Brownstein: National Theatre School 'over the moon' after receiving $1.5M donation

Largest donation in the school's 62-year history comes from Toronto-based Slaight Family Foundation.

In the best of times, the arts are far, far down the list when it comes to receiving private donations — if they appear at all. And these are hardly the best of times. 

So it comes as a particularly pleasant surprise that Montreal’s National Theatre School of Canada (NTS) has just received a whopping $1.5- million donation from the Toronto-based Slaight Family Foundation. This is the largest donation the school has received in its 62-year history. 

The NTS is but one of 22 arts groups throughout the country to benefit from the Slaight foundation’s $15-million donation initiative to help revive the Canadian theatre scene in these not-quite-yet post-pandemic times. It is also the only school to be so rewarded here.  

“The forced closure of theatres because of the pandemic has devastated the theatre industry,” states Gary Slaight, president and CEO of the Slaight Family Foundation, in a release. “Even now, with audiences nervous to return since reopening, we are still seeing shows being rescheduled and cancelled, sometimes the same day. We’re very happy to support these organizations so they can focus on the work of creating and bringing back audiences.” 

Needless to say, NTS CEO Fanny Pagé has been in a euphoric state since learning of this unexpected foundation gift. 

“We’re just over the moon,” Pagé says. “Not only is this the largest donation we’ve ever received, but it comes at a time where the arts have been so affected by the pandemic, and arts schools are no exception.  

“The last few years have been really tough. We had to do a lot of classes online, such as playwrighting and production.  

“Whatever we could do in person on our two campuses, we did according to strict rules. Some of our shows were postponed, while in others, masks had to be worn. We never stopped operating, but obviously the conditions and circumstances were not ideal.”  

Most of these new funds will go toward providing more training to actors, directors, playwrights and designers in French and English as part of the NTS’s goal of making theatre more accessible to audiences around the land. Some will also go toward teachers and updating aging equipment. And funds will also be set aside for students to partake in the annual Shaw and Stratford theatre festivals.  

“We just welcomed back our students in September. We had 160 of them come back, and it’s good to see that we are now welcoming them back in a new context. But our productions are now a bit more expensive after COVID and we have to adapt to this new reality.” 

The NTS has had a long-standing relationship with the Slaight Family Foundation. Established in 2008 by late radio pioneer Allan Slaight, it is now being run by his son Gary, the broadcasting executive and former head of Standard Radio (which included, among many other stations, Montreal’s CJAD and CHOM). The foundation has been the NTS’s largest donor for more than 30 years, though never to this extent.  

Ada Slaight, Gary’s late mother, had been instrumental in previously funding the NTS with educational programs, projects and student bursaries, as well as trips to the Shaw and Stratford fests.  

“Ada had been a lover of the arts and theatre and had been giving to the school for so many years,” Pagé says. “So a relationship had already been established.” 

The school also awards an annual Ada Slaight Prize to the graduating student demonstrating leadership and empathy. 

And the NTS has had plenty of worthy graduating students over the years. Among its 2,000 alumni are Sandra Oh, Colm Feore, Norah Reid, Roy Dupuis, Martha Henry, Mylène Mackay, Gabriella Sundar Singh, André Brassard, Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Blair Brown and Michelle Giroux. 

The NTS essentially operates out of two venues. Classes take place at its St-Denis St. building in the Plateau while other classes and student productions are held at the classic Monument National — “our big playground,” as Pagé calls it — on the lower Main. 

“It’s wonderful that the school is still located and going strong in Montreal with programs in French and English and that it is still able to attract such a high level of students to attend,” says Pagé, who had been previously involved in leadership roles with the Cirque du Soleil and the Franco Dragone entertainment groups.

“There’s no doubt that the future of the school is that much brighter with this donation, particularly with our public funding decreasing every year. This will certainly help to shape the careers of our young artists for many years to come.”

bbrownstein@postmedia.com 

Twitter.com/billbrownstein 

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