Dramaturgy at PWM reminds us why the story is worth telling, ensures it is one that others might like to see, and takes into account all the people involved in making a work for the stage.

Paula Danckert divines meaning from the well of a shared imagination. This involves bringing the playwright’s voice from the private to the public sphere, bringing the innermost visions of our society to light.

For the past five and a half years I have had the pleasure of working with Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal. I have worked with PWM’s Artistic Director, Paula Danckert as a dramaturg, director, and playwright. Most recently Paula was production dramaturg, when I directed Marie Clements’ Burning Vision for Rumble Theatre and Urban Ink in Vancouver, for the Festival de Théâtre des Amériques in Montréal and the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa. And since 1998 she has been the production dramaturg on my trilogy of plays entitled The Swanne for the Stratford Festival of Canada. Paula forges meaningful relationships with the writers she works with, and is vitally committed to bringing works from development to the stage. Her vision of play development is flexible, responding to the demands of each play as it evolves and constantly considers and re-evaluates the play as the world and the theatre around us shifts and changes.

Challenging, confrontational, comforting and inspiring all at once. The Swanne would never have come to fruition without the support, hard work and love of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal.

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is truly making a difference to the way in which we create new work, and meaningfully contributing to the quality of new works on Canadian Stages.

Peter Hinton