APPLY NOW: Experimentation in Digital Creation

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is introducing a new micro-residency program focusing on digital dramaturgy.

Applications are now closed.


Building upon months of online workshops, and various forms of digital theatrical experimentation, PWM is excited to introduce our new micro-residency program: Experimentation in Digital Creation!

This program is open to any theatre project that has digital elements to explore— whether the plan is to present them virtually, in-person, or disseminated in a hybrid-fashion (partly online and partly in-person).

We will be inviting selected artists from across Canada to experiment with us for 3 to 5 days, depending on the needs of their project. Residencies will take place at some point between January and August 2022.

Artists will will have access to our studio, equipment, and PWM’s dramaturgs— including digital dramaturgs and multi-media creators potatoCakes_digital, who are leading this exciting project!

Together, we will create a digital dramaturgy process centred on our resident artists and their exploratory questions. 

PWM promotes equity and encourages applicants to indicate if they self-identify as belonging to one or more equity priority groups: women, racialized persons, 2SLGBTQQIPAA+, Indigenous persons, refugees, recent and first-generation immigrants not belonging to the dominant cultures in their areas, d/Deaf persons, neurodivergent persons, disabled persons, emerging artists, persons living with chronic illness, persons living with chronic pain, if they feel comfortable doing so.

This program was created for folks who are interested in experimenting with new digital art forms. The projects are ideally in the early to mid-stages of development and are in a place to benefit from exploration with different tools and form.  

PWM is a versatile blackbox studio equipped with:

  • Video Equipment (Cameras, switcher, projectors)
  • VR equipment (Vive Pro2 & Oculus Quest 2)
  • Lighting
  • Podcasting microphones
  • Virtual conferencing
  • Greenscreen
  • Other equipment will be sourced by PWM depending on each project’s individual needs

For our full tech rider and available equipment, click here.

Given the knowledge-sharing component of this initiative, prospective participants should be aware that there will be documentation of the digital dramaturgical process that will be shared publicly on our website.

APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply, please complete the online application form. During the application process, you will be asked to include the following:

  • A description of the project (max. 500 words);
  • An artistic statement in relation to the integration of digital tools;
  • The names of the project’s collaborators, and their creative disciplines;
  • The stage of the work in progress;
  • Your dramaturgical questions being investigated, or what you are investigating;
  • The technologies you are presently using for the project (if any);
  • The technologies you wish you had access to for this project (if known);
  • The knowledge gaps (if you know them) in relation to transforming the work to a digital platform;
  • Any documentation you deem appropriate to the project, sending video files as links.

Audio or video applications are welcomed.

PROJECT SUPPORTED BY
THE DIGITAL DRAMATURGY CLINIC IS FUNDED BY THE SECRETARIAT FOR RELATIONS WITH ENGLISH-SPEAKING QUEBECERS

Digital Dramaturgy Initiative — Apply to the Montreal residency

Logo of the Digital Dramaturgy Initiative on top of Montreal skyline
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is now accepting applications for a week-long residency, within the Digital Dramaturgy Initiative, to take place from April 26th to May 1st, 2021

WHAT IS THE DIGITAL DRAMATURGY INITIATIVE?

Following the first iteration of the project at the Blyth Festival pre-pandemic, the Digital Dramaturgy Initiative (DDI) is a collaboration between Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Manitoba Association of Playwrights and the Blyth Festival.

Logo of the Digital Dramaturgy Initiative

The pandemic has accelerated our use of digital tools.  However, knowledge and financial gaps are still with us. With this reality in mind, we designed three locally based residencies designed to investigate and expand our collective vocabulary with digital technology.

These three distinct week-long residencies have been designed to allow for a deep investigation and articulation of two main questions:

  1. Where are the literacy gaps in managing the processes and systems in the integration of digital components?
  2. How to best organize creative relationships to maximize expertise in the collaboration process?

THE MONTREAL RESIDENCY

Covid and its impact on live arts : how do we share and grow work in process. 

APRIL 26 – MAY 1, 2021

Creating theatre inside a pandemic – how to use the tools available, what is possible, and what have we learned so far? How can we use this knowledge to create a more accessible platform for theatre? What can we take back into live theatre?

