Our Young Creators Unit (YCU) has become an important incubator through which we discover exciting new voices from our community. Open to emerging creators and performers under the age of 30, YCU offers emerging artists innovative, interactive, and dynamic workshops that focus on creation, dramaturgy, and professional development. Young creators have the opportunity to experiment with form, content, and narrative structure, regardless of where they are in the process of creation.
Another key aspect of the YCU is its support to showcasing the artists and their creations. Every year we produce two evenings of readings where creators read excerpts of their work to an enthusiastic audience of peers and theatre community leaders. We have supported YCU artists further through the Queer Reading Series co-produced yearly with the Centaur Theatre. YCU participants have also showcased their work through the Rose Festival and the Montreal Fringe Festival, garnering recognition and experience. In December 2019, we co-presented full productions of two YCU solo shows: Crybaby by Kalale Dalton-Lutale and Dark Red by Willow Cioppa with Black Theatre Workshop at the MAI.
Discover this year’s cohort on the Young Creators Unit – Virtual Showcase 2021 page!
How to Apply
After careful consideration, and acknowledging the difficulty in providing the central tenant of the YCU, meeting in person as a group to exchange and explore, PWM has made programming changes to the project for the 2020-21 season.
This year, in response to the restrictions of COVID-19, the YCU will be focusing on providing focused and individualized support to a selected number of past participants of the program. We love bringing new emerging artists into our program, and look forward to continuing our practice of an open call again for the 2021-22 season.
Please stay connected (subscribe to our newsletter here!), and thank you for your interest in the Young Creators Unit.
You can still email jesse@playwrights.ca for any information about the Young Creators Unit.
Past participants
A huge thank you to the funders of the program:
