Support New Play Development at Factory Theatre
New Play Development is the process by which artists bring a new play from the earliest inception of an idea to a fully formed production on stage. Factory Theatre facilitates this process by commissioning playwrights, providing dramaturgical support, workshopping scripts, testing design ideas, and sharing the world premiere with our audiences.
New Play Development has been at the heart of Factory Theatre for more than 55 years, and in that time, we’ve brought hundreds of new Canadian plays to our stages.
Why Your Support Matters
Investing in New Play Development means you understand the level of investment it takes to bring a new work from inception to production. Creating new theatre is a challenging and invigorating process; one that’s reinvented with each artistic team and project. We do it because we believe in the talent of Canadian theatre artists and we know the impact of their stories on our audiences. We know you feel this way too.
At Factory Theatre, our focus is on providing supports which enable artists to make their best work. At its core, that means working collaboratively with artists to determine their needs, building vibrant creative teams around their work and values, and compensating everyone for their vital contributions. Factory Theatre is committed to paying wages that reflect not only the value artists create in our communities, but also the costs to live in those communities. These efforts safeguard against artist burnout and establish an environment designed for creativity and success, rather than focusing on simply surviving.
“Factory Theatre gave my story a home. That space became a meeting point for so many people of different communities to come together to witness a play I’ve been working on for the past 9 years, a play that talks about belonging and finding home…
One of my dreams came true in that space and I will forever be grateful for the Factory Theatre family.”Monica Garrido Huerta – Playwright (The Cunning Linguist, 24/25)
“I am beyond grateful for Factory’s support on ‘The Green Line’. Every member of their team and every department that interacted with our production continually centered the art and the artists. They gave us so much dignity, support, and truly immeasurable contributions that helped elevate our production in a way that no indie company could do alone.”
Makram Ayache – Playwright and Director (The Green Line, 25/26)
Where Your Donation Goes
Factory Theatre relies on the generosity of our donors to support New Play Development. Here are some of the ways your donation will be used.
Commissioning Fees
Commissions are upfront fees paid directly to creators to support the early stages of their writing process and generation of a first draft. This vital seed money is what grows a project from an idea to a first complete form.
Your support allows us to make these early investments in exciting new projects
Process Support
There’s no one way to make a new play. Every artist has a different process and requires a different type of support to reach their artistic goals. This could include sustained partnership with a dedicated dramaturg; access to creation space; and early engagement with directors, designers, musicians, choreographers or consultants.
Your support ensures that the scope and quality of support offered to artists is always tailored to their needs and goals.
Workshop Fees
Workshops are vital opportunities for theatre makers to share and experiment with their work in development. Guided by the needs of the project and the artist’s specific goals, workshops are a chance to fold new collaborators into the process (incl. directors, performers, designers); hear the new work aloud for the first time; explore dramaturgical questions or new ideas, and test the work before an audience.
Your support ensures that we’re able to assemble the right team for every project and properly equip each workshop with what it needs to succeed.
Artistic innovation simply does not happen without robust, early investment in artists and their work. Invest in New Play Development at Factory Theatre today, and support the development of new work at its roots.
Why not make it monthly?
Did you know that 2025/26 is our 55th anniversary season? To celebrate our status as the longest running theatre company in Toronto to produce exclusively Canadian plays, we’ve launched a Factory 55 Monthly Donor Campaign.
Here’s why monthly donations matter for New Play Development.
- Consistent and reliable support allows us to plan further ahead and make even deeper commitments to artists.
- It creates room for flexibility in our processes to better meet the needs of each new work and artist we engage with.
Our goal is that by the end of June 2026, 55 members of our community will step up to become monthly donors of Factory Theatre. Will you help us lay a bedrock for the future of new play development in Canada?