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World Theatre Day: Azal Dosanjh
March 25, 2022I was eight years old when I began a seven-year-long informal training in theatre. My parents had compelled me to join a theatre camp instead of an arts and crafts camp. Perhaps they foresaw something else that I was more capable of (or maybe they just knew I was a horrific painter). Those…
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NAC English Theatre Brings Together Artists and Audiences to Reimagine Theatre for...
August 24, 2020As part of its response to the escalating climate crisis —and in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic— the National Arts Centre hosted an extraordinary three-day/three-country digital experiment to explore how artists and arts institutions can rethink their practice and programming in…
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The journey is the destination: Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified...
October 5, 2017Over the past couple of months, the name Sir John A Macdonald and the question of whether he should be revered or vilified have been widely discussed in the media, sparking numerous debates across the country in regards to one of Canada’s most important historical figures. Commissioned by…
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A gathering of Artist Leaders in Deaf and disability arts and inclusion
September 1, 2016For two and a half days, 13 Artist/Leaders and 12 institutional Respondents gathered at the Stratford Festival to immerse themselves in conversations led by artists from the Deaf and disability arts community, about theatrical performance. "We're building what we hope will be a living…
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Belles Soeurs: The Musical - wanting it all for free
May 5, 2016Working-class housewife Germaine Lauzon wins one million trading stamps and invites family and friends over to celebrate. But pride and greed soon lead to envy. The women complain aggressively, overshare shamelessly, fantasize freely while they secretly covet Germaine’s precious…
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Concord Floral: a true reflection of teenage life
April 8, 2016Suburban Beast's production of Concord Floral is a reimagining of Giovanni Boccaccio's medieval allegory The Decameron in a contemporary suburb. For this highly entertaining tale, Creators/Directors Erin Brubacher and Cara Spooner have brought together a cast made up of ten young actors…
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BOOM: the cultural heartbeat of a generation
March 1, 2016BOOM chronologically documents a historical period stretching from that first ‘boom’ of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 all the way to the Apollo 11 landing the first human beings on the Moon in 1969. These two iconic moments span 25 of the most tumultuous years in modern history, fuelled by a…
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Shakespeare - the Old Trout way
January 29, 2016"We struggle against terrible obstacles to create things we think might help make the cruel world slightly more hospitable to the yearning and fragile souls that inhabit it." This is the mission statement of The Old Trout Puppet Workshop and their creative vision has profoundly shaped NAC…
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Twelfth Night : a comedy full of surprises
January 26, 2016Audiences and actors experience Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in a completely unique way. Together with Calgary's Old Trout Puppet Workshop, Jillian Keiley's production is full of surprises. The story's madcap scramble of misdirected desire is reinforced by the delightful staging of the work…
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Anne & Gilbert: The Musical gives the gift of maritime spirit for...
December 18, 2015Featuring over twenty artists on stage, Anne & Gilbert: The Musical brings together members of the 2015/16 NAC Ensemble with artists who have previously been featured in the Prince Edward Island production, including Ellen Denny and Alex Furber. Vibrant fiddle music is a direct path to…
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The December Man: The private shadow of public violence
November 20, 2015On December 6, 1989, a young man by the name of Marc Lépine entered a college classroom at the École Polytechnique in Montreal carrying a gun. Stepping into a classroom, he separated the male and female students, claiming that he was "fighting feminism.” Overall, he killed fourteen women…
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Adventures Behind the Scenes and on the Stage
October 30, 2015On October 22, 2015, National Arts Centre Foundation supporters attended a pre-chat featuring English Theatre Artistic director Jillian Keiley in conversation with playwright and director Djanet Sears. They spoke about Djanet’s emotionally charged play, The Adventures of a Black Girl in…
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Lucinda Davis speaks about The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search...
October 23, 2015NAC English Theatre opens its 2015/16 season with Djanet Sears’ The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God, arriving after a triumphant four-week run in Montreal at the Centaur Theatre. Created by Governor General's Literary Award-winning playwright Djanet Sears, Adventures is a…
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Young People and the Arts at the NAC
October 2, 2015Meet the National Arts Centre’s artistic leaders: Cathy Levy, Executive Producer, NAC Dance; Jillian Keiley, Artistic Director NAC English Theatre; Brigitte Haentjens, Artistic Director NAC French Theatre; and Alexander Shelley, Music Director, NAC Orchestra. All of them care deeply about…
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Arts Education: An opportunity to talk heart to heart.
July 29, 2015When actor Lois Anderson attended the theatre as a grade 10 student it had a profound impact on her. "I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to me in the theatre," says Lois, “when I was in that space with the lights down - being drawn into a story that was live." Young people…