The Obsidian Playwrights Unit is an intensive play development program that will support 2 to 3 Black playwrights through virtual group sessions and individual mentorship from November 2024 through June 2025. Facilitated by actor and playwright, Lisa Codrington, the unit will discuss and develop their plays culminating in a performance where each playwright has the chance to workshop an excerpt of their piece with actors and a director, and hear it read aloud at Obsidian’s annual Playwrights Unit Showcase in Toronto, ON.
Obsidian Theatre is interested in showcasing the richness and complexity of Blackness in all of its intersections so that our art can truly reflect the communities we serve. What stories do you want to bring to the stage and why? What does your idea/play bring to a Canadian stage that has not been seen before? These are just some of the questions we are interested in discussing and exploring as we begin the journey of developing new work.
Submissions for our 2024/2025 Playwrights Unit are now closed!
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Bio or CV
- Your CV can be unrelated to playwriting.
Artist Statement (PDF, maximum 750 words)
- Tell us about yourself and your artistic practice
- Describe your play
- How does your play connect to you and/or how will your play support your growth as an artist
Here are some suggestions of questions to answer within the statement:
- Why (and/or why now) are you considering Obsidian’s Playwrights Unit?
- What ideas and questions are you exploring in your play?
- What do you wish to learn from the unit?
- What inspired your play?
- What Black artists/Black art inspires you and why?
Writing Sample (PDF, maximum 7 pages)
- A sample of past work OR
- A sample of the play you would like to develop in the unit OR
- A synopsis of the new play you would like to develop in the unit (minimum 3 pages)
PLEASE COMPILE ARTIST STATEMENT AND WRITING SAMPLE INTO ONE (1) PDF.
Application deadline: Monday, September 9, 2024 @ 12:00 PM EST
If you have any questions or need accessibility accommodations with the application, please contact daniel jelani ellis at op@obsidiantheatre.com. Once you have submitted we’re unable to discuss or provide feedback due to the volume of submissions but all applicants will be notified of their status by early October. Thank you!
Playwrights Unit Facilitator
Lisa Codrington
Lisa Codrington is an actor and writer based in Toronto. She has been nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Drama and is a recipient of the K.M. Hunter Theater Award and the Carol Bolt Award for Playwrights.
Selected writing credits include The Prescription – 21 Black Futures (Obsidian/CBC) The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God (Shaw Festival, Karamu House); Up the Garden Path (Obsidian Theatre); The Aftermath (Groundswell Festival, Femfest); The Colony – Opera to Go (Tapestry); Cast Iron (Nightwood Theatre & Obsidian Theatre).
Currently, Lisa is developing two new plays and is playwright in residence at Why Not Theatre.
To see Playwright Unit Alumni, click here!
For any questions you might have about the unit, please contact our artistic producer, daniel jelani ellis, at op@obsidiantheatre.com.