Uncategorized Archives - Playwrights' Workshop Montréal

April 27, 2026April 27, 2026

Queer Reading Series 2026

A background of colours ranging from blue to pink and pastel orange. On the left, written in white, the words Queer Reading Series. On the bottom right, the dates May 14 & 15, 2026. On the top right, PWM and Centaur Theatre logos.

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING QUEER THEATRE AT THE 2026 QUEER READING SERIES.

PWM, in partnership with Centaur theatre, invites you to join us for two readings of dynamic new works-in-progress by Queer artists. The Queer Reading Series continues for its 6th year amplifying the voices of early-career 2SLGBTQIA+ playwrights.

On May 14 and 15 at 7:30PM, Centaur Theatre will host Not Just Empty Space by Sarah Danielle Pitman and Dylan’s Song by Anna Morreale. Each performance will be followed by a conversation with the creative team.

The Queer Reading Series is a FREE event. Donations help us keep our programming free to artists, and will be gratefully accepted at the door.

Both readings will be presented with English captions, and the conversations will be presented with auto-generated captioning, for accessibility purposes.

Join us to uplift exciting new works-in-progress and support Queer voices exploring the intersections of queerness and artistic practice.

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

Schedule

thursday, may 14th at 7:30PM:

Not Just Empty Space
by Sarah Danielle Pitman.
Directed by Trevor Barrette.

Performed by Alyssa Angelucci-Wall and Gabrielle Banville.

Dramaturgy by Fatma Sarah Elkashef and Aki Matsushita.

Kitty Hawk, 1903: a fifteen-year-old girl attempts to photograph the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

Just outside the Earth’s orbit, 2103: an astronaut thrown from their spaceship drifts aimlessly through the universe.

Right here, right now: two unnamed collaborators argue over how to weave these stories together for the stage.

A work of historical and speculative drama, Not Just Empty Space explores connections through time, as well as our own expectations of theatrical storytelling.

friday, may 15th at 7:30PM:

Dylan’s Song
by Anna Morreale.
Directed by Annie Valentina.

Dramaturgy by Erin Lindsay.
Choreography by Scott McCabe.

Performed by Anastassia Chepelkevitch, Lior Maharjan, and Micha Raoutenfeld.

Producing support by Lily Chang.

Poetry. Drama. Dance. Dylan is numb. She has been trying to achieve something beyond herself for years: going to raves every weekend, using ketamine everyday, and giving her body to anyone that wants it. After the death of a lover, and a near psychotic episode on the dancefloor, Dylan decides to quit the scene – but not without one final night out. Alongside her chorus of beautiful bodies, Dylan dances through her memories of last night’s last rave, discovering just how dark her desires have really become. And what her mind tries to forget, her body forces her to remember.

Content advisory:
Self harm, drug use, overdose, mentions of blood and bodily harm.

About the Playwrights

Sarah Danielle Pitman is a playwright who grew up on the unceded territories of the Lekwungen and W_SÁNEC nations. Now based in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal, she is a graduate of the playwriting program at Canada’s National Theatre School where her play Salvage The Wrecked was produced for the New Words Festival. Sarah’s play Lay Down All Dogs was presented as a staged reading at the Centaur Theatre for their 2026 WinterWorks Festival, and her theatre-for-young audiences show Beyond Belief is currently touring schools around Quebec and the Maritimes as part of Geordie Theatre’s 2Play Tour.

Wright brothers’ first flight. 1903. Photo credit: Unknown

Anna Morreale is a multidisciplinary artist and recent alum of the CBC Actors Conservatory at the Canadian Film Centre. Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2021, Anna has been working professionally in the theatre, film and voice acting industries. Their first introduction to playwriting was through Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal’s Young Creators Unit in 2024, where they began developing their first play: Dylan’s Song. Anna also wrote and starred in their debut short film: NIKITA, produced by the CFC and directed by Jessie Posthumus.

Photo credit: Mark Binks

THIS PROGRAM IS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY:

March 23, 2026April 9, 2026

The 2026 Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency is now accepting applications.

A view of the Bonne Bay Aquarium and Research Station at the Gros Morne National Park. On the upper left side, the words Call for Applications written in white. Beneath, the words Gros Morne Playwrights' Residency 2026 written in white.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE GROS MORNE PLAYWRIGHTS’ RESIDENCY.

