipi ring would be closed, making it a death lodge.”

Two other drama students will also be honoured for their scritps on March 19 at the annual Play Right and Spirit Prize Gala.

The night will also include a staged reading of the first-place winner’s script Homebodies by Steele Prefontaine, a fourth-year drama (tech/design) student.

More information on the other winners can be found at https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/relationships-core-2026-play-right-prize-winning-scripts.