Germination with Kalale Dalton-Lutale and Gillian Clark

More about Exploring Practice Workshops

Application Deadline: Sunday, December 17TH, 2023 AT 11:59PM EST.

Sometimes the hardest step in a project is the beginning. You have an idea but it’s based on a tiny kernel, unshakeable feeling, something that is indescribable. You know there’s something in there, but it’s hard to get from a to b. Germination is a 5 day workshop designed to take your idea to the next stages of development, whether that be putting pen to paper, starting to gather a team, or finding a medium that can best support your idea. Germination is for collectively dreaming, to nourish you for the future steps of your project.

Kalale Dalton-Lutale and Gillian Clark will lead participants through collective exercises to support idea sharing and world building. This is a collaborative workshop to get your idea off the ground. Germination is looking for participants who are eager to share their ideas and work collectively to aid others in allowing their projects to grow.

This workshop is designed to support the often lonely initial stages of development. Five meetings will offer you tools to allow your idea to grow some roots and be in community with other collaborators.

SCHEDULE

Monday, January 29th: 1-4PM

Tuesday, January 30th: 10AM-1PM

Wednesday, January 31st: 10AM-1PM

Thursday, February 1st: 10AM-1PM

Friday, February 2nd: 10AM-1PM

In person at the PWM Studio.

LOCATION

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


HOW TO APPLY:

If you are interested in applying, please fill out this Google Form by 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, December 17th, 2023.

All application results will be shared by email the week of January 15th, after the selection process is completed.

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 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 LEADERS:

Gillian Clark is a disabled multidisciplinary theatre creator and the artistic co-director of Keep Good (Theatre) Company. She is a settler of British descent, with a smile that consumes most of her face, resembling a Troll Doll, and scars that cover most of her legs, resembling birch trees. She currently resides in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal, with a large part of her heart in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. Gillian is a graduate of the National Theatre School’s playwriting program and aims to create with joy, innovation and risk. Her plays include: Trojan Girls and the Outhouse of Atreus (Outside the March, Factory Theatre, Neworld Theatre, The National Arts Centre), POOF, (Geordie Theatre), The Ruins (Two Planks and a Passion Theatre), Let’s Try This Standing and Adventures (Keep Good (Theatre) Company). She has held residencies with Nightswimming, Outside the March, 2b theatre and Two Planks and a Passion Theatre. Gillian is grateful for everyone who has intersected and shaped the Germination community!

Photo Credit: Fortunat Nadima Nadima

Kalale Dalton-Lutale is a Black queer performance maker and dramaturge from Tkaronto/Toronto. Her work embraces experimentation, mothers, loss and pop culture. Some of her plays include Pinky Swear, Crybaby, and i am entitled to rest. Kalale is the recipient of the 2021 RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwright Prize and a graduate from the National Theatre School of Canada. She is currently the Associate Artistic Director of Factory Theatre.

Photo Credit:  Maxime Côté


This workshop is financially supported by
Intervention -- Compētences. Un soutien aux activités de formation continue en culture. 

Compétence Culture. Comité sectoriel de main-d'œuvre en culture. 
Avec la participation financiére de Quebec.

Introducing the 2023-2024 Young Creators Unit

PWM IS THRILLED TO INTRODUCE THE COHORT MEMBERS OF OUR 9TH ANNUAL Young Creators Unit PROGRAM! 

From October 2023 to June 2024, these emerging theatre artists will receive dramaturgical guidance, one-on-one mentorships, group workshops and intensives,  grant writing support, and much more!

Keep on reading to learn more about each artist and their practice, as well as YCU’s Lead Dramaturg, Leila Ghaemi. Stay tuned for more information on the YCU and the end-of-season Showcase.


Meet the Cohort

Gabrielle Banville 

Gabrielle is a bilingual performer and collaborator who investigates duality in all of her work. After graduating from Concordia’s Acting for the Theatre program in 2020, she created her company Half Twin Theatre to tell the stories of forgotten people through breaks in timelines, overlapping memories, movement and song. She is also focusing on expanding her skills in voicework, film performance and motion capture. She wants to professionally stage one of her works within the next year, and create theatre with more Montreal artists.


Joshua Bilbao

Joshua Bilbao is a multidisciplinary Mexican/Canadian artist born in Taiwan and raised all throughout North America. Jumping into the world of show business in his early twenties has led him to train under the direction of acting coaches such as Bernard Hiller, Tom Todoroff, Austin Pendleton and Mary Lou Rosato. Bilbao also completed a 2-year acting program at the Tom Todoroff Conservatory with extensive work on voice, speech, movement & Shakespeare in New York City. 

In addition to his training, Bilbao has always taken pride in being a creator. He produced and starred in his first theater production ( “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train”) that won “best direction” at the Broadway World awards.  He has also produced, directed, written, and starred in a number of short films and music videos. One of his most recent projects was “The Wild World Itself,” a short film on which he served as both an actor and producer which had its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival. With multiple projects on the horizon, Bilbao is excited to continue exploring the world of arts and culture through his curiosity.


Tiernan Cornford

Realizing her passion at an early age, Tiernan has been intuitively moulding as an artist for nearly a decade. Born and based in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal), Tiernan has worked and trained as an actor, playwright and overall creator in the city. She is thrilled to be joining this year’s YCU ensemble to continue creating theatre she aspires for future stages.


Chloe Giddings

Chloe is a bilingual theatre creator in Montreal. She began as an actor, most recently appearing in La Campagne, a french translation of Martin Crimp’s The Country, directed by Jérémie Niel at the NAC. In spring, she finished an internship in cultural mediation and theatre education for young audiences with the Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke. That’s where she was inspired to begin writing for young audiences, which is what has brought her to YCU.


Hwaan Han

Hwaan Han is an emerging theatre-maker based in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal. She holds a B.A. in drama and theatre from McGill University (2023) and is a graduate of Imago Theatre’s ARTISTA program (2022). In the summer of 2023, she took part in the Calgary Fringe Festival, contributing to the creation of They Must Have Smoked, a Chinese play about navigating regret in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hwaan is ever exploring the wonderfully multidisciplinary world of theatre through acting, directing, costume design, research, and playwriting. If Hwaan disappears suddenly, look for her in Montreal’s many grassy parks—if she isn’t there, leave her be—she might have yet again run off into deeper nature to recharge her soul.


Banafsheh Hassani

Banafsheh Hassani (any/all pronouns) بنفشه حسنی is an Iranian, Montreal-based theatre creator. They’re currently in their final year of studies in Performance Creation at Concordia University. Banafsheh’s joys in life are her cats, her rats, literature about difficult feelings and writing plays that help them understand the world around them. Most recent credits as a creator include GRIEF directed by Jessica Carmichael, Blood Family (Sometimes Not) and À Confirmer / T.B.C. (Montreal fringe festival 2023) by The Sky is the Limit Theatre. Her work mostly centers home, memory, loss, blood and illness.


Sam Lemieux 

Sam Lemieux is a bilingual actor, writer and creator from Coaticook, Qc, currently living in Montreal. Some of his credits include Saltzman’s Antiques (One-act play for the Montreal Fringe 2022) and The Mother Is Dead (Short film currently in post-production), both of which he’s written, acted in, and produced. Other credits include Suzy Stork (Dawson College Professional Theatre), One Way Ticket (Montréal Fringe 2023), and Island Life (Short Film, Upcoming).


Rana Liu

Rana Liu (she/her) is an Asian Canadian multidisciplinary arts creator, and lover of bagels & dumplings. Her principle goal is to (re)vitalize diversity and cultural understanding through shared perspectives. To not just tell these stories, but to celebrate them. 

Rana earned her BA at McGill University, in Political Science and English: Drama & Theatre, and completed her MA at Columbia College Chicago in Arts Management. She’s had the chance to work & perform in Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, and Shanghai.


