What is it?

The Wildfire National Playwriting Competition is a free opportunity for young Canadian playwrights.

We want to read awesome plays and we are willing to offer cash money!
We are looking for playwrights 30 years of age or under to submit fresh, young scripts that embrace risk, grit and innovation.

Submitting a play to the competition is free and the two winning scripts selected by our jury receive a cash prize, a development workshop, and a public sharing at MMMC’s Wildfire Showcase in association with Sage Theatre’s IGNITE! Festival.

Why do this competition?

We are a scrappy little company that believes the conversation between young theatre artists is vital in order for fresh, exciting theatre to continue in this country.
Over the seven years the competition has run we have awarding over $7,500 to young playwrights across the country and helped develop thirteen winning plays.
Since 2015 we have kept this competition free to make it more accessible to playwrights from all backgrounds and stages of their career

The first six years of these awards have been solely funded by house parties, online crowd sourcing, and the support of the Sage Theatre.
We are now blessed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts to continue to offer this competition free to playwrights.
Thank you to everyone who has helped support Wildfire over the years, we quite literally couldn't do it without you.

Okay! How do I apply?

Submissions for 2025 will open SOON!

Here’s a list of our previous competition winners:

2019
First place
Morgan Grau - Absolute F*cking Mayhem
Second Place
Jesse LaVercombe - Hallelujah, It's Holly

2017
First place
David Gagnon Walker - Gobbledygobbledygook
Second place
Frances Koncan - zahgidiwin/love

2016
First place
Mx Sly - Serenity Wild
Second place
Chelsea Woolley - The Exhibition of Extraordinary Oddities and Living Freaks

2015
First place
Elena Eli Belyea - Cleave
Second place
Michaela Jeffery - Always