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2025 Playwriting Lab

Facilitator Vern Thiessen

Location:  Online via Zoom

Dates: June 30- July 9, 2025

Application Deadline: April 22, 2025

A facilitated, online course for about eight playwrights who wish to further develop their playwriting skills and may have had works produced. You do not need to be published to attend. The course will focus on works in progress and will combine group discussion, writing time, and individual critiques. Instruction occurs within a deep-immersion setting over 10 days. Application is open to writers 19 years of age and older from Canada and abroad.

Please click on the headings below to reveal more information.

Application

Applicants will need to provide:
  • Applicant contact information
  • Emergency contact information
  • $30 Application Fee (payable by e-Transfer, Visa / MasterCard, or cheque)
  • Optional: A letter of application for a a bursary or scholarship
  • A brief letter outlining your writing project, including:
    • Goals for your project
    • Where you / your manuscript are in your writing process
    • How you would work on and advance your project while at Sage Hill
    • Any other information that you consider pertinent to your application
  • 12-page sample of your writing. The writing sample can include:
    • works-in-progress that you plan to develop while at Sage Hill (minimum 7 pages)
    • samples of your produced or published work(s)
  • Your literary/dramatic CV

Note:

  • Writing samples up to the page requirement will be reviewed by the jury. Pages in excess will not be reviewed.
  • Please combine all documents into one file to upload with the online application form.
  • PDF and Microsoft Word documents are accepted.
  • If you have trouble when attaching your application materials to the online form, please contact us.
Adjudication process:

All applications go through a competitive, independent peer jury process to maintain a high level of artistic merit in programs. Jury members weigh applications against a rubric of set criteria to assess the quality of writing and readiness for the experience.

Acceptance is determined by:

  • Quality of work submitted
  • Project description
  • Experience and ability to carry out the proposed project
  • Literary CV and publication history
  • Which applicants would most benefit from attending Sage Hill at this point in their development

This adjudication process is usually completed about four weeks after the application deadline. You will be contacted with results after the jury has come forward with its decision.

Online schedule elements

  • Classes usually meet for 1 to 2 hours each day, though they may meet every second day depending on the number of one-on-ones offered by the instructor.
  • Sessions will likely take place in the late morning / early afternoon, to accommodate the various time zones of the writers taking each course. 
  • Each writer will have 1-on-1 sessions scheduled with their instructor throughout the program.
  • With online retreats, we understand that writers may continue to have responsibilities at home. We’ve found that the more time writers put into the program, including time set aside for personal writing and working with feedback received on their writing, the more they get out of the experience!

Tuition

Application Fee: $30
Online Program Tuition: $845

What is covered?

  • Writing retreat in a small group format, led by an accomplished writer and program facilitator
  • 1-on-1 conferences and course time with your instructor
  • Critical feedback on your writing
  • Group sessions and discussions on the craft of writing
  • Access to programmed online readings and other community events
  • Invitation to online social activities with other writers

When and how to make a payment:

Please pay your application fee when you submit your application. Instructions will be provided.

After the jury has reviewed applications, you will be notified via email to let you know whether or not you have been accepted. Tuition payment deadlines / payment plan options will be expressed at that time.

Tuition payments can be made by:

  • E-transfer to sage.hill@sasktel.net (preferred)
  • Cheque mailed to: Sage Hill Writing, 324 – 1831 College Ave., Regina, SK, S4P 4V5
  • Visa or Mastercard (no Amex) by calling 306-537-7243. Please note that credit card payments are subject to a 2.4% processing fee.

Cancellation Policy:

  • There will be a $100 cancellation fee if you withdraw after accepting a spot in a course.
  • If you cancel 14 days or more prior to start date: 50% of tuition is due to Sage Hill. If your tuition has been paid, we will issue a refund of the amount paid less 50% of the total tuition amount.
  • If you cancel 7 days prior to retreat start date: 75% of tuition is due to Sage Hill. If your tuition has been paid, we will issue a refund of the amount paid less 75% of the total tuition amount.
  • Cancellations within one week of program start dates are non-refundable. However, if it is possible to fill your spot in the program, some refund will be available. 
  • Please note that credit card processing fees are non-refundable.

Refunds for COVID-related cancellations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Sage Hill reserves the right to cancel upcoming or in-process programs due to COVID-related health and safety issues or mandates. If a program must be cancelled, payment will be refunded accordingly.

Instructor 

Vern Thiessen is one of Canada’s most produced playwrights. His plays have been seen across Canada, the UK, United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia and been translated in five languages.  His works include The Diviners (with Yvette Nolan), Bluebirds, Of Human Bondage, Vimy, Einstein’s Gift (GG winner), Lenin’s Embalmers (GG finalist), Apple, and Shakespeare’s Will. He has been produced off-Broadway five times. Vern is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Dora and Sterling awards for Outstanding New Play, The Carol Bolt Award, the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award, the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award, the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence, The Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, Canada’s highest honour for a playwright. He was also a finalist for the Siminovich Prize in Playwriting. Vern received his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg and an M.F.A. from the University of Alberta. He has served as president of both the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta. For six years he served as Artistic Director of Workshop West Playwrights Theatre, one of Canada’s leading new play companies. He is married to acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Susie Moloney.

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