Anton May

Anton May (he/him) is a British born, now Montreal based Creator/Performer, an honours graduate from Dawson College’s Professional Theatre Program and alumni of Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program in the acting discipline (2016-17). He has had the privilege to perform across eastern Canada as well as in New York as a singer and actor. In 2018, he was the recipient of the META for Outstanding Emerging Artist (performance). The pandemic allowed him to focus on his writing. Something he’s always been passionate about, but never had the time to pursue. In his writing, he focuses on QPOC (queer people of color) struggles. He tackles these themes through poetry/spoken word. He continues to seek out opportunities to tell stories through the black queer gaze through song, dance, and poetry. His latest digital work An Account Of Many was showcased in BTW’s Belonging Project (2021) alongside many powerful queer black stories. He is also a proud member of the Montreal Kiki Ballroom scene (as Godfather Broadway Mulan) where he frequently competes and emcees for the dwolls at Balls in both Toronto and Montreal. When he’s not acting, he’s voguing or performing in concerts and Cabarets singing or moving audiences with his poetry. He is thrilled to be a part of this year’s cohort. 


Anna Morreale

Anna Morreale is a multidisciplinary actor and artist, based in Montreal and southern Ontario. Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2021, they have been working professionally in the theatre, film and voice acting industries. Anna is also an artistic producer for Scaredy Cat Company and co-founder of SEANCE: a queer cabaret for emerging artists.


Toby Walma

Toby Walma is studying at Concordia University in the Honours English & Creative Writing program. He writes in a variety of genres, from spec fic to literary realism, with a particular eye towards subjects such as gender identity and neurodiversity. He’s excited to get to work on his modern take on a Shakespearean classic in the YCU program.


The Young Creators Unit is facilitated by dramaturg Leila Ghaemi

Thrilled to be back leading the YCU for her second year, Leila Ghaemi (she/elle) is a first generation Iranian-Canadian theatre maker. She returned to her hometown of Montreal, Quebec during the COVID-19 pandemic after a decade of working for theater companies in the United States, including American Conservatory Theater, New Repertory Theatre, and Boston Playwright’s Theatre; where she grew her love for and skills in new play development. 

Leila received her BFA in Theatre Arts and MFA in Theatre Education & Direction from Boston University’s School of Theatre and currently serves as co-artistic director of Persephone Productions Montreal and Artistic Producer & Dramaturg at PWM.  Leila’s artistic pillars include responsible MENASA representation, radical theatre empowerment, and arts advocacy. Recent projects include: dramaturg for The Flick at Centaur Theatre, cultural consultant for English at The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, teaching-artist at The Study School, and director for Pool No Water at The Segal Centre for Performing Arts.

THE YOUNG CREATORS UNIT IS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY:
Wordmark of the Government of Canada
Patrimoine canadien/Canada Heritage logo

Announcing the 10th recipient of the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators: Katherine Turnbull

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal and The Cole Foundation are thrilled to announce Katherine Turnbull as the 10th mentee OF the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators.

Katherine Turnbull is a writer, translator, theatre creator, and actor.

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts [Honours] in Acting with a minor in French Studies from the University of Windsor. Based in Montreal, she works in French and English in theatre and film. Katherine is fascinated by the messy and complex aspects of life, and so she explores the nitty-gritty of humanity in her projects.

In 2021, Katherine translated La nuit du 4 au 5 by Rachel Graton, commissioned by Talisman Theatre. The resulting translation, The Night From the 4th to the 5th, has recently been shortlisted for the Tom Hendry Best Drama Award. In May 2022, Talisman Theatre presented it as a digital reading, which has since won awards at the 2023 Snow Leopard International Film Festival (Madrid, Spain) & Sweden International Film Festival for Best Drama, Best Black and White Film, and Best Stage Play. It also received four (4) nominations at the 2023 MAGMA Film Festival (Best Feature & Experimental Film, Best Directing, Best Original Concept, and Best Ensemble).

She is honoured to have been selected as the 10th mentee of the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators and thrilled to dive into this process working on Rachel Graton’s 21 under the mentorship of Maureen Labonté.


Supporting the translation of new work for the stage is a core part of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal’s (PWM) programming. Since its inception in 2013, the Cole Foundation Mentorship for Emerging Translators has been guiding the next generation of French to English theatre translators.

With the skilled guidance of acclaimed translator Maureen Labonté and in partnership with the Cole Foundation, PWM has built a program that mentors emerging translators through every stage of their process in writing a new translation of a play. The successful applicant to this year’s program receives a $1,500 honorarium and a mentorship with Maureen Labonté, which includes a workshop with actors and a reading. Learn more about the program here.

Logo of the Cole Foundation

New Stories Project Creators

The New Stories Project is a PWM storytellers unit which offers accessible creation workshops, as well as customized development labs and additional support, to emerging and established neurodivergent theatre-artists. 

