Crow’s is proud to invite submissions for the sixth annual RBC Rising Star Emerging Director Prize. This prize is designed to encourage and celebrate our most outstanding early-career directors, give them the opportunity to work with Crow’s Theatre, and receive ongoing mentorship.

The prize is made possible by the RBC Emerging Artists Project which helps advance artists' career trajectories. This is a reflection of RBC’s long-standing commitment to supporting artists in a range of genres – including visual, music, theatre, dance, literature and film – through their meaningful investments. 

Launched in 2015, The RBC Rising Star Emerging Director Prize provides a $5,000 award to a Canadian emerging director, plus resources towards a residency at Crow’s Theatre and project developments, and mentorship. The three finalists will also be awarded a small cash prize in recognition of their outstanding submissions.

Crow’s Theatre is committed to supporting the work of artists that represent the diverse communities we serve, including BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and individuals from other equity seeking groups. With this in mind, the jury is tasked to ensure that a minimum of fifty percent of the four finalists come from these communities. 

The award recipient and finalists will be selected on a balance of award criteria by a jury of professional artists that includes Crow’s Associate Artistic Directors, Marie Farsi and Rouvan Silogix, playwright and arts leader, Marcus Youssef, director Esther Jun, and director Jackie Maxwell. The jury will take into account the merits of the emerging director’s current body of work as well as how meaningful the prize and residency would prove to the director’s professional development.  

This prize and the Crow’s residency will recognize the creative potential of an up-and-coming theatre-maker, and provide the means to substantially advance their practice, by providing a resourced incubation lab for a new or existing work. 

How to apply.