Organized by Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal, the Montreal residency is looking for theatre performance projects that were conceived for the stage but that now need to be transformed for a digital audience; as well as projects conceived for the new Digital reality. The project may be at any point in the process of creation.

The residency will focus on working with collectives or individuals to discover the possibilities available for the transformation of the work through technology, to a digital platform. This project is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Literacy Fund, as such, an important component of the work is the dissemination of knowledge and expertise. To this end, applicants must be willing to share parts of their creative process and knowledge gained through the residency. DDI and participants will negotiate fair Intellectual Property rights for educational, non-commercial dissemination of exploratory work undertaken during the residency, an example of which can be found here.

Auxiliary programming over the course of the workshop week will include collective investigations into both traditional and emerging digital tools and technologies, exploring the vocabulary needed to collaborate in digital integration and exploration, and looking at case studies from Canadian and international initiatives.  

Each participating artist will receive a $750 honorarium and is expected to be available for the 5 days of the residency.

We are continuously working to make all of our programs accessible. We recognize that the identity of each person is fundamentally plural, multidimensional, changing and evolving.
We are committed to working with artists to create spaces within which Indigenous artists (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), racialized artists (including recent immigrants), members of the 2SLGBTQQIPAA+ communities and/or neurodiverse and disabled artists as well as artists living with chronic illness and chronic pain can create.

APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply, please complete the online application form. During the application process, you will be asked to include the following:

  • A description of the project (max. 500 words);
  • An artistic statement in relation to the integration of digital tools;
  • The names of the project’s collaborators, and their creative disciplines;
  • The stage of the work in progress;
  • Your dramaturgical questions being investigated, or what you are investigating;
  • The technologies you are presently using for the project (if any);
  • The technologies you wish you had access to for this project (if known);
  • The knowledge gaps (if you know them) in relation to transforming the work to a digital platform;
  • Any documentation you deem appropriate to the project, sending video files as links.

Audio or video applications are welcomed.

The deadline to submit applications is March 8, 2021 at 5:00PM EST. All applicants will be notified of the results. 

This project is a partnership between
PWM logo
Logo of the Playwrights Theatre Centre
Logo of the Manitoba Association of Playwrights
Logo of the Blyth Festival
PROJECT SUPPORTED BY THE CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS
Canada Council logo

2020 Glassco Translation Residency

THE 2020 GLASSCO TRANSLATION RESIDENCY is a Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal Residency, in partnership with the Cole Foundation, and the support of the friends and family of Bill Glassco.

*COVID-19 UPDATE – June 16, 2020*
After fourteen years of programming, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the residency for the 2020 season.

Following close analysis of the situation in Tadoussac, in Quebec, and across Canada, we know that this is the responsible path forward. We were unable to conceive of an in-person residency while respecting public health criteria for gathering in a home.

We felt it important to maintain the integrity of the Residency, centred on bringing playwrights and translators together in one place to deepen the practice of translation for the stage. We are looking forward to welcoming translators and creators back to Fletcher Cottage in June 2021.

In lieu of this year’s residency, we are beginning to plan a virtual retrospection of the Glassco Translation Residency, one that will welcome learning from past participants. We will be releasing more details in the coming months.

*COVID-19 UPDATE – March 26, 2020*
The level of uncertainty around the Coronavirus and travel restrictions, make it difficult for us to continue the selection process. We have therefore decided that the most responsible course of action is to delay selection until more reliable data is available.
We will be in touch late April with all updates.


The Glassco Translation Residency invites playwrights and translators from across Canada and beyond to come together for ten days in Tadoussac, Quebec, to work in-depth on their translation projects.

The chosen participants are provided with a unique opportunity to focus on their projects and to share expertise in a retreat environment. Translations into all languages are welcomed. Over the past 15 years we have offered space, time, and dramaturgical expertise to over 63 translation projects into languages such as Cantonese, Catalan, Cree, English, French, Innu-aimun, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog and Urdu.

This season we welcome award-winning translator Maryse Warda, who will serve as residency host and translation dramaturg.

We are now accepting submissions of plays that are slated for translation. Please note that we do not fund the translation. The play should ideally have had a production in its original language. At least one component of the project needs to be Canadian. We strongly encourage Indigenous artists to apply.

