APN/Hit&Myth Emerging Playwright Mentorship Program PARTICIPANTS ANNOUNCED!


The 2026 APN Emerging Playwright Mentorship Program Participants are:

PAMELA SCHMUNK, partnered with mentor BETH GRAHAM

Pam Schmunk’s original Drama training was at University of Saskatchewan under Henry Woolf (1980-1985). She earned her Bachelor of Education (1992) and Master of Arts (2006) from University of Alberta. She taught Drama for thirty plus years for  Edmonton Public Schools and then internationally in Bali,Indonesia; Jiaxing, China; and Taipei, Taiwan. Based now in Edmonton, Pam splits her time between acting, playwriting, yoga, choir, travel, photography, family, and theatre.  Pam's play Soul Search will be read at Script Salon on June 14th. She will appear in H.A.G.S. at the Edmonton Fringe and Iron Matron at Northern
Light Theatre this autumn.

Beth Graham is an Edmonton-based playwright, actor, and dramaturg. Her plays have been produced nationally and internationally. In 2015, her play, The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble, was a finalist for the Governor General's Award and received the Gwen Pharis Alberta Literary Award in Drama. Other plays and collaborations include The Drowning Girls (co-writer), Weasel, Pretty Goblins, and Mermaid Legs. Recently, she was the writer-in-residence at MacEwan University.

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BRETT LEMAY, partnered with mentor CLEM MARTINI

Brett Lemay is a performing arts educator raised here in Alberta. He studied acting at Red Deer College and Vancouver Film School, has a BA (Drama) from the University of Alberta, and is currently completing an MFA in Theatre: Pedagogy. Brett was Senior Instructor of Acting at Shanghai University, and taught in the theatre department at the University of Regina. He is now home in Alberta and eager to further connect with the arts community. He’s also an aspiring playwright and very excited at this opportunity to develop his first full-length original play with gracious mentorship from APN and Hit & Myth!

Clem Martini is an award-winning playwright, novelist, and screenwriter with over thirty plays, and thirteen books of fiction and nonfiction to his credit, including the W.O. Mitchell Award-winning Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness, The Unravelling, and The Comedian. His plays, Cantata (Rumours of My Crazy, Useless Life) and The Extinction Therapist were published together in an anthology and subsequently won the 2024 W.O. Mitchell Book Award as well. He is a Professor (Emeritus) of the University of Calgary and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. 

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GRACE FITZGERALD, partnered with mentor JASON CHINN

Grace Fitzgerald (she/her) is a YEG based artist with a focus on directing, playwriting, and performance creation. Fitzgerald is the founder of Staged Theatre Productions, as well as the Artistic Director and Workshop Lead with the Scatterbrain Improv Company. Her work is focused on impactful storytelling, community development through creation, and queer narratives. Favourite past playwriting credits include Carter and the Train (Nextfest/Edmonton Fringe, 2024), Strathcona Retold (Staged, 2023), and This Old House (Staged/Edmonton Fringe, 2021). Her upcoming play, Gnomon's Land, co-written with Thomas Moore, will premiere at the Edmonton Fringe Festival this summer.

Jason Chinn is a playwright and community-based theatre facilitator in amiskwacîwâskahikan (ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ). Recent plays include: EDAY, (Theatre Network Performance Series), I SHOT A DUCK (Augustana University), Murderers Confess at Christmastime (Summerworks, Theatre Network Performance Series), an adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull (University of Alberta, MacEwan University), and Ladies Who Lynch (Azimuth Theatre, Workshop West Theatre's Canoe Festival). Short plays include: хлеб (Theatre Yes), Screen Time (Concrete Theatre), I Love Your Hair and Other Conversations for The National Elevator Project (Theatre Yes), and Problems in Politics and the Pitfalls of Public Service, which was created during a residency at Edmonton's City Hall (Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre). Jason was last seen on stage in Beth Graham's The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (Theatre Network) and Nathan Cuckow's The Conversion (Kill YourTelevision). Jason is a graduate of the University of Alberta's MFA Theatre Practice program with a
specialization in playwriting and community-based theatre.

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TESSA SIMPSON, partnered with mentor LOUISE CASEMORE

Tessa Simpson (she/her) is a genderqueer multidisciplinary artist and writer living in amiskwaciwâskahikan. She wrote and performed "Stranger Things Have Happened" at the 2017 Edmonton Fringe Festival and spent 2021-2023 working as a traveling teaching artist with Trickster Theatre. When she's not writing, she spends too much time thinking of new hobbies to start doing. Current hobbies include chainmail weaving, knitting, book binding, painting, reading, miniature making, scrapbooking, and binge-watching Youtube while working on crafts.

