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WRITE FROM THE HIP

Nightwood’s celebrated Write from the Hip program is a year-long script development program designed to support self-identifying emerging playwrights through mentorship, participation in a playwright’s unit, and one-on-one dramaturgy. Participants work towards the completion of a full-length play that culminates in a public reading with professional actors and a director as part of our Groundswell Festival. 

This program is open to women and gender-expansive people. This includes cis and trans women, trans men, as well as non-binary, 2-Spirit, genderfluid, and gender non-conforming folks. We accept applications from early career theatre artists and/or arts workers who are aged 18+. The program runs from January to November and will be held in-person in Toronto. 

Please see below for FAQs and information on our next round of applications.

2026 Playwrights

Read more about their pieces →

Alison Adams

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.”

Rais Clarke-Mendes

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).

Sal Currie

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).

Nicci Pryce

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.

Vanessa Spence

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.

2026 TEAM

Intisar Awisse

Program Director

Intisar Awisse is a theatre-maker, playwright, dramaturg, and creative producer. She has been creating theatre for the last ten years with a focus on new plays, devised ensemble work, adaptations, and dance-based performance. Her work includes projects for theatre companies such as Dancemakers, Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival (Meighen Forum), Greenlight Arts, Why Not Theatre, and the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. She was an inaugural ThisGen Dramaturgy Fellow with Why Not Theatre and is currently ThisGen’s Artistic Producer where she supports theatre artists from across Canada. She often leads dramaturgy and creation workshops and has been a guest lecturer and facilitator for various institutions on topics such as Contemporary Dramaturgy and Performance Practice, Script Analysis, Canadian Theatre History, and Black British Theatre. Outside of performance, she regularly works as an editor and educator with experience in both book publishing and arts education.

Mya Wong

Program Associate

Mya Wong (she/her) is a queer, Chinese-Vietnamese artist based in Toronto, Ontario. She loves to explore all the messy, silly, vicious parts of humanity, and to invite audiences to do the same with her. Since graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University with a BFA in Acting, Mya has been developing her dramaturgy practice with a focus on new work that centres underrepresented identities and perspectives. Select theatre credits include: Dramaturg, Playwrights in Process (Doormouse Productions); Production Dramaturg/Assistant Director, Ordinary Days (Shifting Ground Collective); A Perfect Bowl of Pho (Toronto Fringe Festival); Risk! A Climate Cabaret (United Nations with Live Canon).

Program Support Provided By The RBC Foundation

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

All applicants must:

  • Identify as a woman or gender-expansive person, per Nightwood’s mandate. This includes cis and trans women, trans men, as well as non-binary, 2-Spirit, genderfluid, and gender non-conforming folks
  • Be over the age of 18
  • Be eligible to work in Canada
  • Self-identify as early in their playwriting career (ie, have not had a professional production of your work)

 

If you fall outside of the eligibility or are unsure that you meet the requirements, please reach out to us! If the Shadow Residencies are not a fit, we’re happy to recommend other, more suited programs. 

We’re looking for playwrights and creators who are 18+ and self-identify as being in their early career. The program is best suited for folks who are in the first few years of their professional practice or are looking to expand into playwriting from another creative writing medium. Post-secondary training is not required.

Write From The Hip has developed many styles of pieces through its history. Please note, this is explicitly a play development program and other forms of creative writing, such as poetry or screenplays, might find more suitable feedback elsewhere. While we have the ability to nurture many styles of plays, we have found that the most successful supported pieces tend to be more text-based.

Write from the Hip runs from January until the Groundswell Festival in the fall of the same year. 

Over the course of the program, participants will have at least 4 group meetings every 2-3 months. Interstitial one-on-one meetings between playwrights and the Write From The Hip program director take place virtually on an as-needed basis. The program will finish after the annual Groundswell Festival.

We believe that you will get the most out of this program if you are not currently a full-time student and we’d encourage you to apply once you’ve completed your program.

All of the shadow placements take place in-person in Toronto. We encourage folks in the GTA able to regularly travel to Toronto to apply and will continue to provide other opportunities to connect with other artists across Canada.

Applications are viewed by a small team of Nightwood Staff and mentors, with consultation from select members of the outgoing Innovators cohort. 

We consider a number of factors, including:
Who will get the most out of this program?
Who would not get this kind of opportunity elsewhere?
Who demonstrates values that align with Nightwood’s?

We hear you! We recognize the strengths of the previous Innovators program in fostering connections and exploring diverse workshop topics. Building on this success, we’re expanding our workshop offerings to be open to the broader community. Additionally, we’re continually seeking new ways to engage the public throughout our season.

For individuals interested in a more structured program, we’re happy to recommend other suitable options offered by other amazing Toronto organizations.

Write from the Hip applications will reopen in Fall 2026 for the 2027 cohort.

You can reach Jade via email at courtney@nightwoodtheatre.net.