This season, participants from the New Stories Project have been invited to tour with us across the province, presenting excerpts from their works in development. These pop-up performances and talk-backs will be a chance for our artists to share their unique creations in intimate settings, and will all take place in selected community centers and schools that serve neurodivergent populations. 

More information to come in January 2024. 

The NSP takes on new participants on an ongoing basis. Read more about the current storytellers and their projects here. For more information on getting involved, contact Jesse Stong at jesse@playwrights.ca.

Meet the storytellers:

stephen booth

Stephen Patrick Booth is an actor/playwright based in Montreal who works in theatre and film. A graduate of Concordia University’s with a BFA in Theatre and Political Science. Stephen has worked with the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre won “The Dybbuk,” VillageScene Productions on “A Twin’s Tail,” and Cote Saint Luc Dramatic/Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre on “The Producers.” Most recently, he appeared in La Tigressa Productions’ “The Autism Monologues” in the 2018 Montreal Fringe Festival.

Other Worlds

On a small island overrun by land developers, two radically different strangers’ lives collide after an unexpected ecological disaster. Seeking safety in a bunker, they clash and connect over their shared dislike of the developers, and their conflicting dreams of a utopia where they can do more than just survive. Other Worlds celebrates their unique journeys to claim and strengthen their own self-identity, while working to make deeper connections with the outside world. A play about well-being, friendship and belonging, and the importance of community.


Aharon Elter

Aharon Elter; a transmasculine, neurodiverse, multidisciplinary artist. A white settler of Danube Swabian, Austrian, Scottish and Irish descent; living and creating in Tiohtiá:ke/Mooniyang/montréal. They are a being of dreams, regularly getting lost but always finding their way home. Often found daydreaming about atoms; the ways in which they dance, the memories they may collect and the events they witness as they exchange form becoming this then that. They create work about neurodiversity, bravery, brats, agency, belonging, grief, survival, divinity and magick.

Play description:

A story about a young trans boy. His exploration and discovery of queer identity, explored through dress-up and play. Paying homage to iconic queer elders and ancestors, recognizing the lineages queer people grow from and into. A story of celebration and euphoria. With a narrative infused with somatic teaching around the embodied YES! vs. NO. Intended as a resource for continued learning and growth around queer history, community, and pride. An illustrated children’s book intended for people aged 3 to 8 years old.


Robert Girolami

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, I took an interest in acting since I was 11 years old. Since 2010, I’ve been a participant at Spectrum Productions, a non-profit organization that helps youths and young adults on the autism spectrum create their own original short films. I expanded my skills in acting and writing, as well as gaining new skills in editing and other film production skills. Also, I helped create and perform in many short films like Elemental Ninjas, Loss and Honour, Galactic Justice, The Illusionist, Crime Town and One Last Bowl. Outside acting and writing 

I graduated from LaSalle Community Comprehensive High School (L.C.C.H.S.) in 2013, where I performed many productions in its drama club, like Alice in Wonderland and a Dr Seuss version of The Christmas Carol. After entering Dawson College in its Creative Arts program, I performed with the Dawson Theatre Collective in the original plays: This is not a Drill and Homosimian. FInishing the program in 2016, I was enrolled in the CEGEP’s Professional Theater Program where I honed my skills as an actor. Throughout my time in the program, I performed in Spring Awakening, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Taming of the Shrew, Attempts on her Life, and Welcome to Thebes. Also, I assisted in other productions through backstage work. Once I completed the program in 2019, I joined ACTRA where I am currently an apprentice. In 2023, I took a class at the Montreal School of Performing Arts. 

I joined the New Writers Project after meeting with a staff member in late 2021 during a community challenge with Spectrum Productions. Starting in 2022, I began working on my feature-length movie script The Fandom Wars, where it’s currently in the writing process. The Fandom Wars is about a group of friends who make their own original film after being denied by other studios to make it. Once completed, they are rejected by a studio CEO of distribution due to offensive content within the film. They begin to fight for the right to have their film released to the public. Will they be successful in getting their movie out there and change the media industry forever? The film details how the media industry isn’t the same as it used to be. It shows how the business is no longer relying on strong stories and characters, but overuse of CGI, visuals, poor portrayals of ethnic people and those with disabilities, false advertisement and cliche/scrapped story ideas. Also, it shows how the industry is constantly hiring mostly attractive people. As an actor and writer on the autism spectrum, this movie idea really hits home for me. Not many people like me get opportunities to be involved in the industry, so we try to make our own creations. However, we don’t get seen or heard much, so we try desperately to get it out there. 

