NEW WORK. NEW VOICES. NEW IDEAS FOR ALL AGES.

New Bad Ideas 2023 marks our largest iteration of the program wherein participants will develop their work over a nine month period.

“We believe curiosity has the power to change the world. In each of the artists we’ve selected for this program we recognized a deep curiosity, an interest in asking challenging, important questions about the fabric of our society and ourselves. The same is true of their work. These new pieces share a common fervour to explore what’s possible when we turn the world we know upside down and let new ideas and new ways of being take centre stage. We’re thrilled to be offering support to such a diverse collection of new writers and making space for emerging voices in the Theatre for Young Audiences sector.”
- Program Co-Curators Matt Pilipiak & Fiona Sauder

“As the dramaturg facilitator, I am excited to help lead the 2023/24 New Bad Ideas Development Stream - an opportunity for development and support of new works by Canadian artists. I specialize in developmental dramaturgy, which focuses on the writing process and crafting the narrative and message of your play.

Our work together will be curated and designed to meet the needs of your individual process, and needs of the project. No project and artist is the same, and I am here to meet your needs in the capacity of developmental dramaturg. I so look forward to working with our chosen projects, and want to thank the artists in advance for letting me support their process.”

Andrew Cheng is a Toronto based Dramaturg, Actor, and Educator. He has been supporting artists through the New Bad Ideas program since 2021. He hold a MFA in developmental Dramaturgy from York University. He is the Associate Dramaturg for fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company, and is a part-time Professor of Theatre at Sheridan College.