Amplifier

Who is eligible to apply?

Professional theatrical writers who are members of the Indigenous community (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) or other cultural communities, or who are first- or second-generation immigrants.

What are the program objectives?

With this program, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and its partners, the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD), the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) and LA SERRE – arts vivants aim to achieve the following objectives:

• promote the artistic and social contributions of culturally diverse or allophone theatre artists who create in one of Canada’s official languages
• provide meaningful support and level the playing field for Montréal theatre artists from Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit) or other cultural communities, or who are first- or second-generation immigrants, particularly in terms of inclusion, access to resources and services, visibility, legitimization, funding, etc.
• foster exchange between Montréal’s French- and English-speaking theatre communities while encouraging intercultural encounters and greater representativeness of culturally diverse artists from the Montréal theatre community and on the Montréal stage

More details about the program

The call for proposals alternates between French (odd years) and English (even years). Through our partners, the selected playwright for the 2024 edition will benefit from a theatrical mentorship from the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM), a production and project management mentoring from LA SERRE-arts vivants, including a creative laboratory.  

What type of assistance is provided?

A $13,000 grant and several support services.

What is the duration of the support?

The project will be carried out over a two-year period.

What do the partners contribute?

Year 1

A 30-hour theatrical mentorship offered by:

• the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) – odd-numbered years
• the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) – even-numbered years

9 hours of theatrical workshops, followed by a reading presentation with actors, offered by:

• the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) – odd-numbered years
• the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal Playwrights (PWM) – even-numbered years

Year 2

• A 50-hour production and management support offered by LA SERRE – arts vivants
• 60 hours of free access to the studios of the Conseil
• Creative laboratory (one week) facilitated by LA SERRE – arts vivants with a professional team, possibly culminating in a public presentation or sharing of ideas

What types of projects are eligible?

• Theatrical writing projects
• Various types of texts are eligible such as written projects for theatre, such as scripts or other dramatic writing

What types of projects are eligible?

Research, creation and production.

What are the general eligibility conditions?

• Be a professional theatre creator who identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) or as being part of a cultural minority, including 1st or 2nd generation immigrant artists (as defined in the Conseil des Arts de Montréal’s glossary), working creatively in one of Canada’s official languages 
• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada on the application deadline
• Reside on the Island of Montréal
• Have written one theatrical work in one of Canada’s two official languages
• Be available to take part in the project activities for a period of two years

How many applications will be accepted?

Only one applicant will be selected. This is a one-time, non-recurring grant.

Who is ineligible to apply?

Applicants

• Artists who do not meet the eligibility requirements

Projects

• Projects already created on stage or ready to be created, produced and presented on stage
• Projects completed before the Conseil’s decision is received (allow 12 to 14 weeks from the submission deadline)
• Projects that are essentially promotional
• Incomplete applications
• Applications submitted by an arts organization or artists’ collective
• Applications received after the deadline

Can specific populations receive additional financial support to submit their application or complete their project (accessibility costs)?

Yes. Accessibility costs refer to costs that certain individuals, particularly those who are D/deaf and/or living with a disability, must pay to take advantage, in the same way as others do, of the services and programs offered by an institution for research, to create, produce or disseminate their art. Reimbursement of part of these costs by the Conseil des arts de Montréal may offset the financial disadvantage.

The Support Fund for Accessibility Costs is a financial assistance measure that complements the Conseil’s other programs. The deadline to apply for support for accessibility costs is the same as that for the program being applied to.

Artists, collectives or organizations that have obtained financial assistance from the Conseil to carry out a project can also file an application for accessibility cost support up to three months after the decisions related to the successful project have been sent out, provided the project is not completed before the deadline to send out decisions for accessibility cost support applications.

Support is divided into three components:

• component 1 – Financial support to submit a grant application or to apply for one of the Conseil’s initiatives
• component 2 – Financial support for accessibility costs for a project funded by the Conseil
• component 3 – Financial support for presenter organizations for accessibility costs to welcome audiences for a project funded by the Conseil

For more details, please see this additional information on the Support Fund.

How can I submit an application?

Visit the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM) website to learn more and submit your application.

How are applications evaluated?

The jury for the 2024 edition will be composed of one representative from each of the partner organizations: the Conseil, the PWM and LA SERRE-arts vivants. 

All projects will be evaluated on merit; the projects’ comparative value will be taken into consideration.

What are the evaluation criteria?

The evaluation committee will pay particular attention to the diversity of practices, the artists’ level of experience, their specific needs and gender parity (LGBTQ+).

During its deliberations, the evaluation committee will take into account the project objectives set out above and the following evaluation criteria:

• artistic merit of the project
• artistic quality and originality of past productions
• impact on the artist’s integration into the Montréal arts community
• project feasibility
• how realistic the proposal is

What is the response time?

Decisions will be sent 12 to 14 weeks after the application deadline.

How will the artist grant be paid?

Year 1

The grant is paid in a single instalment of $3,000 following the kick-off meeting at the start of the project. 

Year 2

A single payment of $10,000 paid following the mid-term meeting (at the end of the process with PWM) 

Payment times may vary depending on the internal processing time of Ville de Montréal departments, which are beyond the control of the Conseil des arts de Montréal.   

Commitments

Accepting payment of the grant constitutes, for the artist, an undertaking to complete the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the accompanying conditions, which will be communicated upon selection of the application.

Artists agree to:

• carry out the proposed project as planned
• notify the Conseil as soon as possible if unable to carry out the project in the fiscal year for which the grant was awarded. Depending on the situation, a full or partial refund may be requested
• if requested, submit activity reports and financial statements at the required times
• if applicable, include in the report photographs, videos or any other relevant, royalty-free visuals that the Conseil may use for promotional or archival purposes

In addition, organizations, collectives, artists and their representatives agree at all times not to communicate with members of the evaluation committees or members of the Council’s Board of Directors in any matter relating to the management, evaluation or decisions related to their application.  

The Conseil des arts de Montréal staff are available to answer questions about the application evaluation process and decisions.