Application deadline: April 20, 2026, 11:59PM EDT

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.

Les candidats souhaitant postuler à la résidence d’auteurs dramatiques Gros Morne en français doivent se rendre sur le site web du CEAD et faire la demande auprès d’eux.

The Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency will bring together seven playwrights living in Canada over a twelve-day period, from October 15 to 26, 2026.

Created by Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) and the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD), this Residency is held in partnership with Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, Creative Gros Morne, the Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station and with the vital support of the Cole Foundation.

About the Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency

The Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency is a dual-lingual residency that welcomes writers from across Canada to Gros Morne, Newfoundland and Labrador. This unique dual-lingual residency takes place at the Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station in Norris Point, located in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador.

English language playwrights should apply through PWM and French language playwrights through the CEAD. Applications will be considered from across the country; three English and three French applications will be selected. A seventh spot is reserved for a playwright from Newfoundland and Labrador working in English.

The residency will be led by Fatma Sarah Elkashef, Artistic Director of PWM, Aki Matsushita, dramaturg at PWM, and Sasha Dion, dramaturg at CEAD. The residency is an opportunity for solo writing, punctuated with moments of exchange and reading work in progress as a group. The host dramaturgs are available to read your work and engage in one-on-one conversations centred around your process and questions.

The Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency provides playwrights with transportation, accommodation at Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station (private bedroom and bathroom), meals, an honorarium of $800.00, and dramaturgical support.

Read testimonials from the 2025 Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency participants.

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.

Eligibility

Be a Canadian citizen or hold permanent residency status in Canada;
Be a playwright, writing in English, and have had at least one play workshopped, published, or professionally produced;
Your application play should ideally be in the early stages of development (first draft or slightly beyond);
Be available for the whole residency;
Be willing to participate in group activities during the residency;
For playwrights writing in French, please visit the CEAD website. Please note that the CEAD only accepts applications from their members;
Please note that our expertise does not extend to musicals.

How to Apply

You can apply for the 2026 Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency via our Google form, by April 20, 2026, 11:59PM EDT. Audio and video answers to some of the questions in the form are also welcomed.

In the form, you’ll be asked to provide the following information:

Your name, pronouns (optional), age (optional), and contact information;
Geographical location you will be departing from to get to Gros Morne;
Geographical location you will be returning to;
A statement of your interest in the residency and how it will benefit your process (written, video or audio);
A description of the play in progress (written, video or audio);
An excerpt of the play in progress (10 – 12 pages);
A CV (2 pages maximum) and a bio;
A copy of your last published, workshopped or produced play. (Please note, it must be a play other than the one you are applying to the residency with.)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Selection will be made by a committee set up by PWM and CEAD. All applicants will receive a response by July 10, 2026. Please note that PWM cannot provide feedback on applications.

If you have any questions regarding the Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency, please contact heather@playwrights.ca.

Preview the application form as a PDF.

Apply Here

Schedule for the Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency

PWM organizes the travel for the artists, from their point of departure to the residency, and back again.

October 15, 2026

Travel via plane and taxi to Norris Point, Newfoundland and Labrador (anyone departing West of Ontario will have to add a day of travel).

October 16-25, 2026

Unstructured writing time at Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station;
Individual sessions with residency dramaturgs as determined in collaboration with the playwright;
Daily sixty-minute group meetings to read and discuss the process;
2 presentations by local artists;
Shared catered dinner every evening;
A possible public reading of excerpts from the plays in progress with the local community.

October 26, 2026

Departure for home.

Places to create during the Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency

Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station

Since 2002, the Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station, located on the magnificent west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, has had the primary mission of expanding knowledge in marine ecology. In addition, the station also engages in community and artistic activities. Nestled in the small coastal community of Norris Point and with breathtaking views, it is equipped with laboratories, offices, a library, a multimedia theatre, an aquarium, and an attached building with individual bedrooms.

The residence is wheelchair accessible. However, the library and theatre space at the Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station, which is often used by the playwrights, requires the participant in a wheelchair to leave the residence, travel across the parking lot, into the main lobby entrance to access the library/theatre space.

Gros Morne National Park

Soaring fjords and moody mountains tower above a diverse panorama of beaches and bogs, forests and barren cliffs. Shaped by colliding continents and grinding glaciers, the ancient landscape of Gros Morne national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Apply Here

February 4, 2026February 4, 2026

Adaptation 101; From Inspiration to Action with Nick Carpenter

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.