To apply, please send us:
  • A description of the project which includes the name of the translator and playwright, an indication of how the Residency will benefit the project, and any details on production interest;
  • Biographies of both the playwright and translator;
  • A copy of the play in its original language.

One of the selection criteria for translation projects will be the availability of both the playwright and the translator to attend the residency together.

An honorarium of $750 is offered to each participant. In addition, all costs for travel, meals and accommodation are covered.

Submission deadline: March 2nd, 2020

Please email submissions (PDF format, 1 file only) to residency@playwrights.ca with the subject line: 2020 Glassco Translation Residency application.

Questions or queries? Please contact Emma Tibaldo at emma@playwrights.ca.

Find more info about the Glassco Translation Residency here.

Accessibility details: 

The residency is in Tadoussac, Québec in an 18th century log home. There are 8 steps down to the entrance of the house. The bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible.


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 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.

Supporters: The Cole Foundation, Friends and Family of Bill Glassco, The Canada Council for the Arts, Le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

Looking Back at the 2018 Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac

By Bobby Theodore
Translation dramaturg and host of the Glassco Translation Residency

 Cliquez ici pour lire la version française

Much like the bees in the burgeoning flower garden outside Fletcher Cottage, this year’s residency featured a tremendous amount of cross-pollination as we welcomed playwrights and translators from Innu, Queer Pakistani-Canadian Muslim, Tamil Canadian, French-speaking Quebecois, English-speaking Quebecois, and Argentinian communities. The plays in translation dealt with the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the perversion of contemporary art by corporate interests, the intersection of queerness and Islamic identity, and how to talk about life to toddlers. Conversations are always inspiring and exciting in Tadoussac, but there was an essential shift this year that provoked new exchanges which will likely reverberate for years to come.

Innu translator Joséphine Bacon kicked off the residency with a deeply moving, in-depth acknowledgment of the unceded land that Fletcher Cottage was built upon. It was a true gift to hear her speak about Tadoussac, her Nation, and its historical ties to the Saguenay and North Shore. She came to Tadoussac to work on residency veteran Jasmine Dubé’s Marguerite. Marguerite is a choral play which tells the entire life story of one woman, from her birth until her death. A poetic piece that flows like a river, Jasmine set out to write this play after she was inspired to create theatre for toddlers. With Marguerite, she shares her love of language and playfulness through straightforward and evocative storytelling. After performing this work in French for 10 years, Jasmine decided she wanted to try and tour it to smaller communities in Northern Quebec. After she approached Joséphine about translating the play, they both agreed it would be a wonderful opportunity for the Innu-aimun language to be reinforced and for toddlers (and even their parents) to learn the language through a theatrical experience, surrounded by other babies and their parents. The main challenge Joséphine faced was that Innu-aimun has far fewer words than French. So, on occasion, she needed to use several words to describe one French word when there was no Innu-aimun equivalent. It was wonderful to see Jasmine and Joséphine forge a deep bond at the Residency, even though they’d never met before. Jasmine took advantage of Joséphine’s presence to advance her soon-to-be produced play for adults (a first!) Lascaux, even cutting out a central part of story she felt she’d appropriated from an indigenous myth.

First-time resident Alexis Martin came to Tadoussac to work with playwright Michael Mackenzie on a translation of Art Object, Michael’s sequel to Instructions for a Socialist Government Looking to Abolish Christmas, also translated by Alexis. Art Object, slated to premiere at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui in 2020, is a play that satirises the often amoral and complex relationship between high art and high finance. In his translation of the play, Alexis drew upon his prior knowledge of Michael’s characters and universe, as well as his acting experience. During the residency, Alexis spoke about his need to find the “breath” inside each translation he works on. Until he finds its breath, until the text is playable, he isn’t satisfied with his work. He uses a more liberal and creative approach to theatre translation, something he executes with Michael’s enthusiastic blessing. Each day, the two old friends and collaborators would go for long hikes during which Alexis would ask all the questions he’d accumulate over his morning work session. Later in the residency, when Argentinian translator Jaime Arrambide arrived to work on his Latin American Spanish version Michael’s Instructions to Any Future Government Wishing to Abolish Christmas, all three artists exchanged tactics and ideas to improve the translations. During the residency, Jaime fell in love with Art Object and now feels compelled to translate that play too. Jaime spoke to us about the vibrant theatre scene in Buenos Aires as well as the challenges of getting translated work staged there. While both Alexis and Jaime were working on their translations, Michael advanced his numerous writing projects.

