Author: Quinlan Green

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Queer Reading Series 2023

We are delighted to announce the return of The Queer Reading Series, produced by Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal in partnership with Centaur Theatre, featuring projects created in PWM’s Young Creators Unit.


Taking place on April 28th and 29th at Centaur Theatre, this two-day event will feature public readings of the works of two emerging playwrights, curated by Jesse Stong. Our panel discussion will explore the interplay between 2SLGBTQQIPAA+ identities and art-making, providing a space for thought-provoking conversations and insightful commentary.

Join us for a meaningful gathering that celebrates the power of queer storytelling in the performing arts. We invite you to engage with the complexities of queerness and artistic expression, and to be inspired by the innovative voices of tomorrow’s queer playwrights.

Visit Centaur Theatre’s website to book your free tickets.

If you have the means to support the QRS, donations will be accepted at the door.

Follow this link to respond to our Facebook event.

Schedule

Friday, April 28 at 7:30PM:

Three Halves Make a Whole,
by Camille Mankumah (she/her).
Directed by Warona Setshwaelo.

With Alyssa Angelucci-Wall and Riel Reddick-Stevens.

Two sisters wait in an airport lounge. Thirty minutes seem like an eternity as they contemplate the future and the inevitable changes a new arrival will bring. A play about family, race, self-identity, and the space in-between. Three Halves Make a Whole explores the possibility of reconciliation and the hope for a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The playwright wishes to thank Deborah Forde and the 2019 – 2020 cohort of the Fireworks Playwrights Program at Teesri Duniya Theatre, where this piece underwent initial development.

Saturday, April 29 at 2:30PM:

Queer Leadership Panel, Queer Performance: from the Underground to Centre Stage.

A community discussion with panelists Kyng Rose, Richard Burnett, and Alex Tigchelaar, moderated by Jesse Stong.

Saturday, April 29 at 7:30PM:

the apostles of falling off the bone,
by kurichka (they/he).
Co-directed by Corrina Hodgson, Alexei Perry Cox and kurichka.

With Anna Morreale and Faïz/a Boukaria.

Two lovers, SYNTH and GALINA, untangle the enigmatic nature of their (profound) love, (complex) existence, (ghostly) past, and (uncertain) future in an attempt to gain agency over their stories and legacies. Incorporating tapestry, music, movement, and interwoven tales of queerness, THE APOSTLES OF FALLING OFF THE BONE explores the necessity of transforming spaces for lesbians to challenge our erasure, center tenderness and growth, honour/protect our sacred homes and histories, and break through heteronormative narrative conventions.

Personal Statement from Jesse Stong

I am thrilled for this year’s Queer Reading Series, which features two captivating plays from former participants of the Young Creators Unit. These plays wonderfully explore the notions of time, space, and identity. The theme of this year’s series is all about in-betweenness, which invites us to examine those liminal moments that open up when we explore queer identities. 

I am particularly proud of our talented playwrights, who have poured their hearts and souls into these works. Their innovative and thought-provoking plays are a testament to the future of queer storytelling. I am confident that their works will inspire and engage audiences in deep and meaningful ways, offering a fresh perspective on the complexities of queer identity.

I want to thank everyone for coming out to support these amazing playwrights as they step into the spotlight. This is a rare opportunity to witness the emergence of the next generation of queer storytellers. Let us celebrate their talents and encourage them to continue pushing boundaries and creating transformative works of art.

About the Playwrights

Camille Mankumah is a multidisciplinary storyteller whose work draws inspiration from the inner and outer lives of women. A graduate of the Communication Studies department at Concordia University, she is currently completing her MFA in Scriptwriting and Story Design at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Image of Camille

kurichka (they/he) is an interdisciplinary artist and experimental poet playwright currently living in Tio’tia:ke. they feel an inner pull toward the stars, toward the future, at all times.

About the Directors

Warona Setshwaelo is a storyteller, mother and activist. Since moving to Tiohtià:ke (Montréal) 16 years ago from Southern Afrika, Warona has immersed herself in the theatre community, working with companies such as  Geordie Theatre, Black Theatre Workshop, The Segal Centre, Tarragon, Centaur, Royal Manitoba Theatre Company in Winnipeg and the Belfry in Victoria. As well working in films, TV shows and video games, she is currently the Co-Manager of the Artist Mentorship Program at BTW.

