Play Development
In accordance with our mandate, The Foster Festival is celebrating the fourth year of our play development program in 2026. The goal of the development program is to develop new Canadian comedies that will, ultimately, receive a full-scale production on our stage or on other stages across the nation.
“The Fostered Playwrights Festival is a vital part of our commitment to supporting new Canadian work. This festival creates meaningful opportunities for playwrights to develop and share their stories while strengthening the broader Canadian theatre landscape. Presenting the 2026 festival at Sons & Daughters Winery allows us to bring artists and audiences together in a setting that encourages connection, conversation, and celebration of Canadian voices.” — Emily Oriold, Founder and Artistic Director, The Foster Festival
The third annual Fostered Playwrights Festival (2026) presents four selections from emerging or established Canadian playwrights, professionally performed and directed in public readings over a weekend. The four scripts to be featured this year are Tips for Living Without Your Dog by Brad Austin, Euchre Night by Norm Foster, Every Little Thing by The Foster Festival’s Artistic Director Emily Oriold (staged reading), and Long Term Karen by Lisa Horner.
“Each of these plays this weekend offers their fair share of laughter yet at the heart of each is not a joke but rather a question: what is it to be human? They deal with issues of love, loss, loneliness and belonging. They use comedy as a mirror of life’s struggles and its messiness. A mirror that reflects the triumphs, the failings, and the sheer ridiculousness of the human experience. A mirror in which we recognise ourselves. Each of these new Canadian works offers us, ultimately, a greater sense of belonging. And that, I believe, is the best of what theatre has to offer.”
— Jamie Williams, Artistic Associate & Program Lead, The Foster Festival
Past Fostered Playwright Festival plays that have received a world premiere production at The Foster Festival: Time & Tide by Jody Stevens McCluskey; Mechanically Inclined by Steve Ross.
Play Submissions
Our Playwrights Development program is ongoing and the Fostered Playwrights Festival an annual event. Submissions of new plays that align with our programming are welcome year-round.
New plays are considered Jan-April and Sept and can be expected to be read within those months.
To submit a new play, please email your submission to Jamie Williams, Artistic Associate at associate@fosterfestival.com.
