Now seeking applications for our 2022-2023 Young Creators Unit!

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.

Find out more about Leila here


The application period for this year’s YCU has now passed. We’d like to thank each of the creatives who applied.

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.

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

Young Creators Unit 2021-22: Now Open For Applications!

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal is excited to once again be calling for all emerging storytellers under the age of 30 to apply for our YOUNG CREATORS UNIT (YCU)

Applications are open to new and emerging artists. Participants will receive a customized work plan that includes bi-weekly workshops, one-on-one mentorship, grant writing support, and networking opportunities.

PWM strongly encourages applications from Indigenous artists (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), racialized artists (including racialized recent immigrants), members of the 2SLGBTQQIPAA+ communities, Deaf artists, disabled artists, neurodivergent artists, and artists living with chronic illness and/or chronic pain. For questions about accessibility, please contact Jesse Stong at accessibility@playwrights.ca.

Due to the current circumstances of the pandemic, the YCU will only be supporting a maximum of 10 artists*, with a program that will start in October online (over Zoom), and then hopefully shift into smaller live groups/workshops. Group workshops will take place bi-weekly on TUESDAYS FROM 2PM-5PM. The program will run from October 19th 2021 to May 20th 2022  

*Because we only have limited spots this year, please only apply if you are available for this weekly timeslot, and committed to your project/attendance/participation.

how to apply

Send a one-page application to jesse@playwrights.ca by October 9, 2021. You will receive a response by October 12, 2021.

Your application should include:

  • 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.
  • One paragraph on why you would like to join the unit, and what you hope to get out of it.


Please email jesse@playwrights.ca with any additional questions, or for support with the application if needed. 

Learn more about the YCU

Livestream: Writers’ Warm-up by Jesse Stong

Every Monday and Friday, start your morning on the right creative foot with a dynamic writing activity facilitated by Playwright and PWM Dramaturg Jesse Stong!

Video of the first Writers’ Warm-up, April 06 2020

Storytelling is important. The stories we tell and how we tell them say a lot about our identities.

Unfortunately, in these times of physical distancing and heightened anxiety, it can be hard, as a writer, to get going in the morning. Life block is writer’s block, your life is part of your story and what blocks you in life will block you in your stories as well.

To help unfreeze our quarantine-addled minds, Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal own Jesse Stong helps us kickstart our days live on YouTube, every Monday and Friday at 10:15 AM, with 15-minute hands-on activities designed to support new, emerging and established storytellers!

Tune-in to our Youtube channel here
(and while you are there, do not forget to subscribe to stay up-to-date with our latest videos!)

About Jesse Stong

Jesse Stong is a proud father of twins, a graduate of Playwriting from the National Theatre School of Canada, and received his Master’s in Art Education from Concordia University.

He is an award-winning artist, dramaturg, and educator. Over the years, he has supported over 100 emerging Canadian storytellers as director of our Young Creators Unit. He also leads our New Stories Project Unit for artist with different abilities.

Jesse was recently Manager of Children’s Programming for Watchmojo.com, Associate Curator for the National Arts Centre Disability Summit, and Host of the Montreal English Theatre Awards. He is currently developing an intermedia puppetry project launching fall 2020.

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