Build-a-Bard is back for 2026!
This creative skill-building drop-in is geared toward writers and dramaturgs who want to gain fresh perspectives on their craft. Come join facilitator Nathaniel Hanula-James for a chill evening of media, conversation, and exercises about the craft of dramatic writing.
Inspired by our mainstage adaptation of As You Like It, this spring’s Build-a-Bard sessions will be focused on love and romance! Each session, we’ll screen or listen to a non-theatre artwork, discuss it, and use it as dramaturgical inspiration.
May 20
Film — Saving Face, by Alice Wu (2004)
In early aughts New York, a Chinese-American woman balances a blossoming queer romance with her tenuous relationship with her mother.
May 27
Film — Splendor, by Gregg Araki (1999).
In this homage to the Old Hollywood screwball comedy, an aspiring actress finds herself torn between two totally different men — and decides to choose them both.
June 3
TBD — hosted by special guest and dramaturg extraordinaire Mollie Garrett
Where: East End Arts’ St. Matthew’s Clubhouse, 450 Broadview Avenue in Toronto on the eastern edge of Riverdale Park. The space is physically accessible with an accessible entrance ramp and one accessible washroom.
When: 6:30-9pm May 20, May 27, and June 3
Register for free on Zeffy to sign up. (Max 25 participants per session, age 18+)
Build-a-Bard 2026 is generally supported by East End Arts, as well as by Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) Canada.
