National Theatre School Of Canada Launches Online Theatre Classes and More

After offering emergency financial support to emerging artists affected by the coronavirus crisis, The National Theatre School has announced the next phase of its Art Apart initiative. Online classes for theatre artists, an exhibition of set and costume design artworks will be presented online for the first time, as well as two performances by graduating students, beginning May 1, 2020.

In keeping with its mission to provide incomparable theatre training delivered from artist to artist, NTS will provide 10 online training programs covering all the theatre disciplines. Professional actors, directors, designers, composers and theatre makers, artists who are part of the teaching team at NTS, will offer free online classes available to all artists, to support the deepening of their craft during this time of isolation. This is another way to continue sharing knowledge and having a dialogue among artists across Canada. "We have a responsibility to constantly interrogate ourselves on how best to meet the needs of our community," says Alisa Palmer, Artistic Director of the English section. "In the current context, it's more important than ever to foster a sense of community and to provide creative work opportunities for artists." Head to TheatreTraining.ca to learn more about the teaching artists, the conferences, conversations and classes that will be offered online in the coming weeks.

The New Words Festival is the culminating project of the graduating class of the English Section. This year, social distancing measures have forced our campuses to close and students to stay home. But we've decided that the show must go on - online that is. We are so proud to share these plays with you, albeit in a different environment.

In only a few short weeks, the Directing, Acting and Playwriting students have boldly explored what it means to stage these plays in a virtual setting, adapting quickly and creatively to a challenging situation. We invite you to experience these innovative new plays and explore what intimacy, spontaneity and togetherness mean in a lockdown digital age.

The Game, May 1st and 2nd, on Zoom, live with audience interaction
by Gillian Clark (Playwriting 3, Halifax, NS), directed by Angelica Schwartz (Directing 2, Winnipeg, MB), performed by graduating students from the Acting program

i am entitled to rest, May 4 to 6, on youtube
by Kalale Dalton-Lutale (Playwriting 3, Toronto, ON) and directed by Murdoch Schon (Directing 2, Montreal, QC), performed by graduating students from the Acting program

Each year, 2nd-year students in Set and Costume Design present works created in the first two years of their training: costume sketches, set models, life drawings, paintings, etchings, and more! This virtual event is part of their exhibition design class. In the current situation, the exhibition has been transformed into a website, which is an equally relevant learning experience in their training.

Don't miss expo-pigments.ca starting May 1st.

Art Apart is an initiative by The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS) that provides support to emerging theatre artists, professional artists, and the community during the coronavirus crisis. It's a way to help minimize the impact of this crisis in the arts community, to provide much-needed assistance to artists by rapidly injecting funds into the arts sector, and to continue sharing knowledge and having a dialogue among artists across Canada.

100 emerging artists received $750 grants to present a piece of art online. This sum comes from an existing fund dedicated to community initiatives. The 100 Art Apart artists are students currently enrolled in and artists graduated within the past five years from a theatre training program anywhere in Canada. They have been selected from 575 applications and reflect the diversity of languages, cultural backgrounds, provinces, regions and fields of theatre studies in Canada.

The Artistic Directors of NTS have also asked artists who have taught in the professional training programs of the School in the last few years to share 10 free online theatre classes and conferences.

NTS is also extremely proud to be able to share the work of its graduating students, who have quickly adapted to the situation their performances which should have been presented in person, to an online format. All are invited to attend these plays and exhibition for free.

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