I wanted to become a professional actor and writer not only to do something I love, but to help those with disabilities see their dreams in the industry, regardless of the job they wish to do.


Headshot of Sam Melnick
Sam Melnick 

Sam Melnick is a Montreal born-and-bred emerging theatre creator and graduate of John Abbott College’s Professional Theatre program. 

Sam has been involved in the community theatre scene as an actor and assistant stage manager. Sam has recently turned his hand to writing and is a member of the New Stories unit with Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal. Sam spends most of his time watching foreign films, delving into the world of electronic music-making, and hanging out with his lovable dog, Benji.

Helpful/Positive

The play is a look at the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum through an intersectional perspective. Topics include gender and sexual diversity, political non-conformity, and ethnicity. In a world that wasn’t built for you, how do you create a space for yourself and those you love?


Headshot of Blxck Cxsper.
Kyng Rose

Kyng “Blxck Cxsper” Rose is a Montreal based black trans and non binary multidisciplinary hip hop artist, known for being the founder of Trans Trenderz, the world’s first record label dedicated to trans and gender non conforming musicians. Kyng has been recently featured on the Billboard Change Agents list, next to industry giants such as Jay Z and The Weeknd. 

Kyng was introduced to the world of Montreal theatre through Sophie Gee who casted them as an actor, co-creator and sound designer in her play Levriers. They then went on to join the Playwrights Workshop Montréal’s Young Creator Unit where they started developing their own plays. When Kyng arrived at the YCU program they had performed but never written a full play. Over the process, Kyng worked on developing a biographical piece, and then started to explore fictional/fantasy multimedia piece BLXCK CASPER, a commentary on black rights, police brutality, and the intersection of trans/black identity. This play premiered at Montreal Fringe to sold out audiences, then a full staged reading presentation at PWM’s Queer Reading Series in 2022. PWM collaborated with YouTheatre to plan a full production in 2023/24. Kyng will now be supported by PWM and YouTheatre to fully develop BLXCK CASPER into a tour across English schools in Quebec and the East Coast. The play will also be filmed, and turned into a digital broadcast for an even wider audience.

BLXCK CASPER

The Blxck Cxsper universe is a multidisciplinary work of fiction based around a vigilante who questions super hero culture and the many ways it negatively affects society.


Image of Erika Squires
Erika Squires 

Erika Squires is a theatre artist from Newfoundland. Erika has an English degree, with a specialization in Theatre and Drama, and a diploma in Performance and Communications Media from Memorial University of Newfoundland. An emerging playwright, Erika has written three plays: Hush (for PerSIStence Theatre) Baby and Fixed (self-produced with support from ArtsNL and the CCA). Erika is an acting student at the National Theatre School of Canada.

Special

Special explores lateral ablism following dual-protagonists Katherine (26) and Dee (17) as they struggle within the same post-secondary institution. This play challenges notions of what autism looks like in storytelling – centring two women who are successful, sexual, and sometimes ableist adults who are constantly searching for a shared language about the way they interact with, and around, their worlds.


Philippe David


Anne Tremblay

The New Stories Project is facilitated by arts educator and dramaturg Jesse Stong.

Jesse Stong (They/Them) is a proud parent of twins, a graduate of Playwriting from the National Theatre School of Canada, and received a Master’s in Art Education from Concordia University. They are an award-winning queer creator, dramaturg, and educator.

Over the years, Jesse has supported over 140 emerging Canadian storytellers as director of our Young Creators Unit.  Jesse also leads our New Stories Project for Neurodiverse Storytellers.

Jesse is an occasional content creator/editor for Moment Factory, and was recently Manager of Children’s Programming for Watchmojo.com, Associate Curator for the National Arts Centre Disability Summit, and Host of the Montreal English Theatre Awards.