Corrina Hodgson is a QueerCrip disability advocate, playwright, dramaturg and uninvited settler living in  Tiohti:áke.  Corrina specializes in subverting traditional structure to enable playwrights who belong to Equity Priority groups to create stories and characters with full autonomy and agency. Her dramaturgical practice focuses particularly on working with other Queer and/or disabled writers and mentoring them through the productions of their first scripts.

Alexei Perry Cox is a scholar and writer whose work engages the enduring global effects of colonization through attention to ecology, race, gender and sexuality. She works and teaches across fields of literature, decolonial studies, experimental feminisms and queer studies, the humanities, and creative writing. She is the author of PLACE (Noemi Press 2022), Under Her (Insomniac Press 2015) and three chapbooks, Finding Places to Make Places (Vallum 2019), Re:Evolution (Gap Riot Press 2020), and  Night 3 | اليوم الرابع  (Centre for Expanded Poetics 2021). Her forthcoming novella To Garden: To Grave was written in Tio’tia:ke|Montréal and Beirut.

READ MORE ABOUT THE QUEER READING SERIES.
THIS PROGRAM IS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY:
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Interdisciplinary Dramaturgy Lab with Studio 303

APPLICATION DEADLINE: MARCH 24, 2023, 11:59 PM.

SCHEDULE

Dates: April 17th-21st, 2023 (5-days)
Time: 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM each day at Studio 303

FEE

As this Lab is primarily offered by Studio 303 as part of their workshop series, there is an associated fee of $85. Those selected for participation will be required to complete the Studio 303 registration form and pay at that time. Please be in touch if the fee presents a major barrier to applying.

Studio 303 and PWM invites theatre, dance and circus makers, dramaturgs, and interdisciplinary creators to the fifth edition of the Interdisciplinary Dramaturgy Lab. 

Facilitated by Kathy Casey (dance), Dana Dugan (circus) and Fatma Sarah Elkashef (theatre), this 5-day lab is a space for artists from various disciplines to exchange dramaturgical tools; share challenges and experiences;  and explore how we are thinking and working dramaturgically in these interesting times.

The Lab is centered around a series of conversations anchored by the questions and interests of the participants. We share articles as prompts, engage in large and small group discussions, compile resources and share experiences as case studies to explore a variety of dramaturgical approaches.

This lab is open to theatre, dance and circus makers, dramaturgs, and interdisciplinary creators.

LOCATION

STUDIO 303
372 Sainte-Catherine St W, 
Montréal, QC
H3B 1A2

Click here for accessibility information in regards to Studio 303’s location.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, please send us your artistic CV/bio and a brief (1-2 paragraph) statement explaining why this lab interests you, how it is relevant to your artistic practice, and what your expectations are for this lab.

Please send your application and any questions to: helena@playwrights.ca using the subject line: Interdisciplinary Dramaturgy Lab

If you have any questions regarding accessibility, or require assistance with this application, please contact accessibility@playwrights.ca. 

Apply before March 23rd, 2023

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.

Workshop participants are selected based on the complementary experience and disciplines of the collective group. We encourage all levels of experience to apply.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP LEADERS:

Kathy Casey

Artistic Director of Montréal Danse since 1996, Kathy Casey works as a dramaturge with choreographers who are rethinking and redefining what is dance. Through a process of deep questioning of performance and the body, she encourages bold ideas and discovering ways to express them and give them form. She also organizes and facilitates an annual choreographic research workshop, runs research labs and facilitates or co-facilitates dance and interdisciplinary dramaturgy workshops. In addition to her responsibilities with Montréal Danse, Kathy Casey works as an artistic advisor for several independent choreographers in Montreal.

Dana Dugan

Dana Dugan is a Montreal based artist-scholar, mother, performer, teacher, and dramaturg. She was a founding member of the Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival (Chicago, 2014-15) and CirqueOFF (Montreal, 2017). Currently, she is a member of Le PARC (Performance Arts Research Cluster) at the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology (Montreal); works as research assistant for the Dramaturgical Ecologies Research Collective (Montreal); Diasporic Dramaturgies Working Group (Montreal); and serves on the editorial board for TURBA: The Journal of Global Practices in Live Arts Curation (Montreal). Dana completed her master’s degree at Concordia University (Montreal, 2018) under fellowship as a practice-based researcher investigating her circus body as a site for cultivating critical dialogues through the concept and practice of (dis)obedience. She continues her embodied research on (dis)obedience as a doctoral candidate in the Humanities Interdisciplinary Program at Concordia University (Montreal), using the body as an interface with Performance Studies and Black Studies toward an ontogenerative disruptive, transformative and affirmative politic.

