New Drama in Canada and Germany – DEADLINE: 2025/12/15

“New Drama in Canada and Germany” Workshop

International Exchange with Theater Heidelberg, Germany

For its 2026 edition, the Festival for Contemporary Drama in Germany, “Heidelberger Stückemarkt”, chose Canada as its featured country! The festival takes place at Theater Heidelberg in Germany (Spring of 2026).

To expand this cultural exchange, Theater Heidelberg and the Goethe-Institut Toronto wish to gather exciting, innovative playwrights from Toronto and the GTA to participate in a free workshop held at the Goethe-Institut in Toronto from the 16th to 18th of January 2026.

The Workshop, New Drama in Canada and Germany, will be facilitated by the Executive & Artistic Director of the Theater in Heidelberg, Holger Schultze; the Dramaturg at the Theater Heidelberg, Deborah Raulin, and the Playwright Yannic Han Biao Federer, whose play Asiawochen (Asia Weeks) won Best Play at the “Stückemarkt” in 2025.

The event will be a chance for the Heidelberg team to meet some of Toronto’s most inspiring theatre artists and deepen their understanding of Canadian theatre practices. For Canadian playwrights, this will be a rare opportunity to gain insight into current German dramaturgies, styles, collaborative models, and the international festival culture of one of the most influential European playwriting festivals.

The workshop includes discussions, readings and hands-on writing sessions where playwrights are invited to respond and investigate two contemporary German plays. Yannic Han Biao Federer’s Asia Weeks will be presented in its English translation as a staged reading with a talk back after with the award-winning playwright. During this unique workshop, writers will benefit from international exchange, including discussions on diverse forms of dramaturgy and approaches to contemporary playwriting in Germany and Canada, as well as on the festival circuits in both countries, and from networking opportunities.

Details:

• The call is open to playwrights of all stages in their career. However, since the Workshop focuses on introducing different approaches to playwriting, you should be comfortable with writing and sharing your work in a group setting.

• The Workshop is free of charge for all participants.

• The Workshop hours: Friday Jan, 16th, 2025, 6-9pm; Saturday Jan 17th, 10am-5:30pm, followed by the option to see a theatre show as a group (8-10pm); Sunday Jan 18th, 10am-5:30pm.

• The event will be held in English.

• The full workshop agenda will be sent out to successful applicants.

• A catered light dinner will be provided on Friday evening, and a catered lunch and snacks will be provided on Saturday and Sunday.

Application Process:

There is a limited number of spots available for this event. To apply, please tell us in a maximum of 1 page about your art practice and why you would like to participate in this Workshop. Please speak to both of the following questions:

• Tell us about yourself: How would you describe your current theatre practice as a writer and creative interests? 
• What would you like to take away from the workshop? I.e., what do you hope to find out / try out / discuss with your co-creators and the visiting artists, and how will this opportunity enhance your playwriting practice?

Please send your application as a single PDF by 5pm on Monday Dec 15, 2025, to sophia.baunach@goethe.de

Applicants will be contacted about the final selection by Dec 19, 2025.