Headquartered in Calgary, Enbridge transports the natural gas and crude oil that is used to heat homes, power transportation systems, and provide fuel and feedstock for industries. The company is a leader in energy delivery in North America.

Enbridge is also a leader in supporting the arts. Since 2005, it has provided bursaries from the Enbridge Bursary Fund to National Theatre School (NTS) students originating from Alberta. These bursaries have given students a chance to explore and diversify, hone their craft, showcase their talent and flourish in their careers. Alyssa Hudson (NTS Acting graduate, 2006), Daniel Briere (NTS Acting graduate, 2007), and Matthew MacKenzie (NTS Playwriting student, who will graduate in 2009) have all been proud recipients.

Enbridge also supports The Ark, an innovative national theatre research and development project that the National Arts Centre (NAC) English Theatre initiated in partnership with the English Section of the NTS. For the past three years, 12 NTS acting students have sojourned in Ottawa for three weeks to collaborate with seasoned professional actors and coaches to explore dramaturgical texts linked to the NAC English Theatre for its following season. The experience has provided a period of intensive training and mentoring that exists nowhere else in Canada and that ends with a public performance. By supporting The Ark, Enbridge has demonstrated its understanding of the various elements that go into training artists in the theatre, and of the importance of investing in arts education.

The National Theatre School is grateful for the strong support it receives from Enbridge, and Enbridge is proud to support arts and culture as part of its commitment to building sustainable communities across Canada.

Click here for Enbridge's impact on our students.

Toronto resident Ada Slaight, is long time supporter of the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS) and has continually shown a deep appreciation for the young artists who have dedicated themselves to the art of theatre and its related art forms. Ms. Slaight's support has always focused on enriching the training offered at the School, as well as expanding students' career opportunities once they venture out into the professional world.

Each year since 1997, Ms. Slaight has provided NTS students with the opportunity to travel to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival or on alternate years to the Shaw Festival. These trips have allowed students to experience the dynamics of life in the repertory theatre system. The Stratford Shakespeare/Shaw Festival Field Trip has recently been enriched with internships and collaborations with artists and specialists, giving students the chance to connect with professionals in their particular field and to experience classical theatre in a professional setting. Approximately sixty students from different programs participate in this annual three-day field trip.

Ms. Slaight has been a strong advocate for the development of professional integration tools for NTS graduates; she helped fund the creation, production and delivery of promotional materials, such as top quality CVs, production and design portfolios, and casting photographs for these young theatre professionals. Professional casting photographs, as well as printed and online CVs, are now a part of the regular services offered to NTS graduates.

More recently, Ms. Slaight's concerns have centred on the importance of favouring NTS students' ability to create and work in Canada's both official languages. Consequently, she has funded new pedagogical initiatives which resolve to cross linguistic barriers, such as translation and adaptation workshops for French and English playwrights and directors, language coaching and translation services for graduating students in the French and English Acting programs wishing to audition in the other official language.

In 1999, Ms. Slaight established a named endowment fund to support NTS students experiencing financial need. "The space for my dreams and my time at the School, which I will carry with me through all my work and for the rest of my life, was in part made possible by you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." Brendan McMurty-Howlett (Acting 2008).

The School is deeply grateful for the financial support offered by Ms. Slaight and for her continuing belief and confidence in the School.

TELUS owns and operates Canada's largest 3G network, however its partnership with the community reaches beyond fibre-optics or networks. In tune with the community’s needs, it is creating strong support networks in all areas of community life. The TELUS Montreal Community Board has been the major supporter of the National Theatre School’s Theatre for Young Audiences project since 2006.

This project consists of 2 Francophone and 2 Anglophone playwriting students creating plays specifically intended for young audiences. Then based on these original works, full theatrical performances are staged for children in the community, free of charge. In addition to training young theatre professionals in the specialized field of Theatre for Young Audiences, this project introduces live theatre to children for whom this experience would not otherwise be accessible. It is an art form to which children respond enthusiastically, thereby favourably influencing their educational development by inspiring a passion for learning.

Given the limited availability of arts programs in schools across the country, the TELUS Community Board’s generous funding of the Theatre for Young Audiences project is an extremely important initiative for the long-term enhancement of our community. Children who are introduced to live theatre at a young age are more likely to be open to other art forms, maintain life long learning through continuous exposure to the arts, and hence contribute more fully to society.

The National Theatre School is extremely proud to be associated with TELUS!
www.telus.com