*** To honor the complexity and tensions inherent in the work and in our different racial positionings in the current socio-political climate, I take inventory and acknowledge my positionality. My body is not neutral and I reject the centrality of Whiteness. To do this, I must first locate my whiteness and acknowledge its inherent centeredness. As Dana, situated in this moment with my own embodied dramaturgy, I move though the world as a white, artist, lover, mother (fuck the rest!) toward queering Whiteness – to uncrown Whiteness and resist its re/production. 

Fatma Sarah Elkashef

Sarah is a theatre maker, primarily a dramaturg, and the Artistic Director of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM). Prior to this Sarah worked as a freelance dramaturg in Montreal and has been a part of the evolution of numerous plays and performances. Born and raised in the U.K. to Egyptian and Dutch parents, she has been based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) since 2010. Prior to settling in Canada, Sarah became the Senior Reader at Soho Theatre in London, U.K. after having lived and worked in New York City for more than a decade. Curious about  the creation and development process across performance disciplines, Sarah began the Interdisciplinary Writers’ Lab at PWM to explore ways of working not centered around text. At the National Theatre School of Canada she has worked as a dramaturg, teacher, and creator across programs since 2012. In 2016 she was a recipient of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas’ (LMDA) Bly Creative Fellowship Grant for artists who are creating new approaches to dramaturgy. In 2018 she co-created and co-directed a circus show for families, Eat Sweet Feet with Krin Haglund and The Radiant (TOHU). In March 2021 Sarah co-directed (with Sylvia Cloutier) an audio play Lâche pas la patate by Yvette Nolan for Imago Theatre. Sarah’s artistic preoccupations are rooted in her hybrid identity and practice, and she is excited by the possible futures for collaboration and process sharing across performance disciplines. 

Headshot photo credits: George Dutil, Dominic Brunet, Emelia Hellman

PRESENTATION IN COLLABORATION WITH
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This workshop is financially supported by
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The MBA for Lefty, Anti-Capitalist Theatre Artists: staging the next act of your theatre career with Tetsuro Shigematsu

More about Exploring Practice Workshops
Application Deadline: March 17th, 2023

You’re a mid-career theatre artist, and you’ve found your voice, you have done some things.

People know who you are. But thanks to the pandemic, maybe you’re thinking about quitting the game. But there is another option. Taking your work to the next level. Not artistically, but professionally: bigger grants, more sustainable side-hustles, better press coverage, and exporting your work out of Montreal. This is a hands-on workshop for anyone who is thinking not just about their next play, but leveling up their career. Learn the tools that can keep you in the game, without losing your Marxist soul.

Participants will be encouraged to share the following for discussion within the group: a draft of a grant proposal you’re working on, an unsuccessful past grant application, or a project you are currently working on. Please note that this is not mandatory. 

The workshop is open to a broadly inclusive definition of “mid-career” artists. There’s no requirement on the number of years worked, or projects produced. Participants should have a body of work and be committed to their practice, having established a sense of their art form and voice. This workshop is not intended for recent graduates from an artistic training or BFA program.

SCHEDULE

April 17 to April 21,
1:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

In person at the PWM studio.

LOCATION

PLAYWRIGHTS’ WORKSHOP MONTRÉAL
7250 Clark Street, #103
Montréal, QC
H2R 2Y3

If you have any questions regarding accessibility, or require assistance with this application, please contact accessibility@playwrights.ca. 

Click here for accessibility information and video tours of our location.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applications, or questions, can be sent to helena@playwrights.ca with the subject line: Exploring Practice with Tetsuro Shigematsu. Audio and video applications are also welcomed. 

Please attach a letter of interest, as a PDF OR 1 link to an audio or video application, which includes:

1. Why you are interested in this workshop and what you hope to learn from it

2. A brief artistic biography

3. A short description of a project you’re currently working towards, developing, or looking to produce. You are also welcome to share visual aspects (photos, artwork, etc) of this project. If you are not currently working on a project, what are you hoping to work towards in the future? 

4. Whether you would be willing to share a grant proposal or current project with the group. This answer will not affect your selection for participation, but will be used to help plan the hands-on aspect of the workshop. 