Louise Casemore is an artist advocate, prairie nuisance, and two-time Sterling Award winning playwright. Based in Alberta on Treaty 6 and 7 Territory, she is the recipient of the ATP/Enbridge Playwright’s Award, was shortlisted for the inaugural John Palmer Award from the Playwright’s Guild of Canada, and is an Edmonton Artist Trust Fund honoree. Original plays include OCD (Canadian tour), GEMINI (Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto), Undressed (Alberta Theatre Projects), and LUCKY CHARM (Defiance Theatre/CGAS/Theatre Yes). Louise remains active in the national community by way of dramaturgy, teaching, and research; in 2021 releasing the long-range national study on new play development, "Surveying The Landscape". Louise is a member of the PGC, LMDA, and completed an MFA in Theatre Practice from the University of Alberta. She proudly sits on the Board of Concrete Theatre and is Company Manager for the Banff Centre Playwright’s Lab.

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WENDY FROBERG, partnered with mentor NATALIE MEISNER

Wendy Froberg (she/her) has been writing plays since 2009, a number of which have been produced, including A Woman of a Certain Age®, Best Interests, Riches, Queen of the Ring, Dispatches from the Asylum, Annie Davidson (Libretto) and Influence (Book). Wendy is also a Calgary-based actor with stage, film, television, radio and on-line acting credits. With her background as a clinical psychologist and as both a performer and a writer, Wendy is dedicated to bringing to life stories that explore themes reflecting what it means to be human: struggle, loss, change, transition, connection, pain, joy, growth, purpose and meaning.

Natalie Meisner (nataliemeisner.com) is a lgbtqia+ playwright, poet, mom, prof and podcast host (not necessarily in that order ) She was born on the Mi'kma'ki / South Shore of Nova Scotia where she began her curious life by reading, with wild abandon, all books that came through in the town bookmobile. She has eight books to her name, was Calgary / Mohkinstsis' 5th Poet Laureate and teaches creative writing at MRU where she loves helping other writers find their voice. 

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TJ JABLONSKI, partnered with mentor COLLIN DOYLE

TJ Jablonski is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and multidisciplinary artist with a lifelong commitment to the arts as a creator, performer, administrator, and promoter. His work is informed by his connection to the LGBTQ2S+ community, shaping his voice as an emerging author and playwright exploring complex, often provocative themes. TJ is also an active collaborator, educator, and mental health advocate.

Collin Doyle is an Edmonton-based writer. His play The Mighty Carlins premiered at Workshop West in January 2008. His play for teens Routes premiered in the fall of 2009 and has been performed for high school audiences in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. Let the Light of Day Through premiered at Theatre Network in April 2013.

In 2018, Newest Press published a collection of his plays, The Mighty Carlins and Other Plays. Collin is currently adapting Let the Light of Day Through into a new musical with composer Matt Graham. As part of the Citadel Theatre Playwrights Lab, he recently completed the second draft of The Riverside Seniors Village Theatrical Society Presents: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Collin is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.

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SHELDON BARANEC, partnered with mentor CONNI MASSING

Sheldon Baranec is a lover of the arts and a highly creative performer—an amateur guitarist and vocalist with experience onstage in musicals. Outside the theatre, they're a regular at open-mic nights, sharing both original songs and inventive covers. Known for strong writing and big ideas, Shel is developing a play concept because as he says "I just, won't leave me alone!" blending storytelling with a performer's ear for rhythm and voice. Their creativity also extends to play: they've invented multiple board game concepts for Disney. Shel brings curiosity, collaboration, creativity and joy to all the projects he works on.

Conni Massing is an award-winning writer working in theatre, film and television. Her playwriting credits include Dead Letter, Matara and The Invention of Romance, premiered by Workshop West Playwrights Theatre, Oh! Christmas Tree (Roxy Performance Series), Fresh Hell (Shadow Theatre), and her widely-produced stage adaptations of W.O Mitchell’s Jake and the Kid and Bruce Allen Powe’s The Aberhart Summer. Published work includes seven plays and a comic memoir, Roadtripping: On the Move with the Buffalo Gals (Brindle and Glass Publishing). Her writing has been recognized by AMPIA, the Academy of Cinema and Television, the Betty Mitchell Awards, the Writers Guild of Alberta and the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards. Conni recently received an Alumni Honour Award from the University of Alberta, recognizing her contributions to her profession and the community.

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KATHLEEN RENNE, partnered with mentor VANESSA PORTEOUS

Kathleen Renne bio to come

Based in Calgary, Vanessa Porteous is a theatre maker, educator, and arts leader who is bilingual in French and English. Her practice is rooted in directing plays and opera, with deep experience in dramaturgy and new play development. In recent years, her trajectory has expanded to include writing, teaching, arts leadership, and creative work in other disciplines. 

