In Their Own Words
Short play Verbatim Theatre Festival
with Joel Bernbaum & Yvette Nolan
On Thursday, May 25, 2023, Writers Fête will present the
In Their Own Words verbatim theatre festival.
Six short original dramas by local and regional writers will be performed as staged readings by Theatre Wakefield actors under the directorial hands of
Joel Bernbaum and Yvette Nolan.
For more information contact Peter Gillies at peteragillies@gmail.com.
In Their Own Words verbatim theatre festival.
Six short original dramas by local and regional writers will be performed as staged readings by Theatre Wakefield actors under the directorial hands of
Joel Bernbaum and Yvette Nolan.
For more information contact Peter Gillies at peteragillies@gmail.com.
Call for Playwrights
Why are we calling YOU?
You are invited to be involved in the May 2023 Wakefield Writers Fête. We want to stimulate your interest in participating in the In Their Own Words (ITOW) verbatim theatre festival, an evening of short (15 minutes max) new play readings addressing current social justice issues, written by writers like yourself.
ITOW is funded by Canadian Heritage and managed by Writers Fête. Joel Bernbaum and Yvette Nolan provide playwright mentoring and play direction, and Theatre Wakefield produces the play readings.
ITOW is funded by Canadian Heritage and managed by Writers Fête. Joel Bernbaum and Yvette Nolan provide playwright mentoring and play direction, and Theatre Wakefield produces the play readings.
How does it work?
1 - Interested writers submit a short (one-page maximum) proposal answering three questions:
January 09, 2023: Deadline for submitting your proposal to joel.bernbaum@gmail.com and cc: to peteragillies@gmail.com
2 - Joel and Yvette will review all proposals and invite selected writers to attend the one-day workshop in Wakefield (or online via Zoom).
3 - January 15, 2023: Joel will hold a one-day workshop covering short play writing and the verbatim theatre genre.
In Person at LaFabSurMill 08chemin Mill in Chelsea. Live stream as well - URL available at this page 24 hours in advance
4 - Joel and Yvette will then choose six writers to develop their own full 15-minute play.
5 - February-early May: Chosen writers will interview people appropriate to their topic, capture and transcribe the interviews, and turn the dialogues into a staged reading (a form of theatre without sets or full costumes). During this process, Joel and Yvette will mentor each writer via Zoom.
6 - Monday, May 22–Wednesday, May 24: Play rehearsals by Theatre Wakefield actors directed by Joel and Yvette.
7 - Thursday, May 25: Presentation of each of the six staged readings during Writers Fête 2023.
- Who are you?
- What is your writing background?
- What social justice issue would you like to explore?
January 09, 2023: Deadline for submitting your proposal to joel.bernbaum@gmail.com and cc: to peteragillies@gmail.com
2 - Joel and Yvette will review all proposals and invite selected writers to attend the one-day workshop in Wakefield (or online via Zoom).
3 - January 15, 2023: Joel will hold a one-day workshop covering short play writing and the verbatim theatre genre.
In Person at LaFabSurMill 08chemin Mill in Chelsea. Live stream as well - URL available at this page 24 hours in advance
4 - Joel and Yvette will then choose six writers to develop their own full 15-minute play.
5 - February-early May: Chosen writers will interview people appropriate to their topic, capture and transcribe the interviews, and turn the dialogues into a staged reading (a form of theatre without sets or full costumes). During this process, Joel and Yvette will mentor each writer via Zoom.
6 - Monday, May 22–Wednesday, May 24: Play rehearsals by Theatre Wakefield actors directed by Joel and Yvette.
7 - Thursday, May 25: Presentation of each of the six staged readings during Writers Fête 2023.
What's in it for you?
- Honorarium for recording and transcribing interviews and playwriting
- Professional play development with Joel and Yvette (Feb to April)
- Opportunity to work with the play director and producer during rehearsals (for those in the West Quebec area)
- A reading of your play at Writers Fête 2023
JOEL BERNBAUM is an actor, director, playwright, journalist, and the founding artistic director of Sum Theatre. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Joel is the only child of a Buddhist mother and Jewish father. He is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts and Carleton University, where he did his master’s thesis on verbatim theatre’s relationship to journalism. With Sum Theatre, Joel created Saskatchewan’s first free professional live Theatre in the Park. To date, over 50,000 people have participated in Sum Theatre’s work.
Joel’s produced plays include Operation Big Rock, My Rabbi (with Kayvon Khoshkam), Home Is a Beautiful Word, and Being Here: The Refugee Project. Joel is currently an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student at the University of Saskatchewan, investigating the potential of theatre to strengthen cities. He is grateful to be the first Urjo Kareda Resident from Saskatchewan and the first Pierre Eilliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar from the University of Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon with his son Judah.
https://www.playwrightscanada.com/Authors/B/Bernbaum-Joel
Joel’s produced plays include Operation Big Rock, My Rabbi (with Kayvon Khoshkam), Home Is a Beautiful Word, and Being Here: The Refugee Project. Joel is currently an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student at the University of Saskatchewan, investigating the potential of theatre to strengthen cities. He is grateful to be the first Urjo Kareda Resident from Saskatchewan and the first Pierre Eilliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar from the University of Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon with his son Judah.
https://www.playwrightscanada.com/Authors/B/Bernbaum-Joel
YVETTE NOLAN is a playwright, dramaturg, and director. Her plays include Annie Mae’s Movement, The Unplugging, and The Birds. She has been writer-in-residence at Brandon University, Mount Royal College, Saskatoon Public Library, and McGill University, as well as playwright-in-residence at the National Arts Centre.
Born in Saskatchewan to an Algonquin mother and an Irish immigrant father and raised in Manitoba, Yvette lived in the Yukon and Nova Scotia, then moved to Toronto where she served as artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts from 2003 to 2011. Her book Medicine Shows, about Indigenous theatre in Canada, was published in 2015. She lives in Saskatoon.
https://www.playwrightscanada.com/Authors/N/Nolan-Yvette
Born in Saskatchewan to an Algonquin mother and an Irish immigrant father and raised in Manitoba, Yvette lived in the Yukon and Nova Scotia, then moved to Toronto where she served as artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts from 2003 to 2011. Her book Medicine Shows, about Indigenous theatre in Canada, was published in 2015. She lives in Saskatoon.
https://www.playwrightscanada.com/Authors/N/Nolan-Yvette