Apply before March 17, 2023, at 11:59 PM

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.

Participation is free. Workshop participants are selected based on the complementary experience of the collective group. We encourage all levels of experience to apply.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP LEADER:

Tetsurso Shigematsu

A former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Tetsuro became the first person-of-colour to host a daily national radio program in Canada. His theatrical solo-work Empire of the Son was described by theatre critic Colin Thomas as, “one of the best shows ever to come out of Vancouver. Ever.” His other solo-work, 1 Hour Photo, was named as a finalist for the 2019 Governor General’s Award for Drama, and was the co-winner of the Holden Street Theatres’ Edinburgh Fringe Award, 2021. The Vancouver’s Georgia Straight declared him to be,  “one of the city’s best artists.” In 2018, he earned his PhD in Arts-Based Research from the University of British Columbia, and now serves as Creative Director of the Research-based Theatre Lab. Visit him at shiggy.com

Headshot photo credit: Mika Shigematsu

This workshop is financially supported by
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2023 Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac

The webpage header is a landscape photo of a rock shore bay in Tadoussac at sunset. The sky over the bay is cloudy. A young man stands close to the foreground, with another person at a far distance behind them looking to the water. The banner reads "Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac".
Applications are now closed for the  Glassco Translation Residency, a Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal Residency, in partnership with the Cole Foundation, and with the support of the friends and family of Bill Glassco. 

Pour lire l’appel de candidatures en français, cliquer ici.

Apply by March 10, 2023. 
Selected applicants will be contacted by April 15, 2023.

Applications are now closed.

The program plays a vital role in Canada’s theatre-making landscape through its unique support of new translations. Over the course of the residency, participants live together at Fletcher Cottage. While work is done independently and with the support of Translation Dramaturg, Maryse Warda, artists are expected to participate in collaborative discussions and social moments that come with sharing space, including a daily 5 à 7 discussion and dinner.  

Residency Dates: June 2 – 13, 2023

June 2nd: Arrival in Tadoussac
(travel may take 1 – 2 days depending on point of departure)
June 3rd to 12th inclusively: Residency 
June 13th: Departure from Tadoussac 

Artists must be available for the entirety of the dates above.

The Glassco Translation Residency provides participants with transportation, accommodation, meals, an honorarium of $800.00, and dramaturgical support.

How to Apply

You can apply for the 2023 Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac via our Google form. Audio and video answers to some of the questions in the form are also welcomed. 

You will be asked to provide the following information: 

  • Name, pronouns and contact information of the translator and playwright
  • Geographical location(s) the translator and playwright will be departing from to get to Tadoussac 
  • A description (written, video or audio) of the project which includes:
    • A description / history of the translator and playwright’s working relationship and why the work in question is being translated;
    • An indication of how the Residency will benefit the project, including how being in physical proximity to the playwright might move the translation forward;
    • Any details on production interest;
    • A description of where you are in the translation process;
    • And whether you are interested in dramaturgical conversations around translations, including with other artists at the residency;
  • Biographies and CVs of both the playwright and translator;
  • A copy of the play in its original language;
  • A sample of a previous translation work (10 – 12 pages) 

If you have any questions with regard to the program, please email heather@playwrights.ca. 

If you have any questions regarding accessibility, require assistance with this application, or would like to discuss alternative methods of applying, please contact accessibility@playwrights.ca.

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.

Selection Criteria

  • A key eligibility requirement is the availability of both the playwright and the translator to attend the residency together.
  • We accept applications of plays that are currently in the process of being translated. Please note that we do not fund the commission of the translation. 
  • The play should ideally have had a production in its original language. 
  • At least one component of the project (playwright, translator, commissioning theatre, or producing theatre) needs to be Canadian.
  • Residency participants will be selected by a committee. Due to the limited number of spots available in the residency, we can only welcome a few translator-playwright pairs, despite receiving many inspiring applications. The jury will make their selection based on the potential benefit to the playwright, translator and the project, as well as the dynamic of the group.

About the Glassco Translation Residency

The Glassco Translation Residency invites playwrights and translators from across Canada and internationally to come together for ten days in Tadoussac, Quebec, to work in-depth on their translation projects.

Participants are provided with a unique opportunity to focus on their projects and to share expertise in a residency environment. Translations into all languages are welcomed. Over the past 16 years we have offered space, time, and dramaturgical expertise to over 68 translation projects into languages such as Cantonese, Catalan, Cree, English, French, Innu-aimun, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog and Urdu.

