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2025 Playwriting Lab
Facilitator Vern Thiessen
Location: In Person at St. Peter’s College, Muenster, SK, Canada
Dates: July 2 – 11, 2025
A facilitated, in person course for 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.
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:
- 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.
In Person Schedule Elements
- Classes typically meet for 1 to 2 hours each day or every second day.
- Each writer will have a minimum of two 1-on-1 sessions scheduled with their instructor throughout the program.
- Each writer will have plenty of personal writing time.
Tuition
Application Fee: $30
In Person Program Tuition: $2195 (includes accommodations, meals, and snacks)
What is covered?
- Accommodation at St. Peter’s College in your own private room with ensuite bathroom
- Three buffet-style meals per day, and snacks
- Writing retreat as part of a small group, led by program faculty
- 1-on-1 conferences and course time with your instructor
- Critical feedback on writing submissions
- Courses and discussions on the craft of writing
- Private meeting spaces for 1-on-1 instruction and workshops
- Printer and office equipment
- Wi-Fi access
- Writing desk and chair in your room
- Access to full college library on-site
- Comfortable lounge areas
- Coffee and tea station available all hours
- Access to kitchenette with microwave and fridge
- Free laundry facilities
- Games room
- Access to fitness centre
- Book table to sell your works and buy the works of others
- Arranged trips to nearby towns and other programmed events
- Additional amenities as listed on the Accomodations section
When and how to make a payment:
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.
Accommodations
For more information on venue and accommodations, click here.
St. Peter’s College is an off-campus, affiliated college of the University of Saskatchewan. The venue is located on 500 acres of mixed forest and farmlands in East Central Saskatchewan, on Highway 5 in the quiet village of Muenster, SK.
Muenster is 120km east of Saskatoon and 230km north of Regina, and only 9 km from the City of Humboldt. Humboldt offers a fair number of restaurants and shops, from liquor stores to pharmacies. Should you want a brief reprieve from writing, Sage Hill staff can drive those without vehicles into Humboldt for supplies.
For directions to St. Peter’s, visit their website. You can find a campus map here.
Participants will stay in Severin Hall, one of the university students’ residences.
There is an active Benedictine Abbey on site. Sage Hill Writing and St. Peter’s College/Abbey welcome all faiths and beliefs and there is no expectation of participation in religious services.
The facility has the following amenities:
- Your own private room with ensuite bathroom
- Writing desk and chair in your room
- Space for 1-on-1 instruction and workshops
- Comfortable lounge areas
- Access to kitchenette with fridge
- Coffee and tea station available at all hours
- Laundry facilities
- Games Room
- Book table provides the opportunity to sell your works and to buy the works of others
- Library on site
- Wi-Fi access
- Treed grounds, walking trails, gardens
- Access to fitness centre
- Outdoor soccer pitch
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.