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

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

The art and craft of theatrical adaptation is as old as humankind. It is one of the ways we transmit, celebrate, refresh, reframe and challenge the narratives and myths around which our communities are built.

What distinguishes dramatic storytelling from other forms and disciplines? Adapting for the stage gets us thinking about what a play is; what a play does. In this workshop, we will be weighing the building blocks and pertinent features of an original or ‘source’ document against the dramaturgical requirements of its new theatrical shape.

You are invited to unlock and explore the theatrical possibilities of a work not originally intended for the stage; a novel, short story, poem, essay, song…anything actually! If your source material happens to already be a play, then you will be examining and extending its theatrical potential — from play to musical for example; or old chestnut to bold new spin. Whatever your angle, it’s welcome!

Each session will be built around group discussion, exercises, sharing and feedback. Participant-generated material, as well as selected readings will serve as our inspiration.

Come with your ideas, your visions, your instincts. Or come with a project already launched. This workshop will meet you where you are in your process and will ignite, animate, and further your practice of theatrical adaptation.

SCHEDULE

Monday, March 23, 2026: 10AM to 2PM

Tuesday, March 24, 2026: 10AM to 2PM

Wednesday, March 25, 2026: 10AM to 2PM

Thursday, March 26, 2026: 10AM to 2PM

Friday, March 27, 2026: 10AM to 2PM

Participants are expected to be available for the duration of the scheduled sessions.

LOCATION

PWM Studio: 7250 Rue Clark #103, Montreal, Quebec, H2R2Y3

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

HOW TO APPLY:

If you are interested in applying, please fill out this Google Form by 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.

Questions about this workshop can be sent to PWM’s Professional Development and Training Coordinator, Alexy Trottier, at alexy@playwrights.ca with the subject line: Exploring Practice with Nick Carpenter.

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.

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, 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.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP FACILITATOR:

Nick’s plays, radio plays (CBC), short stories and librettos have been presented across Canada, the US, Britain and Germany. Recently a member of PWM’s Cross Cultural Adaptation Lab, he is developing a new work inspired by the Catalonian liturgical drama, El Misteri d’Elx. His play Arco took 2nd place in Infinitheatre’s 2021 Write-on-Q Competition. Nick wrote the screenplay to the film Maz (Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, 2018). His play Stained Glass won the Canadian Peace Play Competition in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Prism International Residency Award (2003). He is an alumnus of Tapestry Opera’s Lib Lab, the Banff Playwrights Lab, Theatre Centre Residency and Writers’ Units at NAC/GCTC and Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal.

To read more about Nick, click here.

Photo credit: Trine Veiss Mikkelsen

LEARN MORE ABOUT EXPLORING PRACTICE WORKSHOPS

THIS WORKSHOP IS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY

January 26, 2026March 9, 2026

2026 Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE GLASSCO TRANSLATION RESIDENCY.

THIS THEATRE TRANSLATION RESIDENCY IS OFFERED BY PWM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COLE FOUNDATION, AND WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF BILL GLASSCO.

Apply by February 22, 2026
Applicants will be contacted by March 31, 2026

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

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

The Glassco Translation Residency offers a unique opportunity for playwrights and translators working in any language. Designed to explore the nuances of theatre translation and bring new work to life, the residency brings together translators and playwrights applying as a pair with a specific project. Over 10 days, participants live and work together at Fletcher Cottage in Tadoussac, developing their translations in a shared creative environment. Translations from and into any language are accepted. Work is done independently by each playwright-translator pair, and with the support of acclaimed Translation Dramaturg, Maureen Labonté. Artists gather from 5:30 – 6:30 pm, daily for a collaborative discussion and catered meal together each evening.

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, 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.

The Glassco Translation Residency provides participants with transportation, accommodation, meals, an honorarium of $800.00, and dramaturgical support. Read more about staying at the Fletcher Cottage below.

Residency Dates: June 17 – 28, 2026

June 17: Arrival in Tadoussac
(travel may take 1 – 2 days depending on point of departure and return)
June 18 to 27 inclusively: Residency
June 28: Departure from Tadoussac

Artists must be available for the entirety of the dates above, as well as June 16 and June 29 should additional travel days be needed.