Current & Past Writing Coaches

Laura Beauhanon
Anna Burkholder
Michaela Dichesere
Sophie Gee
Erin Lindsay
Gabe Maharjan
Darragh Mondoux
Johanna Nutter
Laurent Pitre
A.J. Richardson
Gabriel Shultz
Anne-Marie St-Louis
Jen Viens

THE NEW STORIES PROJECT IS FINACIALLY SUPPORTED BY
Patrimoine canadien/Canada Heritage logo
CAM Logo
CALQ_logo
Canada Council logo

Announcing the 2023 Gros Morne Residency Playwrights | Dévoilement des Participant.e.s de 2023 Résidence de Gros-Morne

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) and le Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD), 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, are pleased to announce the seven playwrights participating in the 2023 Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency

The Gros Morne Playwrights’ Residency is a dual-lingual residency that welcomes playwrights from across the country to share space and conversation in the unparalleled landscape of Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador. The program offers dramaturgy in French and English. 

From October 12th to 23rd, 2023, Elena Belyea, Guillaume Corbeil, Cole Hayley, Emmanuelle Jimenez, Breton Lalama, Mishka Lavigne, and Christine Rodriguez, will be staying at the Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station in Norris Point. The residents will have the opportunity to explore their plays during unstructured writing time, one-on-one dramaturgical conversations, and group discussions.

Look out for future social media posts about the artists and the residency!

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) et le Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD), en partenariat avec Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, Creative Gros Morne, le Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station, et avec le soutien vital de la Fondation Cole, ont le plaisir d’annoncer les sept auteurs et autrices dramatiques qui participeront à la Résidence canadienne d’auteurs et d’autrices dramatique de Gros Morne 2023.

La résidence d’écriture théâtrale de Gros-Morne est une résidence bilingue qui accueille des dramaturges de tout le pays pour partager un espace et la conversation dans le paysage sans pareil du parc national du Gros Morne, à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Le programme propose de l’accompagnement dramaturgique en français et en anglais.

Du 12 au 23 octobre 2023, Elena Belyea, Guillaume Corbeil, Cole Hayley, Emmanuelle Jimenez, Breton Lalama, Mishka Lavigne et Christine Rodriguez séjourneront au Bonne Bay Aquarium & Research Station à Norris Point. Les résidents auront l’occasion d’explorer leurs pièces pendant des périodes d’écriture non structurées, des conversations dramaturgiques individuelles et des discussions de groupe.

Ne manquez pas les prochains messages sur les médias sociaux concernant les artistes et la résidence!

Meet the Playwrights | Rencontrez les auteurs

ELENA BELYEA (ALBERTA)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: Untitled

Elena Belyea (they/she) is a queer playwright, performer, producer, arts educator, and Artistic Director of Tiny Bear Jaws. She was born and raised in amiskwaciwaskahikan (colonially known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory and have had work produced across Turtle Island and internationally (including Hungary, Austria, Berlin, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Quebec, and Wells). Her play “Smoke” was recently published by Playwrights Canada Press. They’re also half of queer sketch duo “Gender? I Hardly Know Them” (on Tiktok + Instagram at @genderihardlyknowthem). Elena was the recipient of the 2023 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical. Her company, Tiny Bear Jaws’ production of “Smoke” won the 2023 Sterling Award for Outstanding Indie Production. 

Photo credit: ​​Brianne Jang


Guillaume Corbeil (QUÉBEC)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: La vérité sur David Alpis
(titre de travail)

Guillaume Corbeil a écrit des livres (L’art de la fugue, Brassard, Trois princesses), des pièces de théâtre (Tu iras la chercher, Unité modèle) et des scénarios (À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas).  En 2021, il présente Pacific Palisades à Paris, au théâtre Paris Villette, puis au Poche, à Genève. Sa pièce Cinq visages pour Camille Brunelle s’est vu décerner le prix Michel-Tremblay. Avec À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas, il a remporté l’Iris du meilleur scénario.


COLE HAYLEY (newfoundland)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: And they Found Them Melted into the Carpet 
(working title)

Cole Hayley is a creator originally from Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, but now is based between St. John’s and the “Mainland,” as he continues to pursues a life in the arts.

Cole is a recent graduate of the National Theatre School and an alumni of Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he received a BA in English and Communications. He’s a current member of the inaugural Poverty Cove playwrights unit, and is currently working on publishing a collection of poetry.

