Script Development

The Playwrights’ Retreat (formerly Colony) is the centrepiece of PARC’s activities. The first Playwrights’ Retreat was held in 1991 in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. In the following years this “Moveable Feast” was held in one of the four Atlantic Provinces annually, reflecting the organization’s regional scope. Since 2007, the Retreat has been hosted on the campus of Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB, the “Cultural Crossroads of the Maritimes” at the centre of the Atlantic Region.

The Retreat is an intensive two-week session. The first week, playwrights work individually with a dramaturge. In the second week, they work with a company of actors. The Retreat provides playwrights with the time to write, to reflect and to revisit their work in a supportive and nurturing environment.

The Playwrights Retreat offers each playwright these benefits:

• time away from life’s everyday demands to write
• the assistance of a professional dramaturge
• the expertise, skills and talents of a professional company of experienced workshop actors
• interaction and dialogue with other playwrights
• housing, travel, an honorarium and per diems
• public and industry exposure and promotion
• networking possibilities throughout the Region and nationally
• public presentations of excerpts from the works in progress

Deadline for submissions is January 15 annually. Retreat happens for two weeks in May. Detailed submission information is announced in November and can be found HERE.

The Home Delivery Program, PARC’s inaugural script development service, allows playwrights to connect with a professional dramaturge to gain valuable, objective feedback on a script in progress.

The playwright can request a particular dramaturge(s) from anywhere in Canada or PARC can assign an appropriate one. PARC members can apply for one Home Delivery per year and PARC pays the dramaturges’ fee. Home Deliveries are available on a first come, first served basis as funds permit.

The dramaturge will offer generous, well-intentioned comments and ask questions to be considered when writing a new draft. Some areas that may be addressed include: structure, character development, story development, dialogue and style/genre. After a chance to absorb the written feedback, if desired, the playwright can a follow up meeting with the dramaturge (maximum 1 hour) to ask questions or for clarification.

Thank you to the Craig Foundation for support of the Home Delivery Program.

To request a Home Delivery, please fill out THIS form.

Jenny’s Table Readings (formerly Kitchen Table Reading – renamed for long time PARC AD Jenny Munday who passed away in 2021) are an ongoing program made available for PARC members. It allows playwrights the opportunity to hear a new work or work-in-progress read aloud in a private, friendly environment for the first time.

Any member of PARC is eligible to apply for a Jenny’s Table Reading. Selections are made based on the stage of development the script has reached, the number of readers required, the feasibility, the ability of the playwright to access other resources, as well as their ability to make use of the readings as a resource.

Jenny’s Table Reading funds can be used as standalone for one reading or towards a larger, PARC-unaffiliated workshop. The value of a Jenny’s Table Reading is up to $500.

To request a reading, please fill out THIS form.

Intensive workshop sessions on the development of a new script,  involving the playwright, an experienced dramaturge and a company of actors. An opportunity to explore a new script at a deeper level of development designed to bring the work to a production-ready stage. Generally, the playwright has the chance to produce a substantial rewrite over the span of the workshop. Workshops often end with a public reading for audience reaction and/or feedback.

A limited number of script development workshops are offered each year, and range in availability provincially, dependent on outside funding.

For more information on how to have your work considered or whether PARC can help you access funding in your region, contact the Artistic Director at [email protected].

PARC occasionally facilitates translations of works within the Atlantic region. Typically these translations consist of Acadian plays into English, or Atlantic Anglophone plays to French. Scripts from other languages and cultures can be facilitated through PARC as well. Generally, translations are facilitated on a case-by-case basis.

Not about us without us!

Are you writing characters from other backgrounds or abilities? Do you have a storyline or character that involves trauma and you are concerned about how you are representing it? If you need support to ensure accuracy and sensitivity to topics or cultural concerns in your play, PARC can help.

Some consultations fees may be able to be covered through the Home Delivery Program.

Contact the Artistic Director at [email protected] for more details or to request assistance in finding a consultant.