Playwright's Professional Development Residency 2024 - 2026

Artist Statement:

I am excited to dig deep into finding my voice as a writer, experimenting with different entry points to writing and drawing from diverse sources of inspiration so as to push my own writing practice. I’m also keen to explore different forms and genres, using this space and time to play with various ways of telling stories and finding out through discussions and sharings how audiences respond to different styles of writing. Lastly, I hope to be challenged by the other writers in this group, to be confronted and questioned and inspired and moved by this collaborative and communal space. Writing can be a lonely endeavour but theatre making itself is ultimately collaborative, and I'm enthusiastic to see how the writing process can be nurtured and shaped through this collaborative aspect.

Artist Statement:

As a playwright enchanted by the magic of words and the wonder of human connection, my words on paper dance between the realms of reality and imagination. I seek to capture the delicate threads of dreams and dilemmas. Joining the resident playwrights program is a chance to immerse myself in a tapestry of creativity and to collaborate with kindred spirits. Through this residency, I hope to go on journey of collective introspection, where we can transform the mundane into the extraordinary, and inspire audiences to see the world through a lens of infinite possibility.

Artist Statement:

I'm at a point in my relationship with writing where I need structure and community to engage with it in a fulfilling way. Being surrounded by other theatre practitioners and playwrights has always been an important part of my process as a writer - because when artists get together, magic happens! And very few things excite my imagination more than discussing the craft of playwriting and its place in the world. 

It is my hope that by joining this residency, that I will be able to find new ways of telling old stories; ways that can attract new audiences and provoke new lines of thinking. 

Artist Statement:

I consider myself an early-career theatre practitioner, and it's very humbling to be in the same company as these group of individuals. I'm excited to be inspired by them and also be part of a process where we help each other find what we are looking for as creators.

For me, I look forward to going beyond what I'm accustomed to as a writer and unlock possibilities I've never dreamt of. I also see this as a space where my values and opinions about writing can be challenged and re-shaped, and from here, to have a broadened perspective about what my voice as a playwright is in relation to society.

Residents, together with the residency facilitators, meet to read and discuss plays to hone in on questions of craft, politics, artistry, and their personal point of view. This culminates in a public sharing of writing at the end of the chapter.

• May - Jul 2024
  Weekly meetings to read and discuss plays, issues, and topics in playwriting. There will be a one-week break after every three weeks.

• Aug 2024
  Studio time where residents develop writing and presentations for the end-of-chapter public sharing

• 14 Sep 2024
  End-of-chapter public sharing: Playwrights Breaking Things

• Sep 2024
  Break! 

The residency hones in on a line of creative inquiry that’s shaped by the desires and interests of the group, continuing the work of reading, discussing, and writing. Weekly meetings will take place to discuss craft-related issues and aspirations, and include engaging with guest speakers via masterclasses and artist-talks. This culminates in a public sharing at the end of the chapter.

• Oct - Nov 2024
  Weekly meetings to read and discuss creative works, issues, and topics in the field of writing. There will be a one-week interval after every three weeks.

• Dec 2024
  Break!

   

• 22 Mar 2025
  End-of-chapter public sharing: Playwrights in a Mad World

   

• Jan - Mar 2025
  Studio time where residents develop writing and presentations for the end-of-chapter public sharing.

• Apr 2025
  Debrief and break!

The second year gives writers time and space to develop a full length work from idea to a finished draft. The play will be presented as a dramatized reading at the end of the year. The residency structure will focus on group support and critique of these plays, and also expand to provide writers with more tailored support, e.g. engaging with mentors, community groups, shadowing professional processes etc.

• May - Jul 2025
  Writers present their play ideas and research, and kickstart the writing process. Weekly meetings will focus on bringing in pages for critique.

• Aug 2025
  Writing break to work towards a first draft of the play.

• Sep - Nov 2025
  Writers meet to read and critique their first drafts, working towards a second draft.

• Nov - Dec 2025
  Dramaturgical workshops.

• Dec 2025
  Break!

• Jan - Mar 2026
  Final studio meetings to refine the play, rehearsals for the dramatized readings, and end-of-residency presentations.