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