SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2013, THE COLE FOUNDATION MENTORSHIP FOR EMERGING TRANSLATORS HAS BEEN GUIDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FRENCH TO ENGLISH THEATRE TRANSLATORS.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2026 AT 11:59PM EST.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility or require assistance with your application, please contact Heather at accessibility@playwrights.ca. Click here for more accessibility information.
In partnership with the Cole Foundation, PWM offers this early-career program to mentor emerging translators who are ready to develop a more nuanced understanding of their practice. The successful applicant to this year’s program will receive a $2,000 honorarium and a mentorship with acclaimed theatre translator, Alexis Diamond, for guidance on every aspect of creating a new French to English translation. This development process will include a workshop with actors and a public reading. The mentorship begins in November 2026, and lasts for approximately one year.
PWM welcomes all applications. 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, living with disability, 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 regarding the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators, please contact dramaturg@playwrights.ca.
Who Can Apply?
To be eligible, emerging translators must reside in Montreal, be a Canadian citizen or hold permanent residency status in Canada, and have completed either:
- At least one translation of a script which has received a workshop, public reading, publication or production, or
- PWM/CEAD’s Introduction to Theatre Translation/Traductions Croisées program.
Applicants must not have completed more than three play translations.
With What Play(s)?
Before applying for the Mentorship, applicants must choose the play they wish to translate as part of the program and contact the playwright for permission. Obtaining permission from the playwright to translate the script in advance means that the applicant would be in a position to begin work immediately following the announcement of the selected project in late November.
Translations must be from French into English only.
Full-length scripts, one-acts or TYA (theatre for young audiences) projects are all welcome. Please note, our experience does not extend to the translation of musicals.
Application Process
Fill out this Google Form by September 6, 2026. Click here to preview the application form as a PDF. You will be asked to provide the following information:
- Your name, pronouns (optional) and contact information
- A one-page letter of intent describing the project, its challenges, your reasons for wanting to translate the work, including the potential impact of the play in an Anglophone context, and how you hope to grow in your practice through the mentorship. PDF documents, video or audio responses are accepted. If submitting a video or audio response, please answer in one video/recording, maximum 5 minutes.
- Your biography (maximum 250 words);
- A copy of your chosen play;
- Written permission from the original playwright of the play;
- A 10-12 page sample of your previous translation work, please include the corresponding original text;
- If you require any accommodations to participate in the program should you be selected.
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee.
All applicants will be notified of the results by the end of October 2026.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
