YCU NEWS: WE’RE welcoming a new dramaturG to lead the Unit
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is delighted to announce that dramaturg and director Leila Ghaemi will be leading this year’s Young Creators Unit! The current leader and creator of the YCU, Jesse Stong, will work with YCU alumni this year, while continuing their work as a dramaturg at PWM with both the Queer Reading Series and the New Stories Project.
“I’m so excited to have Leila taking the Young Creators Unit into the next phase. With her passion, intelligence, and experience, I am sure she will exceed expectations!” says long-time YCU facilitator Jesse Stong.
The application period for this year’s YCU has now passed. We’d like to thank each of the creatives who applied. More news on the 2022-2023 cohort will be shared online soon.
If you’re an aspiring playwright or storyteller who is 30 or under, then Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal’s Young Creators Unit (YCU) is the place to grow your work. This incubator for learning and experimentation helps emerging artists find their voice, as they workshop an original piece of theatre over the course of several months.
Playwriting is an ever-expanding field, and workshop environments are flexible and judgment-free spaces to work collectively. Interested storytellers need only apply with an idea, a question, a theme or topic. We welcome diversity of experience in life and in theatre, and all kinds of emerging writers and theatre makers are encouraged to apply.
By taking part in group sessions every two weeks, participants establish their craft in conversation with a close cohort of creatives. A customized work plan and one-on-one mentorship supports the development of your play, alongside professional support with grant writing and networking opportunities.
PWM welcomes all applications to our programs. 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.
If you have any questions about the Young Creators Unit, please contact both Leila Ghaemi Leila@playwrights.ca and Jesse Stong jesse@playwrights.ca.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility, or require assistance with the form, please contact Heather accessibility@playwrights.ca. Accessibility concerns are central to how we structure our programs and we’ve learned a lot from our Accessibility Committee conversations. Click here to read more about the work done by PWM’s accessibility committee.
To learn about what it’s like navigating our space click here.
how to apply
Fill out this Google Form by 11:59 PM on September 27, 2022. Your application will require the following information:
A brief bio of yourself, and your experience (if any) as a storyteller/creator.
A brief description of the work you would like to develop, or a list of some ideas.
A brief description sharing why you would like to join the Unit, and what you hope to get out of the experience.
Group sessions will take place in person every 2 weeks on Tuesdays from 5PM-8PM, and will shift to a weekly format beginning in January 2023. The program runs from October 18th, 2022 to May 26th, 2023 in PWM’s studio at 7250 Rue Clark in Montreal.
There are limited spots in the program and participants are expected to attend the group sessions, one-on-one meetings, as well as commit to some additional self-directed activities. Please only apply to the Unit if you can commit to the schedule. All applicants will be informed of their results by October 12.
PWM is committed to upholding safety and comfort for in-person gatherings, with regard to COVID-19. We continue to strongly encourage the regular wearing of masks, frequent hand-washing and use of sanitizer, as well as frequent surface wipe-downs. To read more about PWM’s COVID-19 guidelines, click here.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
A selection committee will be reading all applications and selecting the participants for the Unit. There are many factors that go into the selection process in addition to the consideration of your application, such as group dynamics and the range of experience within the cohort. There are no judgements with regard to training or competencies.
