The Resident Creators of the 2022 Glassco Translation Residency

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.

After a two-year hiatus, we are delighted to welcome seven resident artists to translate five different plays during the Glassco Translation Residency in 2022!

MEET THE RESIDENT CREATORS

Click on their portrait to learn more about each resident artist

QUEUE CERISE

Translation from French to English

Amélie Dallaire – Playwright

Gabe Maharjan – Translator

THE CANDOR OF DINOSAURS

Translation from English to Portuguese

Michael Mackenzie – Playwright

Isabel dos Santos – Translator

COPEAUX and MURS

Translation from French to English

Mishka Lavigne – Playwright

David Gagnon Walker – Translator

HAVRE

Translation from French to Spanish

Mishka Lavigne – Playwright

Emilio Iturbe-Kennedy – Translator

Translation Dramaturg

We’re also pleased to welcome award-winning translator Maryse Warda, who will serve as translation dramaturg and residency host.

Born in Egypt, where she spent her childhood, Maryse Warda has been active on Quebec stages since 1992, and has translated more than seventy plays. Her work has helped introduce French-speaking audiences to many Canadian authors such as John Mighton, Morris Panych and George F. Walker. She has also translated for many American, British, Scottish and Irish authors including Howard Barker, Margaret Edson, David Greig, David Hare, David Ives, Cindy Lou Johnson, David Mamet, Arthur Miller and Harold Pinter.

In 2011, she received the Governor General’s Award for her translation of the play The Toxic Bus Incident by Greg MacArthur. Her translation of Anthony Black’s One Discordant Violin – inspired by a short story by Yann Martel – was the subject of her work at the Glassco Translation Residency in 2019 and will be presented at La Licorne in the fall of 2022.

Since 2006, Maryse has benefited from the wonderful Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac on nine occasions. This is the first time that she will serve as translation dramaturg and host.

ABOUT THE GLASSCO TRANSLATION RESIDENCY IN TADOUSSAC

Over the past 16 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.

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 the 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

February 11, 2022March 25, 2022

2022 Glassco Translation Residency

Image of the outside of the cabin where the Glassco Translation Residency is held.

The 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.

After making the difficult decision to cancel the Glassco Translation Residency in Tadoussac for our 2020 and 2021 seasons, PWM is excited to launch the call for the 2022 The Glassco Translation Residency!

Applications for this residency are now closed.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send us the following to residency@playwrights.ca:

A description (PDF, video or audio) of the project which includes:
- The name of the translator and playwright;
- An indication of how the Residency will benefit the project including how being in physical proximity to the playwright might move the translation forward;
- Any details on production interest;
- A description of where you are in the translation process;
- And whether you are interested in dramaturgical conversations around translations, including with other artists at the residency;
Biographies of both the playwright and translator;
A copy of the play in its original language.

Residency dates: June 5th-15th, 2022

Submission deadline: March 11th, 2022

Please email submissions (PDF format, 1 file only) to residency@playwrights.ca with the subject line: 2022 Glassco Translation Residency application.

If you have any questions, or need assistance with this application, please contact Heather Eaton at heather@playwrights.ca.

Find more info about the Glassco Translation Residency here.

ABOUT THE GLASSCO TRANSLATION RESIDENCY

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 16 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.

We’re pleased to welcome award-winning translator Maryse Warda, who will serve as translation dramaturg and residency co-host with Briony Glassco.

We are now accepting submissions of plays that are slated for translation. Please note that we do not fund the commission of 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.

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

A vaccination passport will be required. Please let us know if you have a medical exemption and PWM will accommodate.

An honorarium of $800 is offered to each participant. In addition, all costs for travel, meals and accommodation are covered.

PWM welcomes all applications to our programs. While recognizing that the identity of each person is fundamentally plural, multidimensional, changing and evolving, 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.

ACCESSIBILITY DETAILS

The house: The residency is in Tadoussac, Québec in an 18th century log home. There are 8 steps down to the entrance of the house. Each guest will have their own room with a writing area and there are multiple locations to write throughout the home. The bathrooms are shared. The bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible. For detailed information or to ask specific questions about the bathrooms, accommodations, or workspaces please email accessibility@playwrights.ca.

Travel: In order to arrive in Tadoussac, transportation is provided typically by train or airplane to Quebec City. From Quebec City, a three-hour taxi ride or a bus ride via Orleans Express (that crosses a ferry at one point) brings the participants to the house in Tadoussac.

Meals: PWM hires a chef to make dinner each evening. Lunch and breakfast are on a self-serve basis. PWM asks all participants their food needs ahead of time so that we can accommodate them. The meals are communal and social distancing is not possible.

Internet: Internet access is inconsistent inside the house but PWM is working on upgrading it for the 2022 residency.

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.

January 27, 2020June 25, 2020

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.

July 1, 2018September 20, 2018

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.