Ten theatres across Canada are joining together to create the first National Queer and Trans Playwriting Unit (NQTPU)..It gives five mid-career queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming artists a $2000-per-month stipend for 10 months to create plays “that reflect their reality,” with the help of an advisor..It is the first ever national playwriting unit devoted only to queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming stories..Vancouver’s Zee Zee Theatre Company (ZZT) is spearheading the project, which is “devoted to telling the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit, and intersex people, on stage.”."Time and again we see a lack of queer and trans plays being produced on stages across Canada,” said ZZT in a press release. “Ultimately furthering equality for all queer and trans people,” is ZZT’s goal..“The playwright is the thing. They’re why we hire actors and the crew,” said Cameron Mackenzie, ZZT’s artistic and executive director, to CBC News..”If you have more diverse stories, you’ll have more diverse actors.”.Montreal’s Imago Theatre’s Artistic Director Micheline Chevrier gets frustrated by the lack of diversity when creating a theatre season..”Every time we put together a season and we’re looking for plays, I’m frustrated by what I’m not finding," Chevrier told CBC News Quebec..“So, I think that this unit is necessary and it’s also a signal, I think, to many companies to start encouraging those kinds of works.”.The mission of the Imago Theatre is “to present plays that are about women and marginalized voices.”.Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre’s new artistic director, Heather Cant, said that queer and trans voices lack representation and the NQTPU provides an avenue for societal acceptance..“It’s no secret that queer and trans people in our country and our community continue to struggle to find acceptance and support for themselves and their identities — and theatre plays a part in that,” Cant told CBC News Saskatchewan..“We choose whose stories get told and that has not always included queer and trans voices.”.The ZZT describes the plays “as a canon of five new Canadian intersectional plays that ensures a more equitable representation of 2SLGBTQ+ artists and stories.”.“Not seeing ourselves reflected does have negative impacts on our mental health and well-being. Absence is not neutral, but in fact entirely detrimental,” said the ZZT press release. .“There’s a lack of queer and trans plays being produced on stages across Canada.”.Any of the 10 participating theatre companies can put on the plays in their city..The five participants can work from anywhere across Canada as the positions can be done remotely. July 5 is the application deadline.
