APPLICATION DEADLINE: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29TH 2023 11:59PM EST.

How the mentorship works:

• PWM will select 1 participant with an interest in French to English theatre translation;
• Over a period of several months, the participant will translate excerpts (roughly 10-12 pages) of two contemporary Québécois plays selected by the CEAD;
• The participant will receive a total of 12 hours of dramaturgical support from acclaimed playwright and theatre translator Alexis Diamond;
• The participant will have the opportunity to discuss their translations with the original playwrights;
• The mentorship will culminate in two workshops during which professional actors will read and discuss the newly-translated excerpts;
• The participant will then have the chance to meet with the second participant and both mentors to present their work and discuss their experiences;
• After the workshops, the participant will submit their final drafts of the translated excerpts to the CEAD.

Who can apply?

• Montreal-based playwrights with a strong interest in French-to-English theatre translation;
• The candidate must have excellent writing skills in English and have fluent comprehension of Québecois French;
• Playwrights with little to no experience in theatre translation are encouraged to apply;

How to apply:

If you are interested in applying, please fill out this Google Form by Sunday, October 29th, 2023, 11:59 PM EST. You will be asked to provide the following information:

• Your name, pronouns (optional), and contact information ;
• Your bio; 
• A description of your interest in this mentorship and in French-to-English theatre translation more generally;
• Confirmation that you are based in Montreal;
• A CV

Video or audio responses are also accepted through the Google form.

Questions about this program can be sent to helena@playwrights.ca with the subject line: Introduction to Theatre Translation. Audio and video applications are also welcomed. 

If you have any questions regarding accessibility, or require assistance with this application, please contact accessibility@playwrights.ca. 

Click here for accessibility information and video tours of our location.

PWM is committed to creating an environment where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect.  We are continuously working to make all of our programs accessible and inclusive. 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.

Biography of Alexis Diamond

Based in Tiohtiá:ke / Mooniyang / Montreal, Alexis Diamond (she/her) is a theatre artist, opera and musical librettist, translator, dramaturg and theatre curator working in both English and French. She creates works for a wide range of audiences, from toddlers, to school-aged children, to all ages, to adults only, which have garnered awards, residencies, and attention at home and abroad. Playful, poetic and profound, her texts and performances break open the stories we inherit and the myths we perpetuate to spark some kind of collective epiphany.

Current and upcoming works include: NZINGA, co-written with Marie Louise Bibish Mumbu in collaboration with Tatiana Zinga Botao, premiering this November at Montreal’s acclaimed Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui; Mars: Signs of Life, an installation-opera about the “colonization” of Mars with composer Tim Brady; the translation of Tout inclus (All-inclusive) François Grisé’s probing and poetic documentary-theatre investigation into ageing; a large-scale installation-performance with Finnish contemporary-circus artist Marjukka Erälinna; and a couple of musicals.

Alexis has translated award-winning plays by Audrey-Anne Bouchard and Marc-André Lapointe, Pascal Brullemans, Alexia Bürger, Marie-Hélène Larose-Truchon, Érika Tremblay-Roy and Marie-Claude Verdier for companies such as Geordie Theatre, Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke, DynamO Theatre, Talisman Theatre, Theatre Direct, Théâtre Incliné, Bouche Theatre Collective and Playwrights Canada Press. Alexis was a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Award for her translation of Pascal Brullemans’ plays for young audiences, Amaryllis and Little Witch (Playwrights Canada Press). Many of her works can be found at the Canadian Play Outlet.

This mentorship is made possible by:

A one-on-one mentorship opportunity

For years Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal (PWM) and the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) have worked to forge links between French and English language theatre communities and foster the art of theatre translation. To this end, the two organizations have once again partnered together to offer two individualized mentorships meant to familiarize playwrights to the craft of theatre translation. The mentorship described below is focused on French to English theatre translation. Details on the English to French translation component of this mentorship can be found on the CEAD’s website.

How the mentorship works:

• PWM will select 1 participant with an interest in French to English theatre translation;
• Over a period of several months, the participant will translate excerpts (roughly 10-12 pages) of two contemporary Québécois plays selected by the CEAD;
• Over several weeks, the participant will receive a total of 12 hours of dramaturgical support from acclaimed playwright and theatre translator Alexis Diamond;
• The participant will have the opportunity to discuss their translations with the original playwrights;
• The mentorship will culminate in two 4-hour workshops during which professional actors will read and discuss the newly-translated excerpts;
• The participant will then have the chance to meet with the second participant as well as both mentors to present their work and discuss their experiences;
• After the workshops, the participant will submit their final drafts of the translated excerpts to the CEAD.

Who can apply?

• Montreal-based playwrights with a strong interest in French-to-English theatre translation;
• The candidate must have excellent writing skills in English and have fluent comprehension of Québecois French;
• Playwrights with little to no experience in theatre translation are encouraged to apply;
• Applicants must have a minimum of two professionally produced pieces or Fringe productions. 

Application Guidelines

Send your application, documents, as well as any questions you may have to Harris Frost at harris@playwrights.ca.

The deadline to apply is Monday, October 26th at noon.

Please include the following attachments (preferably as PDFs) in your application email:

1. Your artistic CV and/or bio;
2. A brief cover letter outlining your interest in this mentorship and in French-to-English theatre translation more generally.

Biography of Alexis Diamond

Alexis Diamond is a Montreal-based playwright, opera librettist, translator and theatre curator. Her award-winning plays, operas and translations for audiences of all ages have been presented across Canada, in the U.S. and in Europe. She also collaborates with several international artists on performance-installations involving text, movement and sound. In 2019, Alexis Diamond served as co-artistic director of the Jamais Lu festival, where she also presented a bilingual play, Faux-amis, with co-author Hubert Lemire, with support from the CALQ. In 2018, Alexis joined a multiyear project led by professor Erin Hurley (McGill University) on the history of Quebec’s English-language theatre.

This mentorship is made possible by: