We are thrilled to start the new year with the announcement of our new cohort! It is our great pleasure to introduce the playwrights behind Write from the Hip 2026: Alison Adams, Nicci Pryce, Rais Clarke-Mendes, Sal Currie, and Vanessa Spence!
With the support of Program Director Intisar Awisse and Program Associate Mya Wong, these five early-career playwrights will spend this year developing their plays in advance of the 2026 Groundswell Festival. We are immensely excited to see how their craft grows over the year! Read more about these incredible artists & their pieces below.
Alison Adams is a graduate from the University of Windsor’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting program. Recently, she presented two of her plays at Half Blind Owl’s The Slate Festival: “stupid dumb idiot” in 2024 and “Perfect, Perfect Girls” in 2025. She is currently developing a new work, “One Million Love Songs,” with The Vault Creation Lab. Alison is very excited to delve into the esteemed Write From The Hip program with her newest work, “Hooks.”
Hooks explores performance of power versus a genuine endowment of power in competitive Mixed Martial Arts, and what it truly means to be a predator.
Rais Clarke-Mendes is a Trinidadian-Barbadian actor, director, and emerging playwright. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, she has honed her craft performing heightened text at The Shaw Festival. A dedicated advocate for Black and Caribbean communities, Rais channels this commitment through her work as a director. She is also engaged in arts education with the Nia Centre for the Arts and shares her love of literature as a book reviewer on Instagram (@rayrayreviewed).
Carnival Queen: During Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, Anya journeys through a world where folklore, love, violence and masquerade blur, compelling her to confront her agency and selfhood.
Sal Currie is a playwright and actor based out of Toronto. Currie’s work operates in shades of contrast. Their passion lies in dragging complicated subjects to the surface, whether that be abortion (It’s Not a Boy! Blue Canoe Productions, 2016), addiction (I Got My Life Back, NTS, 2021), or rape culture (Charlotte Louise, Queen’s Students on Boradway, 2017). They are a proud graduate of both Queen’s University (2018) & The National Theatre School of Canada (2021).
Eaglet: Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt navigates a tryst with an untrustworthy prince, while over a century later, playwright Eaglet unpacks her own failed start in romance.
Nicci Pryce (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is rooted in passion, vulnerability, and social justice. With a BA in Media Production from TMU, they contributed to creating a wide array of projects ranging from mixtapes, theatrical productions, and short films each with a definitive focus on amplifying underrepresented narratives. Their artistic journey has been shaped by collaboration with companies such as Theatre Gargantua, Bad Hats, Crane Creations, Soulpepper, and New Harlem Productions.
Medusa and the Maneaters: After a disastrous Olympian party, Medusa is forced to embrace a new identity and aid their sisters in refilling Gorgon’s Grove with “worthy” victims.
Vanessa Spence is a classically trained actor, producer, emerging playwright & director, and professional human being. She is the founder & artistic director of Virtu Arts Theatre, serving the Black diaspora of artists based outside of Toronto. Her artistic practice is rooted in amplifying the intricate stories of Afro-Caribbean femme bodies and minds while advancing the conversation of what it means to be a Black artist based in regions where they are not adequately represented.
With their childhood home at the centre, Catchin’ Tail follows migrant Trinidadian sisters as they reckon with aging, unrealised dreams, and sisterhood with humor and vulnerability.