Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is excited to announce a new program for practicing playwrights led by PWM dramaturg Aki Matsushita: the Cross Cultural Adaptation Lab.
Aki is a biracial, Japanese-Canadian (nisei, second generation) dramaturg and arts educator.
She is fascinated by intercultural performance, as it fosters an exchange and seeks out connection between seemingly disparate entities, looking at the world through the lens of wanting to understand each other’s humanity across geographic, cultural, linguistic, temporal and cultural boundaries.
Find out more about Aki here.
The intention of this lab is to form a working group of four playwrights residing in Montreal, to create cross-cultural adaptations of published plays (from the public domain) into their own specific cultural context* in English. Exploring different approaches to adapting cross-culturally, the writers will develop their plays through a combination of group discussions, in which work and feedback are shared, as well as one-on-one dramaturgy, and exploratory workshops as the work evolves over an extended period.
*For example, your cultural context may refer to ethnicity, ability, gender but is not limited to these examples.
We are seeking play into play adaptation proposals from playwrights with projects that are in the germination stage.
Selected participants are supported with an honorarium of $1200.
This lab is created with the support of Centaur Theatre.
PWM is committed to creating an environment where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. We are continuously working to make all of our programs accessible and inclusive. While recognizing that the identity of each person is fundamentally plural, and multidimensional, we strongly encourage applications from artists who are: Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), Black, POC, racialized (including recent immigrants), 2SLGBTQQIPAA+, neurodivergent, disabled, living with chronic illness and/or chronic pain. PWM is strongly committed to supporting a wide range of cultural identities and lived experiences, therefore we encourage applicants to self-identify in their application if they are comfortable doing so.
If you have any questions about the Cross Cultural Adaptation Lab, please contact Aki Matsushita at aki@playwrights.ca.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility, or require assistance with the form, please contact Heather accessibility@playwrights.ca.
Please note that applications for the first Cross-Cultural Adaptation Lab are now closed. More information on the first cohort will be shared soon.
How to Apply
Fill out this Google Form by May 15, 2023. Your application will require the following information:
- Your name, pronouns and contact information
- A description of your interest in the Lab (PDF, video or audio, maximum length 1000 words);
- A description of your proposed cross-cultural play adaptation (PDF, video or audio, maximum 1000 words/2-minute video or audio) with
- A CV (2 pages maximum) and a bio (500 words maximum);
- A copy of the text you are adapting from
(The source material may include published plays from anywhere in the world that exist in English or French translation and that are in the public domain). - A copy of your most recent play that has been workshopped, presented or published.
Group sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 5pm-8pm every 6 weeks for up to 2 years, starting July 12th, 2023. The lab will meet in PWM’s studio at 7250 Rue Clark in Montreal. To learn about what it’s like navigating our space, click here.
Please only apply to the Lab if you can commit to the schedule. All applicants will receive a response by June 12th, 2023.
Click here to preview the application form as a PDF.
Selection Criteria
An internal committee will be reading the applications and selecting the participants for the Lab. There are many factors that go into the selection process in addition to the proposal such as group dynamics and the range of experience within the group.