Eligibility Criteria

A key eligibility requirement is the availability of both the playwright and the translator to attend the residency together. Please note that PWM does not match playwrights to translators.
We aim to support translation projects in a variety of languages. We strongly encourage applications for translations in languages in addition to English and French.
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. The number of translator-playwright pairs we can welcome is limited by the number of rooms available in the residency. The committee will make their selection based on the potential benefit to the playwright, translator and the project, the artistic strengths of the original text, as well as the potential dynamic of the group.

How to Apply

You can apply for the 2026 Glassco Translation Residency via our Google form.

Audio and video answers to some of the questions in the form are also welcomed. Click here to view the form as a PDF.

You will be asked to provide the following information:

Name, pronouns (optional), age (optional), 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;
- Why the work in question is being translated and how it will be impactful;
- An indication of how the Residency will benefit the project, including how working in person with the playwright might move the translation forward;
- Any details on production interest;
- A description of the current stage of your translation;
- 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);
A sample of the translation work proposed for the residency if the work has already begun (10 – 12 pages)
For plays originally written in a language other than English or French, applicants are asked to provide a synopsis so the committee can better assess the work being translated.

If you have any questions with regard to the Glassco Translation Residency, please email our Programs Manager, Heather, at heather@playwrights.ca.

Apply Now

About the Glassco Translation Residency

The Glassco Translation Residency welcomes playwrights and translators from across Canada and internationally to come together for ten days in Tadoussac, Quebec, to work side by side on their translation projects. As the only translation residency of its kind in Canada, the Glassco Translation Residency is instrumental in bridging linguistic barriers, and supporting the development of vibrant new translations. This year marks the residency’s 20th anniversary.

Participants are provided with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in creative collaboration and to share questions, thoughts, and ideas in a supportive environment. Translations into all languages are welcomed. Over the past 19 years we have offered space, time, and translation expertise to over 81 translations into languages including Cantonese, Catalan, Cree, English, Finnish, French, Innu-aimun, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog and Urdu.

This year, Maureen Labonté steps into the role of Translation Dramaturg and Residency Host: Maureen will be joined by residency co-host and translation dramaturg, Aki Matsushita (PWM Dramaturg).

About the Glassco Translation Residency Facilitator

Maureen Labonté is a dramaturge, translator and teacher. She has coordinated a number of play development programmes in theatres and play development centres across the country including at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) in Montreal, the National Arts Centre (Ottawa) and Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal.

Maureen has also worked extensively as a translation dramaturge. Maureen was the Jury Chair for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre from 2009 to 2012. From 2006 to 2011, she was Co-Director of the Banff Playwrights Colony at the Banff Center for the Arts. Previous to that, she worked at the Colony as resident dramaturge and then as Head of Program (2002-2005).

Maureen taught at the National Theatre School of Canada for twenty years starting in the mid-90’s. Maureen has also translated close to fifty plays into English. She lives in Montreal.

Details on the Stay

The house: The Glassco Translation Residency is held 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 communal areas 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 Heather at 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. Dinners are communal. Lunch and breakfast are on a self-serve basis. PWM asks all participants their food preferences and dietary restrictions ahead of time so that they can be accommodated as much as 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 location.

Apply Now

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.

November 17, 2025November 17, 2025

Building Your Grant Proposal with Jesse Stong

Application Deadline: sunday, December 14TH, 2025 AT 11:59PM EST.

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

Strong grant writing skills are essential for any artist looking to bring their creative projects to life. This online workshop offers participants the opportunity to clearly articulate their project ideas through realistic timelines and budgets, while learning practical tips for crafting innovative, authentic, and compelling proposals that stand out to funders.

Participants will build the foundation of their project grant in a shared Zoom room, with collaborative feedback. They’ll learn more about where to apply and when, and how to build a clear and powerful application by developing engaging writing samples. By the end of this Exploring Practice, each participant will come away equipped to seek diverse sources of funding, with guidance on partnership-building for the future of their proposed project. This workshop is infused with motivational insights, aimed to empower participants to not only write, but enjoy writing grant applications!

This Exploring Practice will provide two group sessions on Jan 26 – 27, followed by one-on-one time with Jesse for individualized support. Individual meetings will be scheduled based on participant availability.

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

“Building Your Grant Proposal” is co-presented by Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) and the Quebec Drama Federation (QDF), with support from le Conseil de la formation continue (CFC).