Fringe New Play Prize

We are excited to announce that playwright Jessica Lemes da Silva will join PTC and the Vancouver Fringe Festival in an 18 month partnership resulting in a period of intensive play development and a world premiere of the show at the 2024 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

God’s A Drag, will receive dramaturgy and production mentorship from Davey Samuel Calderon (Dramaturg, Public Engagement), and in-kind venue and festival costs from the Vancouver Fringe Festival. Jessica joins a community of playwrights and theatre creators whose projects have continued on to be presented further in Vancouver, Canada and even some Internationally. The prize is an unprecedented opportunity that supports the work of emerging theatre artists creating exciting and exemplary works.

God’s A Drag synopsis: Pastor Luz is a colourful genderqueer preacher and ex-gay survivor who tells the story of their young adulthood. Growing up queer and Catholic, their story takes the audience on a journey from coming out religiously, to coming out sexually, from being pushed out of who and what they know, to pushing back in and reclaiming what has always been divinely theirs. God’s A Drag is a contemporary narrative of transfiguration that celebrates the reclamation of faith through the unusual intersection of drag performance and divine worship.

“I am overjoyed and completely thrilled to have been awarded the Fringe New Play Prize. I’m deeply grateful to Playwrights Theatre Centre and The Vancouver Fringe for providing such a wonderful opportunity to move this work forward with guidance and support. I’m excited to collaborate with talented local artists and to connect with audiences near and far!”
– Jessica Lemes da Silva

Playwrights in this program:

Jessica Lemes da Silva

Jessica Lemes da Silva (she/her) is a playwright, sound editor, musician, and educator. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Jessica received her B.A. in Music from the University of Miami. Headshot: Jessica Lemes da Silva. A woman with long curly brown hair and glasses sits outside in the corner of a brown fence with a casual smile. Photo by Fiona Steele. In 2006 she shifted gears to study Sound Design for visual media at the Vancouver Film School. Shortly after, she joined Skywalker Sound in California and worked on feature films such as Beowulf, Iron Man, and Despicable Me.

Refocusing her passion for storytelling, Jessica turned to writing for stage and screen exploring themes of building chosen families and bridging the worlds of queerness and religion. She completed a creative writing certificate from Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio, where she laid the groundwork for her limited-series audio drama, Sacred Hearts. Currently, Jessica’s taking part in the Emerging Playwright’s Unit with the Arts Club Theatre Company. Jessica is grateful to write, teach, parent, and live on the unceded, traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) —hay č xʷ q̓ə [hands raised], thank you.

Artists Involved:

2020

2019

2018

2015

Interested in applying for this program?

Fringe shows are the poster children for self-produced theatre – Fringe shows allow an artist or a company to develop their aesthetic and find their audience. Through the Fringe New Play Prize, PTC and the Vancouver Fringe offer BC artists a leg up in the process with material support – eighteen months dramaturgy, some free creation and rehearsal space, production mentorship, and a free space on the Fringe Mainstage. All told, the Fringe New Play Prize is a juicy package with a $18,000 value: ($800 Fringe application fee + $2500 Fringe venue costs + $2000 in studio space + $7000 of dramaturgy + $3000 of production mentorship + $2700 script copying + promotion + fundraising support etc).

Applications for the 2025 Fringe New Play Prize will open in July 2024 and are due in early October.