Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Jean Duceppe Foundation

The Jean Duceppe Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Duceppe, a major Montréal theatre company. Recognized as a registered charity, it collects donations from individuals and partners and redistributes these funds to support Duceppe’s artistic, social and educational mandate. The foundation finances both community outreach projects and ambitious dramaturgical creations, helping keep contemporary theatre accessible to diverse audiences across Québec.

A central mechanism is the writing residency program. Residencies allow playwrights and companies to devote up to two years to creating a new large‑scale play. Each resident receives artistic accompaniment and a financial package composed of a CA$15,000 bursary from the Jean Duceppe Foundation and an additional CA$5,000 research fund that can cover a public reading, a workshop phase or translation of the script. A dedicated endowment, the Power Corporation of Canada Writing Residencies Fund of the Foundation, secures long‑term support for this program.

Beyond residencies, the Foundation’s resources are used to finance major artistic projects and a range of social and educational initiatives operated by Duceppe. These include youth workshops in schools, free school matinées for students from economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and accessibility measures that broaden participation in theatre among under‑represented communities.

The Foundation underpins programs specifically aimed at emerging theatre artists. Through the 5 à 7 series, Duceppe issues annual calls for projects and each year supports two young companies, financing the presentation of their work while providing artistic and administrative support. Laboratoires de la relève (emerging artist labs) are also selected via open calls; artists with fewer than ten years of experience or from equity‑seeking groups receive space, mentoring and financial backing for a weeklong laboratory in Duceppe’s creation centre.

Calls for projects and candidacies are publicized on Duceppe’s “Projets et candidatures” page and processed through an online application platform. Over recent years, the Foundation has supported a succession of resident playwrights and companies whose works have gone on to production on Duceppe’s main stage or in partner venues across Québec, illustrating its role as a catalyst for new francophone theatre.

Through its combined artistic and educational funding, the Jean Duceppe Foundation contributes to the vitality of Québec’s theatre ecosystem. It strengthens the development of new texts, supports emerging voices, and helps remove financial barriers for young audiences and communities in less advantaged areas. Its recurrent activity reports and governance structures, including a dedicated board of directors, reinforce transparency and long‑term impact in cultural philanthropy.