Residency Awards

New Creation Development Award

The Bulmash-Siegel New Creation Development Award supports an  artist creating and developing contemporary Canadian work. Generously supported by the Bulmash-Siegel Fund, this award offers a unique opportunity for mentorship and creative exploration. The collaborative award was created with the understanding that contributing to a vibrant arts environment fosters a healthy and exciting city.

The 2026 Bulmash-Siegel New Creation Development Award has been awarded to M.J. Kang.

Residency Award

The Urjo Kareda Award for Theatre Artists  is generously supported by The Youssef-Warren Foundation and supports the training and artistic residency of an exceptional theatre artist each season at Tarragon Theatre. The grant allows the successful applicant to spend up to 20 weeks at the Tarragon, working in collaboration with an artist or artists in the applicant’s chosen field of interest. The grant is geared toward a professional theatre artist in the field of Design, Production, Dramaturgy, Playwriting, Directing or Artistic Direction.

The 2026 Urjo Kareda Residency Grant has been awarded to Intisar Awisse.

The Ellen Ross Stuart Award celebrates the legacy of Ellen ‘Nel’ Ross Stuart, by empowering young writers to engage actively in their craft, in association with professional theatres. Tarragon Theatre anchors this award as the homebase for award-winners, in collaboration with partner companies (previous partners include The Blyth Festival and Hart House Theatre).

Beginning in June 2026, Tarragon Theatre will host two (2) successful candidates for a year-long development pathway

The Tarragon Emerging Playwright Award is one of the most prestigious playwriting awards in Canada, recognizing one exceptional emerging playwright with a cash prize, a year’s worth of dramaturgical support from Tarragon Theatre’s Artistic Staff, and a public reading during Tarragon’s annual Play Reading Week. The prize provides an emerging artist with the tools to overcome several of the barriers faced at the beginning of a playwriting career.

The 2025/26 RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwright Residency Award has been awarded to Ameer Idreis and Eva Everett Irving.

The Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators program, funded by the Ontario Arts Council, supports playwrights and creation collectives in the development of new Canadian work.

Tarragon Theatre sees this program as an opportunity to provide time for playwrights and/or creators to create. It offers artists the opportunity to conduct research on a potential play, to move from an idea to a first draft, work on subsequent drafts of a play or – if the project is a collective creation – the time to improvise/create in the rehearsal hall.