We Are Now Taking MSG Lab Submissions for 2022-23
Are you an Asian Canadian writer and creator? Would you like to get your play off the page and on a stage? Submit to our 2022-2023 MSG Lab, vAct’s annual new work development program!
Deadline to apply April 1, 2022 11:59pm PST
Facilitating the creation and development of new theatrical work by emerging and mid-career Asian Canadian artists, this program is our commitment to the next generation of Asian Canadian theatre-makers. The MSG Lab showcases stories from Asian Canadian perspectives and develops new works for future production opportunities. The MSG Lab runs from May 2022 – January 2023, inclusive of a playwriting workshop, Block V in May – June 2022.
***NEW IN 2022****
Are you a playwright that writes on your feet in a studio? Creating a hybrid work? Or creating devised work? Then MSG Lab is also for you! This year we are piloting a new stream for creators who do not work in traditional modes of playwriting. This is an opportunity for experimental writers to explore and design their own writing/creation process. The process can be in-studio creation, online/hybrid, or other processes that stimulate your work. This work does not necessarily have to produce a traditional “script”. However, an online or in-person showing will be required.
During the MSG Lab, each writer will have a personally designed process that will propel the current script/proposal to a more fully realized version for an informal public presentation. Selected applicants will receive development support including: a $2000 stipend per project, with additional fees for workshops, and 60 hours of dramaturgical support (inclusive of workshops and a public presentation). In consultation with the dramaturg, each writer will have the opportunity to design a personalized writing/creation process that best serves their creative needs.
Call for Submissions
Now taking in 2022-2023 MSG 1 – deadline to apply is April 1, 2022 at 11:59pm PST.
Timeline:
MSG Lab Application Deadline: April 1, 2022 at 11:59PM PST
MSG Lab Adjudication of plays
MSG Lab Playwrights Announced: April 29, 2022
Block V workshop: May – June 2022 (This will be scheduled according to playwrights’ availabilities)
Script development with dramaturg: July, 2022 – January, 2023
MSG Lab Workshops & Presentations: January 2023
Submission Checklist:
- Ensure that you can make the time commitments found on the timeline.
- A cover letter (2 pages maximum) discussing the rationale behind your proposed project, for example: What is your project about? What is your vision for this project? Why this particular project now? Why the MSG Lab? What are your needs and expectations of this process?
- Curriculum vitae of the applicant (2 page maximum);
- A brief writing plan of the entire project, including development history, if applicable (1 page maximum);
- A current draft, a collection of scenes, or a detailed sketch of the proposed project, with numbered pages;
- Assemble cover letter, CV, work plan in ONE PDF file. SEND YOUR DRAFT IN A SEPARATE PDF. If you would like to submit your application via video please upload 5 minutes max with the same information requested above.
Submissions are read by a panel of curatorial staff led by vAct Resident Dramaturg June Fukumura and guest adjudicators.
Shortlisted candidates may be contacted for a follow-up interview.
Decisions will be made by April 29, 2022.
We are looking for engagements with a broad spectrum of Asian playwrights (including but not limited to Pan-Asia Pacific, South Asia, Western Asia and the Middle East, Pacific Islanders, and Asian Canadians of mixed ethnic/cultural backgrounds).
If you have any questions regarding the application process, access needs/accommodations, or your eligibility, please contact, June Fukumura at june@vact.ca. We look forward to receiving your submissions!
