The Playwrights' Progress

Hello Internet,

I'm Wesley Colford, one of the four playwrights-in-residence that Paprika is supporting this year. This is a great program because it allows playwrights to create new work in a supported environment without having the pressure of a production impeding on the work. Like all Paprika programs, each Playwright is given a mentor (usually an established Playwright or Dramaturg) to support them in the creation and revision of a new play. The goal is to choose a project that can be developed through the year in anticipation of a reading in the Festival in March. Throughout the year, the four Playwrights meet (along with our co-ordinator, the brilliantly talented Elise Newman) to compare notes, debate writing strategies, and rehash Doctor Who episodes (slash, 90210 if you're Britta...).

In addition to the public reading, the Paprika staff organize a preliminary private reading for the Playwrights, so that they can hear where they are aprox. a month before the festival, and so that the first time they hear their play isn't in front of a paying audience in the Tarragon Extra Space. For us, that reading took place yesterday!

I can't rave enough about how inspiring it was to hear the work of my fellow Playwrights at last after months of snippits and Stew-fueled discussions. The four plays are incredibly distinct (it's almost like they planned it...), spanning subjects as diverse as the Toronto Occupy Movement, a Schyzophrenic philosopher, the pangs and joys of First Love, and a Musical about coping with Death. It was great to hear them read by an incredibly talented team of actors, and I know for me at least it was an incredibly educational (and necessary) part of the process. Writing can be a very isolated exercise, and for me one of the joys of writing for the stage is the community that comes together to breathe life into your words. After months of 2am writing in my bedroom, it was fantastic to come into a room with other humans to begin the next stage of exploration and discovery - now let the rewrites again!

It's also worth noting how incredibly exciting it was to be in the actual Theatre Passe Muraille rehearsal space with actual Theatre Passe Muraille staff at the table. Paprika is an amazing resource for young artists and a true stepping stone into the professional world. Opportunities like this really drive that point home and I can't say enough how grateful I am to be associated with this terrific team.

Please check out the final readings of these great plays in the Festival - I promise you won't be disappointed! The official schedule should be up very soon, so be sure to keep an eye out for:

A Gorgeous Decline of the Mind, by Sabrina White
Life After, by Britta Johnson
Mature Young Adults, by Wesley Colford
and the Paprika Benefit fundraiser performance of Performing Occupy, by Rosamund Small

I'll check in again closer to the Festival to give you more information on all the plays. In the meantime, stay tuned for the Official Paprika schedule and information about booking tickets (for the first time ever in the Tarragon Extra Space!).

For all the Playwrights-in-Residence,
Wesley J. Colford