Applications to AMPLIFIER are now closed. Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about upcoming opportunities.
Amplifier is a two-year exploratory process for a playwright who identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), Black, POC, racialized, including 1st or 2nd generation immigrant working creatively in one of Canada’s official languages. During this program, the chosen artist will develop a piece of theatre through a dramaturgical and production process, which includes a workshop and residency.
GOALS
The process begins with dramaturgical support provided by PWM that culminates in a professional workshop and reading at the end of the first year. In the second year, the playwright will receive creation support and a residency period with LA SERRE. In addition to receiving artistic support, the program will also support the artist in other aspects of theatre making, from producing to project management.
AMPLIFIER, as well as its French counterpart Résidence Voix Théâtrales, supports artists creating in French and in English. CAM et LA SERRE offer this program alternately with the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) in French and with PWM in English, and 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. The program also seeks to reduce barriers and offer resources and opportunities for underrepresented artists.
Please refer to the Program Presentation (PDF) for more details about what this partnership includes, program eligibility criteria, and other conditions.
SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS
CONSEIL DES ARTS DE MONTRÉAL
Founded in 1956, the Conseil des arts de Montréal identifies, supports and recognizes excellence in the professional creation, production and dissemination of the arts.
To remain in tune with the organizations and collectives it serves, the Conseil relies on its knowledge of the communities, its innovative skills, and its ability to bring the city’s artists and financial partners together.
PLAYWRIGHTS’ WORKSHOP MONTRÉAL
Since 1963, PWM has created opportunities that empower artists to develop their work and strengthen their craft. Our core resource is dramaturgy, an artistic practice that explores the composition of theatre and performance works, their structure, meaning, and context. We accompany playwrights and creators through the development process, focusing on individual artists and their goals for their work.
We collaborate with theatre creators with exceptional voices, stories and perspectives – particularly those exploring complex, urgent questions which reflect the vibrancy of Turtle Island/Canada. We also collaborate with producing theatre companies, helping ensure a project’s long-term creative viability from idea to stage.
PWM operates a 2,000 square foot creation studio and shared office space, equipped with theatre lighting, sound and digital equipment. Click here for accessibility information for our office and creative studio space: https://www.playwrights.ca/accessibility-contact/
LA SERRE–ARTS VIVANTS
LA SERRE is a structuring incubator that supports emerging artists in the development and establishment of their artistic practices. It offers initiatives conducive to their visibility; takes care of its community, and offers inspiring spaces. LA SERRE supports emerging artists by creating lasting and invested connections with them. It enables artists to create and share performances that shift the perspectives of spectators and explore new ways of being together. The practices supported by LA SERRE question, transform and resist preconceptions, let pluralities unfold, and contribute to the renewal of established models. LA SERRE activates collaborations between artists, citizens, fields of knowledge, and artistic disciplines. Its support is experimental and multifaceted.
SOUTIEN FOURNI
The 2027-2028 AMPLIFIER artist will receive a project creation grant of $13,000 from the CAM over two years, along with numerous support provided by PWM, LA SERRE, and CAM. This is a one-time, non-renewable grant.
The program takes place over two years, and support is provided as follows:
YEAR 1
$3,000 creation grant for the written work developed with PWM
30 hours of dramaturgical support from Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal
A 9 hour workshop with actors/collaborators with Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal
A shared reading with actors/collaborators at Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal
YEAR 2
$10,000 creation grant for the residency lab and the work of the playwright and their collaborators
50 hours of production and management mentorship by LA SERRE–arts vivants
A week-long creation residency with possibility of a culminating presentation
30 hours of free access to the Conseil des Arts de Montréal’s studios
READ MORE
Do you have questions about the program? Contact Leila Ghaemi, Artistic Producer of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal, at leila@playwrights.ca
To stay updated about all things AMPLIFIER and the latest PWM’s news, subscribe to our newsletter ici.
* This is an opportunity for professional playwrights as defined in the Conseil de Arts de Montreal glossary: “An individual with a professional artistic practice who possesses the necessary experience and knowledge to develop this practice. This includes self-taught individuals as well as those who have studied art. This person is recognized in their artistic community (artists working in the same artistic tradition), creates, carries out or publishes works of art, is dedicated to their artistic practice and is generally paid for their work.”