Photo credit: Maxime Côté


emmanuelle jimenez (québec)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: Grand feu 
(titre de travail)

Emmanuelle Jimeneza suivi une formation en interprétation au Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal. Tout en poursuivant sa carrière de comédienne, elle se consacre à l’écriture dramatique. Parmi ses textes qui ont été montés, on compte Du vent entre les dents (Théâtre D’Aujourd’hui), Rêvez, montagnes! (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental), Centre d’achats (Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui), Cendres (Des pieds des mains), Bébés, spectacle coécrit avec Alexis Martin (Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental) et Alice! (Théâtre du Trident). Elle est dialoguiste pour la série dramatique NOUS (Duo Productions), de Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf. Elle a mené de  nombreux projets de médiation culturelle, notamment avec La Maison bleue à Côte des-Neiges et la Maison culturelle et communautaire de Montréal-Nord. Elle a été  membre du conseil d’administration du Festival du Jamais Lu de 2003 à 2010. Et elle siège au conseil d’administration de l’Association québécoise des autrices et auteurs  dramatiques (AQAD) depuis 2014.

Photo credit: Eva Maude TC


BRETON LALAMA (ONTARIO)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: quid pro quo

Breton Lalama (he+they) is a multimedium artist fascinated by the intersections of truth and performativity and how they tangle with our amoebic identities of public and private self. He’s a proud co-founder of the Spindle Films Foundation, an initiative created to support transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse Canadian filmmakers. They’ve received Merritt and Dora award nominations, and won a Broadway World Award and a Tootsie Award. His play, THE LAST SHOW ON EARTH! TRADEMARK SYMBOL, premiers at Neptune Theatre in 2024, and is featured in Playwrights Canada Press’ upcoming 2SLGBTQIA+ Monologue Anthology. They’re Tarragon Theatre’s RBC Emerging Playwright in Residence. @bretonlikethecrackers

Photo credit: Dahlia Katz


Mishka Lavigne (QUÉBEC)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: Lichen

Mishka Lavigne est autrice dramatique, traductrice littéraire et scénariste basée à Ottawa/Gatineau. Ses textes ont été produits et développés au Canada, aux États-Unis, en Europe, en Australie, à Haïti et au Mexique. Son texte Havre, créé à la Troupe du Jour (Saskatoon) a remporté le Prix du Gouverneur Général en 2019. Copeaux, produit par le Théâtre de Dehors (Ottawa), a remporté ce même prix en 2021 en plus du Prix Jacques-Poirier. 

Mishka écrit aussi en anglais. Son texte Albumen, produit par TACTICS en 2019 (Ottawa), est récipiendaire du QWF Playwriting Prize et on a récemment pu voir Shorelines (TACTICS) en 2023.

Autant vers le français que vers l’anglais, Mishka signe près d’une vingtaine de traductions de théâtre, de prose et de poésie.

Photo credit: Marianne Duval


Christine Rodriguez (QUÉBEC)

PLAY IN DEVELOPMENT: The Civil Suit

A recent alumna of the CFC, Christine Rodriguez is a writer from Montreal who creates from a mixed-race, Afro-Trinidadian perspective.  Her play, Dreaming in Autism, received third prize at Ottawa Little Theatre’s 72nd National One-Act Playwriting Competition. Her TYA play, Simone, Half and Half, was published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2022.  Christine is also a filmmaker whose first short film, Fuego, earned her a nomination for Best Filmmaker of the Year from Gala Dynastie. She’s been a part of the WBD Access x ACCT Writers Program and has received two Rogers – BSO development grants.  Christine has a Certificate of Professional Screenwriting from UCLA and is currently working on a Major in Hispanic Studies at Université de Montréal. 

Photo credit: Janice Reid


Logo of the Cole Foundation

APPLY NOW: PWM + MAI joint support for artists interested in working with a dramaturg.

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) and the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) are partnering once again to offer a joint support program for artists in theatre, performance, dance, circus, interdisciplinary arts and visual arts (with a performance component) who are interested in working with a dramaturg from theatre and performance. One selected artist or collective will receive resources and support from both PWM and the MAI.

