2026 Public Workshop Series
The Show Will Go On: The Basics of Running a Smooth Event
DATE: May 12th & 19th, 2026 | TIME: 6 – 8 pm | LOCATION: online via Zoom
COST: Full $210 | Reduced $55 | 2 FREE spots
Learn about the basics of planning an event. Ideal for folks new to organizing live events and shows, with some “ensemble” building allowing folks to share their big production questions and Davey offering some best practices in response.
In this workshop, Davey Samuel Calderon, a producer and coordinator of various events (festivals, workshops, indie shows, community gatherings, and fundraisers etc), invites participants to learn about the basics of planning an event. Ideal for folks new to organizing live events and shows, with some “ensemble” building allowing folks to share their big production questions and Davey offering some best practices in response.
- Participants of all experience levels are welcome.
Materials and Tech setup to have ready
- Participants will need a description of their project, and a 1 – 2 questions they may have about event organizing/producing.
- Participants to prepare the best way they would like to record notes at home
- Making sure their devices camera and microphone set up is ideal for Zoom (especially having the most updated version of Zoom).
Access:
- Davey’s basics tips will be shared as Word and PDF documents post workshop
- We’ll be using Zoom, so access to chat transcripts and use of the AI captions function will be available
- Please email workshops@playwrightstheatre.com and the instructor will work with you to ensure access can be equitably provided. If email is a barrier, leave a message at 604-685-6228 and we will communicate in your requested mode.
Stories that Move Us with Mónica Perea /Historias que nos Muevan con Mónica Perea
DATE: May 20th & 27th, 2026 | TIME: 6 – 8 pm | LOCATION: online via Zoom
COST: Full $210 | Reduced $55 | 2 FREE spots
Acquire the tools to tell those stories that migrated with you and deserve to be known. Everyone has stories to share, and they’re worth telling.
Discover your storytelling abilities and brush up on your Spanish while finding your own voice in a safe environment. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced, find a free space for creativity here through your senses.
Adquiere herramientas para contar esas historias que migraron contigo y merecen ser conocidas. Todo el mundo tiene relatos para compartir y vale la pena que se cuenten.
Descubre tus habilidades para narrar esos relatos y desempolva tu español al mismo tiempo que encuentras tu propia voz en un ambiente seguro. Ya seas principiante o tengas experiencia, encuentra aquí un espacio libre para la creatividad a través de los sentidos.
Writing Book and Lyrics for New Musicals 101 with Deborah Vogt
DATE: May 23rd & 24th, 2026| TIME: 4-6 pm | LOCATION: In Person at PL1422 – 1422 William Street, Vancouver
COST: Full $315 | Reduced $80 | 2 FREE spots
Learn (or re-learn) the basics of writing the words for a new musical. In this two-session workshop, you’ll learn the inside outs of writing for musicals, and the necessary dramaturgical skills to put it all together. From the “I Want” song to your “11 O’clock Number”, this workshop will focus on the rules (and how to break them), making the most of your song moments, nailing the structure of musicals, avoiding common mistakes that new writers can make, and the necessity of working with key collaborators, such as a dramaturg. Leave with the confidence and tools to write your first, fifth, or finest new musical.
Site-specific Theatre Workshop
DATE: June 9th, 2026 | TIME: 6:30 – 9:30 pm | LOCATION: Granville Island at Festival House
COST: PAY WHAT YOU CHOOSE (the workshop is valued at $315).
Develop the fundamentals of working site-specifically in this workshop, presented in collaboration with the Fringe festival.
Joanna Garfinkel, co-creator of site-responsive pieces like Tour, and JAPANESE PROBLEM will work with a small cohort of theatre makers to develop their work in this hands-on and practical development workshop, which utilizes locations in and around Granville Island. Some spots will be reserved for creators who already have site-specific Fringe spots secured.
Through the support of the Vancouver Fringe Festival, this workshop has been subsidized for a PWYC option (the actual value of the workshop: $315).
Writing Scenes of Intimacy… beyond “they kiss” with Melanie Yeats
DATE: June 18th & 25th, 2026 | TIME: 6 – 8 pm | LOCATION: online via Zoom
COST: Full $315 | Reduced $80 | 2 FREE spots
Playwrights often struggle to articulate scenes of sexual or physical intimacy on the page. Scenes of intimacy can include depictions of sexual innuendo, kissing, sex acts (consensual and non-consensual), personal/medical care, or non-sexual physical touch that conveys essential storytelling in the play. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to approach intimate moments in your play with precision and creativity. If you can write scenes of intimacy well, you’ll empower directors and performers to stage your work in ways that do justice to the play as a whole.
Mapping a Creative Project: Out of your Head and into the World with Heidi Taylor
DATE: June 24th, 2026 | TIME: 6 – 9 pm | LOCATION: In Person at PL1422 – 1422 William Street, Vancouver
COST: Full $315 | Reduced $80 | 2 FREE spots
Do you have a play, writing project, or creative project you’d like to understand better? Join dramaturg Heidi Taylor in a fun learning session to gain tools to apply to any creative project.
We’ll use different mapping techniques that you can apply to the content of your piece (ideas, images, spaces, times, and people) and to your approach to making it (strategies, timelines, collaborators). You’ll finish the session with a visual or tactile version of your project that you can use to springboard your next creative steps.
Enjoyed this session last year? This is a workshop you can repeat!
Participants will use a creative project of their choosing as an example.
Participants of all experience levels are welcome.
Materials to bring:
- Participants will need a description of their project, and a copy (text, audio, video) of what they are working on to reference.
- Participants can bring their own notetaking materials (computer, tablet,notepad). Mapping/tactile materials will be provided.
Access notes:
- This process uses visual characteristics (colour, physical placement, shapes) as a tool. Participants who use other sensory modes are welcome.
- Please email workshops@playwrightstheatre.com and the instructor will work with you to ensure access can be equitably provided. If email is a barrier, leave a message at 604-685-6228 and we will communicate in your requested mode.
- ASL will be provided upon request to ensure the interpreter of choice can be booked, pending availability.
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