Open House 2006
Celebrating Theatre at the National Theatre School of Canada’s – Annual Open House
10th Anniversary
Saturday, September 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Montreal. September 18, 2006 – For the tenth consecutive year, the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS) has teamed up with the province-wide Journées de la culture to present its annual Open House, a boisterous celebration of theatre in all its forms. For this special 10th anniversary edition the NTS has pulled out all the stops, inviting visitors both young and old to a free theatrical carnival consisting of over 30 different activities for the whole family. Our students, teachers, alumni and staff welcome the public with open arms in order to demystify the institution that has to date trained close to 1,500 actors, set and costume designers, authors and playwrights, directors and other theatre artists who have played an integral role in the development of theatre in Canada.
Discover the artistic leaders of tomorrow, today
On the occasion of this year’s Open House, the NTS will be raising the curtain on the results of its new Cultural and Artistic Leadership Program (CALP), a fund that was established last year in order to assist the creative endeavours of current students and recent graduates. Of the 28 projects that have so far received funding totalling $95,800, about a dozen of them will be showcased at the Open House. The public will get a chance to meet these young artists who aspire to make socially relevant art that affects their communities. There will be presentations of new work, projections, installations, puppet workshops, costume exhibitions and public rehearsals. This is a unique opportunity to discover the social preoccupations of these emerging artistic leaders and to witness their creative approaches. The CALP exists thanks to a donation from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. It was created to encourage and partially fund the original and innovative initiatives of current students and recent graduates who demonstrate artistic excellence and a desire to make a social impact through theatre.
Transmitting a passion for theatre
Theatre-lovers are in for a real treat as the NTS also presents a labyrinth of head-turning activities that will give you a rare glimpse into life at Canada’s foremost theatrical training institution. From spontaneous eruptions of song throughout the halls, a Jeu demonstration led by SaBooge Theatre company member Attila Clemann, voice classes by teacher Julia Lenardon, to the concentrated movements of Tedi Tafel’s Mind and Body classes, the public will be able to witness the School’s Acting students in action as they hone their skills. Acting students will also be taking part in Jeu and live improv with this year’s Directing graduate Arianna Bardesono from Italy, who will be manipulating light and sound for inspiration. Painter François Vincent will lead a public drawing class where the public will be invited to stand in as a living model, and renowned wigmaker Rachel Tremblay will be displaying some of her most (in)famous wigs on site. Set and Costume Design students will showcase their work through the presentation of their always unique designs on live mannequins and in black box maquettes while also painting a large mural inspired by characters from Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. Playwriting students will be serving up some "fast food style" plays for the public, while it’ll be maquette madness with professor Chris Brown and the Technical Production students. All this and much, much more!
According to Simon Brault, Director General of the NTS (celebrating his 25 years at the School this fall) and co-founder of the Journées de la culture, this year’s Open House is not to be missed: "The School opens its doors to the public only once a year and it is with great enthusiasm that we welcome visitors once again. They can spend the whole day with us and never run out of things to see. The entire day is structured in a way that communicates our passion for theatre and this year, particularly with the special presentations of the CALP projects, the quality of programming is quite high."