This partnership between PWM and the MAI accompanies creators on their journey to develop a project and explore their practice, and is intended for artists who identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), Black, POC, racialized (including recent immigrants), 2SLGBTQQIPAA+, d/Deaf, neurodivergent, disabled, living with chronic illness and/or chronic pain. 

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) is a national creation and development centre for theatre and performance led by a team of dramaturgs and arts administrators. While playwriting has been at the core of what we do for 60 years, our work also includes devised, digital, and interdisciplinary forms of creation. In addition to seeking collaborations across diverse artistic practices, we are strongly committed to supporting work which reflects a wide range of cultural identities and lived experiences. 

This joint support is part of the MAI’s Alliance program, an artist-support platform that welcomes 10 – 15 artists, collectives and companies per year. MAI’s Alliance program provides assistance and project coordination support, and the possibility for a wide range of services related to the artists’ learning, creation, mentorship, collaboration and professionalization needs.

What’s provided with the joint support program:

• Personalized project coordination support;

• $5,000 fund allocation from the MAI for the development of a project* ;

• Training, referrals, collective reflection opportunities, and other support meetings;

• 80 hours of access to the MAI rehearsal studios;

• 30 hours with a PWM dramaturg, including a 20 hour workshop in PWM’s studio.


Refer to the Artist’s Guide for more details about what this joint mentorship includes, eligibility criteria and other conditions.

*The PWM + MAI Joint Support Program is not a grant program. The program offers an allocation of funds ($5,000) for the artist to establish mentorships and collaborations, supporting their learning and creation process (for example, to work with a mentor, a sound designer, a choreographer, a grant writer, or other experts and collaborators). You can read  ‘MAI’s allocations: How They Work’ for more information about what is eligible and ineligible in spending these funds on your work.


Working with a dramaturg at PWM

Dramaturgy is an exploration of all the elements that make a work, how they are brought together to create meaning, and what the process for developing that work might be. PWM primarily works on projects that centre text and narrative but also on pieces where text and storytelling are not the primary components or concerns.

PWM’s work centres the artist and our dynamic collaborative process is tailored to meet the needs of their project. We listen deeply to understand who an artist is, what they are making and how they want their work to evolve. We offer feedback and reflection through questions and conversation and often accompany the artists from draft to draft or iteration to iteration. We work one-on-one, but also through workshops and residencies.

PWM understands that the work of playwriting and performance making is not created in a vacuum, but that it interacts with society. Theatre can be impactful, and therefore PWM considers not only how a piece is made and by whom, but also its effect and meaning beyond the walls of its creation studio.


How to Apply:

Fill out this Google form by October 22, 2023, 11:59PM EST. You will be asked to provide the following information:

  • Your name, pronouns (optional), and contact information ;
  • Your bio or the background of your collective;
  • An explanation of your work’s relevance to the program’s mandate: as a member of the eligible groups, as an artist with an interdisciplinary/intercultural/intersectional approach, and/or an artist working with Indigenous methodologies or ways of knowing;
  • Your proposal for support, which describes: your artistic practice, your intended project, your interest in collaboration with a dramaturg, the types of supports or services you might request through the MAI’s allocation of funds, and how this support will impact your artistic journey;
  • A proposed schedule or calendar of activities (beginning December 2023, ending by September 2024);
  • A proposed budget outlining expenses related to your proposa (refer to our budget example in the artists’ toolkit;
  • A CV;
  • Documentation of your work.

Video or audio responses are also accepted through the Google form.

If you have any questions regarding accessibility, require assistance with your application, or would like to discuss alternative methods of applying and deadline flexibility, please contact accessibility@playwrights.ca. If you require any accommodations to participate in the program should you be selected, please let us know in your application.

Click here to view the Google form as a PDF.

Selection Criteria

Applications are considered by a committee made up of members of PWM’s team and of the MAI team. One recipient will be selected based on the following criteria: relevance to the partnership’s mandate, impact on the artist/project, and the feasibility of the support proposal. A complete breakdown of these criteria can also be found in the program’s Artist’s Guide.

All candidates will receive a response by email by the end of November 2023 informing them of the outcome of their application.


This program is financially supported by the Ministry of Culture and Communications and the City of Montreal as part of l’Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal, as well as by the Canada Council for the Arts.
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