The Glassco Translation Residency dramaturg will once again be award-winning translator Maryse Warda, joined by residency producer and co-host, Briony Glassco.

Landscape photo of Fletcher Cottage in Tadoussac, a brown-brick 2-storey home within a forest clearing, getting a lot of sun on a day with clear skies.
A photo of the inside of Fletcher Cottage during the day, which includes two soft armchairs on either side of a sofa and next to an active fireplace. Maryse Warda sits in a chair, focused on a laptop. Behind her to the left of the image is a dining room table and french doors leading to the forest outdoors.
A nighttime photo of six playwrights in close conversation around the dining room table, which is set with candles and wine glasses.

Details on the Stay

The house: The residency is in Tadoussac, Québec in an 18th century log home. There are 8 steps down to the entrance of the house. Each guest will have their own room with a writing area, and there are multiple locations to write throughout the home. The bathrooms are shared. The bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible. For detailed information or to ask specific questions about the bathrooms, accommodations, or workspaces, please email accessibility@playwrights.ca.

Travel: In order to arrive in Tadoussac, transportation is provided typically by train or airplane to Quebec City. From Quebec City, a three-hour taxi ride or a bus ride via Orleans Express (that crosses a ferry at one point) brings the participants to the house in Tadoussac. 

Meals: PWM hires a chef to make dinner each evening. Lunch and breakfast are on a self-serve basis. PWM asks all participants their food preferences and dietary restrictions  ahead of time so that we can accommodate them. The meals are communal, and social distancing while eating is not possible.

Internet: WiFi access throughout the house has been recently optimized and is suitable for working. However, it may not be suitable for video calls and streaming in certain areas, and service interruptions are possible due to the remote location. 

The Glassco Residency logo -- a hand-drawn line underneath two thick pathways.

The Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac is made possible through our partnership with the Cole Foundation’s Intercultural Conversations Program, the dedication of Residency Producer Briony Glassco, and the support of the friends and family in memory of the great Canadian theatre artist, Bill Glassco. We are also grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Conseil des arts de Montréal for their ongoing support.

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friends and family of Bill Glassco
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Meet 2023-2025’s AMPLIFIER Playwright

WE’RE THRILLED TO INTRODUCE MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST CHADIA AS THE RECIPIENT OF AMPLIFIER, A FULLY SUPPORTED EXPLORATORY CREATION PROCESS FOR PLAYWRIGHTS.

hi hi hi. my name is chadia, and I am a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Tiohtià:ke.

Before moving to Tiohtià:ke to pursue my artistic endeavors, my parents and I immigrated from a refugee camp in Turkana, Kenya to the Algonquin land. being the eldest of five to two African no- BURUNDIAN parents… *deep therapeutic sigh* art was not something they had in mind when deciding to seek refuge, and build capital in this deeply, cold country. ALSO, gay/queer/gender non-conforming AND having no filter? A doomed future… said “yes!” to ‘doom’, ditched one university for another, I received my B.A in theatre (2019), and booked my first professional acting gig with geordie productions by embarking on the 2playtour. 6 and half months into the tour, the tour was canceled due to the “panasonic” we are living through. However, throughout the “peppa pig” I was able to work with some pretty amazing artists on projects such as most recently, from the stars in the sky to the fish in the sea adapted by Gabe Maharjan (2022). Aside from performing I am also a playwright, director, and singer. I had the chance to showcase my first play, “niggas in pontreal1” at MLTFringe (2022), where I was also the director, co-producer, and ⅕ of the performers. We were nominated for 3 Frankie Awards including Most Promising English Text, Best English Comedy, and Best English Production. I have since then, been focused on creating and collaborating with artists on finding the essence of what is “canadian theatre”… I strive to create and support works that instigate conversations and challenge societal norms.

website: chadia.ca
instagram: @dissruptivtheatre, @chadiaisdissruptiv

about the project

“niggas in pontréal¹: ACT I” is a court-based play, that questions 3 out of the 5 students accused of planning a secret blackface-themed party, while simultaneously prepping, and providing the reader/audience tools in approaching the 2nd part of the project. “whose to blame?: ACT II ” is THE “evidence-based” play. The play provides the reader/audience context, and a firsthand account of the crime accused. 

