APPLICATION FORM
Fill out the online application form and pay the registration fee before January 31. We’ll be in touch to let you know about the next steps.
You must be at least 18 years old as of December 31 of the year of entry at NTS.
WHAT MAKES THE PROGRAM UNIQUE
- A very high teacher-to-student ratio allowing an exceptional response to individual interests, needs, strengths, and challenges
- Instruction from professional playwrights, dramaturgs, and directors who understand the realities of contemporary playwriting
- Invitations to the highly regarded Banff Playwrights Lab: second-year students participate in the Lab to develop their New Words Festival projects
- Productions, workshops, and public readings of student work under the guidance of professional directors and dramaturgs
3 years of training | 2 students per year
Training
The Playwriting Program trains students in the foundational principles of dramatic writing, equipping them with a wide array of tools to generate, shape and analyze their own work, with the end goal of creating plays that fulfil each student’s personal artistic vision.
Writing projects, exercises, workshops, and classes allow students to discover how plays work dramatically, explore new methods of creative generation, practice the challenging art of revision, and identify and pursue their own avenues for artistic growth.
Through class work, discussion, critical analysis, and exposure to a broad variety of styles and forms, both classical and contemporary, the Playwriting Program works to deepen the student’s understanding of the medium of theatre and the art of dramatic writing.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS / STYLE / FORM
DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED
Every application must be accompanied by:
- Two plays of at least 20 pages each (Please ensure your name appears on your play, and pages are numbered)
- A letter of intent
- A theatre resume
Plays submitted must be authored solely by the applicant. Musicals, adaptations and translations are not accepted. Plays and support material must be submitted online.
INTERVIEW
Several candidates are invited to an interview before the final selection is made.
Applicants are notified of the result of the selection process in May.
Curriculum
NTS offers highly individualized training. As such, the curriculum is subject to change, following the latest development in technology, new artistic practices, and the needs of the unique group of artists making up each class. Our training is always practical, supported by the 20 student shows created each year.
See a list of classesSee students in action
2nd-year Playwriting students at the Banff Centre for the Playwrights' Lab where they begin working on their graduating play
Playwriting student Kalale Dalton-Lutale (Toronto, ON) with teaching artist Dean Fleming.
Instructors
Our students are taught and mentored by working professional artists who have their finger on the pulse of the artistic community.
They share a wealth of theatre experience from across Canada and around the world. NTS has an overall ratio of two instructors per student. Our group of teaching artists varies each year according to student needs.
List of artists who mentor our studentsAndrea Romaldi - Director of the Playwriting Program
"Making new plays is as much about self-discovery and human connection as it is about writing. Are you willing to live in uncertainty? To challenge deeply-held beliefs about yourself, fellow human beings, and the world around you? What risks are you willing to take to evoke the rich complexities of human experience on stage?”
Andrea Romaldi is a dramaturg, teacher, and theatre administrator who, during her fifteen-year career in theatre, has also worked as an independent producer, director and actor. Prior to joining the National Theatre School, she spent ten seasons as Literary Manager at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, directing the theatre’s extensive roster of play development programs, and assisting in the development of over 80 new plays, with almost 30 produced.
Read the bio
They produced the work of our Playwriting alumni:
- Alberta Theatre Projects
- Centaur Theatre
- Citadel Theatre
- Factory Theatre
- Magnetic North Theatre Festival
- Geordie Productions
- Native Earth Performing Arts
- Nightwood Theatre
- Tarragon Theatre
- Prairie Theatre Exchange
- Theatre New Brunswick
- National Arts Centre
NEED ANY HELP?
Read the Frequently Asked Questions
CONTACT OUR ADMISSIONS TEAM
514-842-7954, ext. 134