Recommender Grants

Past recipients

Michael Ross Albert – All New Things

A struggling young professional tries to navigate the everyday challenges of living with cancer. A darkly comedic drama, All New Things is about overcoming adversity, finding comfort within chaos, and learning to accept kindness from others. 
“Over the last few years, we’ve all witnessed the fragility of our healthcare system firsthand. In this next phase of the play’s development, I’m interested in focusing on how we access necessary medical care in this province, and the specific, practical challenges of living with an illness when you can’t afford to be sick.”

Lara Arabian – Ship of Fools

The image of the Ship of Fools has been a part of the Western imagination for centuries. In medieval Europe, some cities would create versions of these ‘ships’ as  a way to get rid of their undesirables. By herding them together and kicking them out, they became ‘someone else’s problem’. My piece asks: Who would be put on a modern-day ‘Ship of Fools’ and why? And what does this kind of exclusion, especially in light of the pandemic, look like right now in our city?
“Ship of Fools is the most ambitious piece I’ve ever undertaken and this grant has given me both the time and the confidence to tackle it. It’s been instrumental in allowing me to do a deeper dive on various research threads, going where my curiosity and instinct lead me, and I now have a clearer picture of the roadmap ahead.”

Carly Billings and Patrick Michael Teed – Uninvited Guests

Uninvited Guests is a theatrical triptych, divided into three short plays: The Acknowledgement, Treaty Games, and The Slaughter exploring the colonial violence of land acknowledgements.
“With the RGTC my writing partner Patrick Teed and I will have been able to pay ourselves for our work as researchers, writers and artists in creating a first draft of our project in preparation for an immersive workshop period of that draft this fall/winter.”

Katherine Cullen – Kennel

Kennel, a dark comedy, is the story of four actors rehearsing a Theatre For Young Audiences play when their director and show’s creator, Cynthia, mysteriously doesn’t show up to the final rehearsal. The actors are forced to take matters into their own hands and create a chaotic, disturbing, unintentionally funny and honest offering to child audiences.
“Receiving the RGTC grant through Studio 180 has given me the time and resources to complete Act 2 of this 2 act play. Most importantly, it has allowed me to understand what my next creative steps are towards a workshop draft.”

Cameron Grant – Inheritance (Or Where mi money dey)

A family’s matriarch is dying and aims to split up her estate…You better believe her family is about to fight for their piece of the pie. Inheritance (Or Where mi money dey) is a comedy about entitlement, a family’s relationship to work and wealth, generational misconceptions and bougie ass black people.
“Receiving an RGTC gave me time to dedicate to researching and developing this play. Inheritance was just an idea a year ago and now I am working my way towards a first draft!”

Laura Mullin – The Official Facebook Group of Theatre Educators 

The play is set within the virtual world of a private Facebook group of drama teachers who seek community to share their feelings about their unique and isolating profession. It provides an intimate portal into the lives of the unsung heroes of the theatre world responsible for bringing the magic and humanity that can only exist in a drama class. 
“I have been interviewing drama teachers in Canada and the United States, collecting stories about the profession’s importance and why it’s under threat. These interviews provide the backbone for the first draft of the play.”

Marissa Orjalo – twice blessed

Based on the St. Louis World Fair of 1904 where over 1,000 Filipinos were imported to America to be featured in a human zoo, twice blessed comments on the exploitation of the Filipino Igorot, scientific racism, eugenics, and the meaning of land. This is a narrative about the erasure of home, family, identity, and Indigeneity; it acts as a sort of documentation, to imagine the lives of the Filipina women that have been forgotten and buried 13,000 kilometers away from home.
“A year ago, this play existed as a pile of fervent research on my desk and nothing more; it was a story waiting to be discovered. I am thrilled to say that the RGTC grant has enabled me to complete a full first draft, and carry out a workshop session for the piece. It has enabled me to properly compensate my dramaturg and my workshop actors at LMDA and DOT standards, which means the world to me as an emerging playwright.”

Dalbir Singh – Five Red Hands 

The play is about trauma, both childhood and political set against the backdrop of 9/11.The narrative is centered on five disparate characters, with Sita’s impending arranged marriage structuring the action.
“The RGTC grant allowed me to work on a newer draft of the play, and in particular, helped me create a stronger narrative through line by focusing on the main theme of sibling disconnection and spiritual debasement. As well it helped me to develop the secondary characters in the play.”