A horde of young playwrights is about to captivate Ottawa audiences, as a number of opportunities are cropping up for them to develop their play-writing skills. It is about time that the theatre scene in Ottawa was injected with some fresh perspectives and ideas.
The Great Canadian Theatre Company is currently sponsoring two new programs that encourage Ottawa’s youth to engage in playriting, and Giving Opportunities to Young Artists Theatre Productions held its first annual Ottawa Young Playwrights’ Challenge this June, in which the winner was given a cash prize.
However, while these recent developments certainly give important opportunities to enter the playwriting community, it is up to these young people to commit to their craft and continue presenting plays to Ottawa audiences.
There is currently a lack of established young playwrights in Ottawa. This was clear when the Young Playwrights' Challenge received just one submission for its first year, despite notifications being sent out to drama teachers in all of Ottawa's high schools.
Ed Staples, a 25-year-old playwright who recently presented his play Avenging Harry at the Mercury Lounge, says this is because the theatre community in Ottawa tends to cater to the older generation.
“Theatre is kind of an older person’s art in this town,” says Staples.
“You don’t see a lot of companies putting on new playwrights’ works or [showcasing] local people’s talent.”
He adds that the plays that are put on in Ottawa tend to be well-established plays, such as Wicked or A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Staples is also one of the five participants in the Great Canadian Theatre Company’s new young playwrights group, InFlux, which opened applications to people aged 18 to 25 in September.
The group that has been selected recently met for the first time and are given mentorship in creating their own narrative voice as they each develop a draft of a short play.
The group’s co-ordinator, Jordanna Cox, adds that playwrights may find it difficult to break into the play-writing community. She says they tend to “get the short of end of the stick,” because the play-writing process can be an isolating experience.
The production of a play is a more interactive process as more people become involved, but before the production takes shape, the playwright works in isolation.
Cox adds it is important that young playwrights find representation in the Ottawa theatre scene, because these writers offer new narrative voices and tend to address more contemporary themes.
“The more variety there is on the stage, the more exciting and richer the theatre or arts scene,” says Cox.
This is why efforts must be made to change the structure of the theatre culture in Ottawa.
A current program committed to this goal is the Ottawa branch of the Cappies, also known as the Critics and Awards Program, which runs across Canada and the U.S. teaching high school theatre and journalism students about the various aspects of the theatre. It includes training them as critics and helping schools to put on shows to be critiqued by the students.
The Ottawa UthInk is a more recent opportunity for young people to engage in playwriting. It is sponsored by the Great Canadian Theatre Company and is in its second year.
UthInk runs workshops that help young people between the ages of 12 and 20 to write a play about a specific location within their neighbourhood.
It is clear that there is plenty of room for young people to establish themselves as playwrights in Ottawa.
It is now up to the creative and ambitious youth of Ottawa to show us that the efforts of playwriting programs and workshops are not in vain.