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 2022 edition will benefit from a theatrical mentorship from the Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM), a mentorship at LA SERRE – arts vivants, and have the opportunity to present their project at their festival.

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 (PWM) – even-numbered years
• 9 hours of theatrical workshops, followed by a closed-circuit reading with performers, offered by:
• the Centre des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) – odd-numbered years
• the Playwrights’ Workshop (PWM) – even-numbered years

Year 2

• a 40-hour production and management mentorship offered by LA SERRE – arts vivants
• 60 hours of free access to the studios of the Conseil
• two performances of the project presented in lab format by LA SERRE – arts vivants

What types of projects are eligible?

Theatrical writing projects. Various types of texts are eligible such as dramatic writing, scripts or screenplays, or storytelling with theatrical qualities.

What types of projects are eligible?

Research, creation and production.

What are the general eligibility conditions?

• be a professional theatre artist from an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) or other cultural community or who is a first- or second-generation immigrant or a visible minority.
• 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?

Ineligible applicants

• artists who do not meet the eligibility requirements

Ineligible 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

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 2021 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 sent with the acceptance letter at the start of the project.

Year 2

$10,000 in instalments:

• an initial payment of $9,000 at the beginning of the second year after submission of a production budget to carry out the laboratory
• a final payment of $1,000 after submission of the final report

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