Playwrights Lab 2027 (Banff Centre)

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AFA News Theatre Southern Alberta Residencies

DEADLINE: November 25, 2026 - 5:00 pm

Application Deadline: November 25, 2026
Program Dates: May 10 to 22, 2027
For more information and to apply.

The Lab gives playwrights dedicated time, space, and resources to experiment, rewrite, and explore their work with experienced faculty. Community is central to the residency. Through facilitated conversations, shared inquiry, and informal exchange, participants learn from mentorship and one another while pursuing their own creative process. The result is a dynamic and supportive environment in which new work can take risks, evolve, and deepen.

Description

Led by experienced experts in new plays, the Lab fosters risk-taking and innovation and is a catalyst for meaningful artistic breakthroughs. Through dedicated time, expert mentorship, and collaborative exchange, playwrights will:

  • Support New Play Development 
    Provide playwrights with dedicated time, space, and resources to advance a new or in-progress script  
  • Learn from Lectures and Q & As 
    Faculty talks and group dialogues on issues of the day
  • Prioritize Artistic Process 
    Emphasize experimentation, discovery, and revision, creating a lab environment where risk-taking and failure are part of the process.
  • Cultivate Dramaturgical Practice 
    Deepen participants’ understanding of structure, language, and character through dramaturgical support.
  • Build Artistic Community 
    Create a national and international network of artists, offering space for exchange, mentorship, and long-term creative relationships. 

Requirements

This program is open to Canadian playwrights writing in English at all stages of their careers who are looking to dedicate time to developing their scripts.

This year’s Lab features two application streams:

  • Emerging Playwrights: For writers with less than 5 years of practice and fewer than 2 professionally produced plays.
  • Established Playwrights: For those with significant experience who are looking for dedicated time to work on their projects.

Emerging playwrights spend structured instruction time with a faculty mentor, whereas the established stream is more self directed. Please identify your preferred stream in your application.