This season Vanessa has worked with five playwrights on their scripts in progress, and counting Last season, among other dramaturgy, she directed the workshop of Grant Tilly’s musical in development, Book of Joan. Most recently she was pleased to act as Rapporteur at the Canadian Arts’ Summit for the second year in a row, and is looking forward to continuing to write for the Siminovitch Foundation over the summer. From 2009 – 2017, Vanessa was Artistic Director at Alberta Theatre Projects after a decade as the company’s dramaturg. Vanessa is a member of CAEA, ACCA, LMDA, and CGDC.

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SAMSON NAND, partnered with mentor KENNETH T. WILLIAMS

Samson Nand is a multidisciplinary artist from Sparwood, BC. His recent theatre credits include Love Conquers all (2026), Uncle Beary (2025), The cottage (2025), The Elephant and the American (2024), and What Time Does the 3 O’Clock Parade Start? (2019). In 2023, he took part in the TD Music Artist in Residence Program at MacEwan University. Samson is a member of Arts Council Wood Buffalo and volunteers as Company Manager for the indie theatre company Theatre; Just Because. Outside of his creative work, he is a Quality Assurance Inspector at Suncor and is pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce through Athabasca University.

Kenneth T. Williams' professional path is a "guidance counselor's nightmare." He's been a soldier, rock musician, journalist, First Nations land claims researcher, and door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. As a journalist, he was a member of the very first news team for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. However, all of these experiences have made him the writer that he is today and wouldn't have it any other way. He's the first Indigenous person to earn an MFA in Playwriting and become an associate professor at the University of Alberta's Department of Drama. He lives in Edmonton with his partner, Dr. Melissa Stoops, with their cats, Augustus and Drusilla. He is a member of the George Gordon First Nation in the Treaty 4 territory. 

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ACHILLES FRIESEN, partnered with mentor GEOFFREY SIMON BROWN

Achilles Friesen (they/them) is an emerging theatre artist based in Lethbridge, Alberta. They hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Lethbridge, where their passion for storytelling was fostered through playwriting and performance. A three-time third-place recipient of the University’s Playwright Prize, Achilles creates emotionally charged, character-driven work that translates decades-old philosophical thought into something immediate, human, and relatable. Equally at home under stage lights, Achilles has recently appeared as Moth in Love’s Labour’s Lost with the Lethbridge Shakespeare Performance Society and will soon step into the role of Joanne in Rent with Lethbridge Musical Theatre this October. They look forward to continuing to develop new work rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and bold theatrical imagination!

Geoffrey Simon Brown is an award-winning Albertan playwright, actor, director, and theatre creator. He is a founding member of the Major Matt Mason Collective where he has produced small-scale independent theatre since 2010. He currently serves as co-artistic director and has been involved in all of their productions as both an artist and producer. Productions of his plays have been staged across the country and internationally, including productions at Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre Calgary, Tarragon Theatre, Pyretic Productions, Common Ground Arts Society, and the National Theatre School of Canada. His plays include Static, Michael Mysterious, Night, Progress, Still Still Still, Control, Air, Destroy, If I Could Tell You Everything (written alongside the Theatre Junction high school mentorship ensemble), The Circle (which was published by Scirocco Drama in 2017), and the most recent adaptation of A Christmas Carol for Theatre Calgary. More at geoffreysimonbrown.com.

the program

  • Applications for the program are now closed, thank you to all who submitted!

  • Participants must come with a play, or an idea for a play they wish to work on through the mentorship.

  • Participants will be selected by the Mentorship Committee and APN Staff.

  • There are 10 available spots. The mentors are from Calgary and Edmonton however we can offer the service online and so we encourage applications from anywhere in the province.

Past mentors have included but are not limited to Meg Braem, Marty Chan, Conni Massing, Mieko Ouchi, Gordon Pengilly, Sharon Pollock, Clem Martini, David van Belle, Kim McCaw & Collin Doyle.

Once selected, participants will be matched with a mentor. There will be an event in March where participants will have an opportunity to meet their mentor in person, as well as meeting the other participants in the program.

The program will last from March to August of 2026. There will be a minimum of 8 meetings throughout the mentorship. Due to the variety of individual schedules, mentors and participants will decide on their own schedule of meetings. There will also be two group meetings and at least one professional development. Participants will be expected to attend these meetings and events. The program culminates in a public presentation of excerpts from the plays worked on through the process.

Application Process 

Applicants are asked to submit the following:

  • A cover letter that includes a synopsis of their history as a playwright, and a list of goals and outcomes they wish to attain through the program.

  • A brief synopsis of the project they wish to be developed through the process

  • A writing/production resume (if you have one)

  • A shortlist of your favourite plays & playwrights

Applications can be e-mailed to mentorship@albertaplaywrights.com.  

Course fee: $300.00 (this is to cover space rentals, administration and other program expenses).
*** we do make every attempt to make our programming accessible and are willing to make accommodations.

If you have any further questions or require more information, please do not hesitate to email jenn@albertaplaywrights.com, with the subject line: APN Mentorship Program.

Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2026 (11:59 pm MT)