— *SPEAKING IN FIRST PERSON*–

I write for negros. I am writing for black readers. I am writing for black actors. I am writing for black directors. I am writing for black audience members. My characters can only be played by black actors. What does that do? This project will be exploring how justice can be presented through art, examining and reflecting on the role of violence, and how can that be presented with thought, care, and compassion. Is violence even necessary? How can we navigate and talk about the violence associated with anti-blackness? Can violence be depicted through the black body without it being at the expense of the black psyche? Is that possible?  How can I as a playwright ensure that the story I’ve written is told and processed with compassion, empathy, joy, and truth? Not just for the text itself, but the making of that process? What sort of… responsibilities do we have as playwrights? I’m seeking to create content that advocates, questions, and exercises those points.

AMPLIFIER is a program by Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM), LA SERRE–arts vivants (LA SERRE) and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal (CAM) which offers sustained dramaturgical and artistic support to one working playwright residing on the island of Montréal. Over the course of 2 years, this will include dramaturgical consultation, a creation workshop, and a creation production residency which is followed by a laboratory presentation.

The program aims to support the artistic practice of theatre artists who identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), Black, POC,  racialized including 1st or 2nd generation immigrant artists (as defined in the Conseil des Arts de Montréal’s glossary) working creatively in one of Canada’s official languages. Additionally, it seeks to foster dialogue between Montréal’s English- and French-speaking theatre communities, as well as intercultural exchanges and greater representation for culturally diverse artists within the theatre community and on Montréal’s stages.  This is the second iteration of PWM’s Amplifier program, after first supporting the work of Sylvia Cloutier.

The program is designed to alternate the language it runs in every two years between the partner organizations who run it, with PWM facilitating through the name AMPLIFIER, and le Centre des auteurs dramatiques conducting Voi.e.s.x Théâtrales.

this program is a partnership between
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PWM Writers’ Room Expands to Welcome d/Deaf writers

Starting on January 19, 2023, the Writers’ Room will include d/Deaf artist Sage Lovell, founder of Deaf Spectrum, as co-facilitator. Sage will join current hearing facilitators Corrina Hodgson and Fatma Sarah Elkashef in order for the Writers’ Room to welcome d/Deaf writers. 

PWM has been consulting with Sage to consider how to support a mixed group of d/Deaf and hearing artists, through facilitation and ASL-English interpretation. Sage will co-facilitate monthly ASL-accessible Writers’ Room sessions, at which there will be ASL-English interpreters. In order to meet everyone’s access needs, the facilitators of PWM’s Writers’ Room have co-created this set of guidelines and expectations for interacting as d/Deaf and hearing artists in our virtual space.

You can watch these guidelines in ASL here:

During the Writers’ Room gatherings we connect to catch up, speak about what we are working on, and share tools and inspiration. If you have not been able to write or are struggling with your practice, you are also welcome to join us.

UPCOMING WRITERS’ ROOM dates for 2023

NOT ASL-ACCESSIBLE 
January 5
February 2
March 2
March 16
April 13
May 11

ASL-ACCESSIBLE
January 19
February 16
March 30
April 27
May 25

ASL-ACCESSIBLE WRITERS’ ROOM SCHEDULE
10 am – 10:30 AM EST – check-in and Say Hi
1 pm – 2 PM EST – Lunch COnversation
DROP-IN HOURs EST — 11 am – 1 pm

Conversations pertaining to chronic illness, chronic pain, disability and other systemic barriers to creativity and creative practice are welcome in this space, particularly during our drop-in hours. The drop-in hours are between 11am – 1pm. We welcome you to stop by and chat about what you are working on with drop-in facilitator Corrina Hodgson. Sage will be joining Corrie during the ASL-accessible sessions.

The Writers’ Room takes place over ZOOM. Auto-generated captioning will be available for participants to turn on or off as they wish and facilitators will enable the multi-pin feature. 

To sign up for the Writers’ Room, fill out the Google Form through the link below to let us know you’re interested. You’ll be asked for a little information about yourself and to read our Safer Space guidelines. Once that’s done you’ll receive email notifications with details for each scheduled Writers’ Room, as well as access to our shared Google Calendar.

JOIN THE ROOM

If you have any questions regarding accessibility, or require assistance with the form, please contact Heather accessibility@playwrights.ca. If you have any other questions about the Writers’ Room please contact Sarah sarah@playwrights.ca.

For more information about the Writers’ Room click here.

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