Dushy Gnanapragasam came to translate Suvendrini Lena’s play The Enchanted Loom into Tamil. The Enchanted Loom is a haunting drama about a Tamil Canadian family dealing with trauma in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war. The multiple levels of language in the play presented a big challenge for Dushy since Suvendrini’s writing is equally poetic, lyrical, and medical, with Tamil influences. This team had been working on this translation for the past 3 years but the Residency was the first time they were able to spend dedicated time to the process. While working with Dushy in Tadoussac, Suvendrini discovered there were elements of the play, her first script, which she wanted to rewrite or cut. This often happens in Tadoussac as the translation process provides a means to improve upon original work through the lens of translation. Once they completed the Tamil version, Suvendrini and Dushy worked day and night on a new bilingual (Tamil/English) version of the play, rushing to get it done before they returned to their busy lives. During her stay at Fletcher Cottage, Suvendrini often repeated how this was the version of the play she’d “always dreamed of” creating. Though The Enchanted Loom will premiere in Toronto in Tamil in the next year or so, it’s often difficult to find the means and time to translate theatre for communities that aren’t part of the so-called dominant culture. During our late-afternoon discussions, we spoke about looking beyond English – French translation in this country in order to address the needs of the many communities who want to hear and see themselves on stage.

This year Olivier Sylvestre returned to Tadoussac as a translator to work with Bilal Baig on his play Acha Bacha. Bilal wrote Acha Bacha to speak specifically to Queer Muslim Pakistanis, so translating this play into French for a Quebecois audience posed several challenges. Acha Bacha is about a Queer Muslim Pakistani living in Mississauga (a large suburb of Toronto) who’s haunted by a traumatic memory the day before his lover leaves on a pilgrimage to the Middle East. Olivier thought about transposing this story to Montreal but expressed his concerns about this choice. His inquiry created an opportunity for some wonderful and lively discussion during our end-of-day meetings. How does a Queer Muslim Pakistani Canadian speak in French? Do they just sound Quebecois using, as Olivier put it, “ma langue”? Olivier explained how there aren’t many French-language Quebecois plays set in South Asian communities, let alone about the Queer Muslim Pakistani experience – which is what inspired him to translate this play. After listening to the group’s advice and his gut, Olivier decided to keep the play in Toronto as well as all the Urdu that’s spoken in the play. Olivier realized he needed to be sensitive to Bilal’s intentions and not simply translate the play to make it palatable for a French-speaking Québecois audience. He had to find a way maintain cultural specificity while keeping his audience engaged with material that may be unfamiliar to them. No small feat. By the end of the residency, Bilal seemed incredibly honored to have gone through this process and trusted that his first play was in Olivier’s expert hands – a clear result of their sustained proximity at Fletcher Cottage.

Like every year, it’s challenging to summarize everything that happened during this year’s residency. There are intangibles: the increased confidence residents gain over their time at the residency; the new creative relationships that are made; the validation they all feel; the significant moments of creative birth/rebirth… There were also bracing noon swims (in honor of Bill who swam every day), a trip to Cap de Bon Désir with no whales in sight, spicy debates about cultural appropriation, and – depending on which room you walked into – a constant stream of Tamil, Innu-aimun, French, Spanish, Urdu, or English. As always, Briony Glassco’s welcoming and joyous presence helped set the positive tone of our wonderful 10-day stay at her family’s magical home.

(L to R) Michael Mackenzie, Dushy Gnanapragasam, Bilal Baig, Jasmine Dubé, Joséphine Bacon, Suvendrini Lena, Alexis Martin, and Olivier Sylvestre (Not pictured: Jaime Arrambide)

PWM would like to thank the Cole Foundation and the Friends & Family of Bill Glassco for making this residency possible.

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