Native Earth Performing Arts facts for kids
 |
|
| Theatre Company | |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters |
,
Canada
|
Native Earth Performing Arts is a special theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It started in 1982. This makes it Canada's oldest professional theatre company focused on Indigenous stories and artists.
Native Earth works to create, produce, and show amazing plays, dances, and other art forms. All their work shares the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada. They also help new artists learn and grow through special training programs. Their goal is to support and share the artistic ideas of Indigenous artists.
Native Earth Performing Arts also runs Aki Studio. This is a 120-seat theatre space. It's used for creating, practicing, and performing shows. You can find it in a building called Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park.
Native Earth's Story and Growth
Native Earth Performing Arts began in 1982. It is the oldest professional Indigenous performing arts group in Canada. Over the years, it has been very important in helping Indigenous artists connect and create. They have helped develop many famous Canadian plays. These include The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing by Tomson Highway. Other well-known plays are Almighty Voice and His Wife by Daniel David Moses, Someday by Drew Hayden Taylor, and Huff by Cliff Cardinal.
Every year, Native Earth hosts a festival called Weesageechak Begins to Dance. This festival shows off new and exciting work from Indigenous theatre, dance, and multi-discipline artists. It's a great place for new talent to shine.
In 1986, Native Earth received money from the government. This funding helped the company become stable. It allowed them to plan full seasons of shows. They could also open their own office and hire full-time staff.
That same year, Native Earth put on its first play with a script. It was Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters. This play was a huge success! It brought in large audiences all across Canada. The play was so popular that it was even invited to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. It also won important awards like the Dora Mavor Moore Award and the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award.
In 1989, Native Earth started the Weesageechak Begins to Dance festival. This yearly festival helps new plays develop. Often, plays shown at the festival become full productions the next year. One play that grew from this process was John McLeod's Diary of a Crazy Boy.
By 2012, people described Native Earth as a "powerful artistic center" for all modern Indigenous performing arts.
Also in 2012, Native Earth moved its main office. They moved to the Daniels Spectrum building. This is an arts and culture center in Toronto's Regent Park area. They also opened Aki Studio there. Aki Studio is a 120-seat theatre space. It's used for creating and performing shows. The first play performed in the new Aki Studio was Dominion. It was written by Canadian author Andréa Ledding. Aki Studio has welcomed many different theatre groups. Most of these are independent, Indigenous, or multicultural theatre companies. Some of them include fu-Gen, Cahoots, Obsidian, The Musical Stage, Paper Canoe, and the Agokwe Collective.
Artistic Leaders of Native Earth
The Artistic Director helps decide what plays and shows the company will produce. They guide the artistic vision of Native Earth.
- Denis Lacroix and Bunny Sicard (1982–1983)
- Monique Mojica (1983–1986)
- Tomson Highway (1986–1992)
- Floyd Favel (1992–1994)
- Drew Hayden Taylor (1994–1997)
- Pamela A. Matthews (Interim 1997-1998)
- Alejandro Ronceria, Sandra Laronde and Daniel David Moses (1998–2000)
- Alanis King (2000–2002)
- Doris Peltier, Glenn Shea and Marion De Vries (Interim 2002)
- Yvette Nolan (2003–2011)
- Tara Beagan (2011–2013)
- Ryan Cunningham (2014–2017)
- Keith Barker (2017–2022)
- Joelle Peters (2022−present)
Managing Leaders of Native Earth
The Managing Director helps run the business side of the company. They make sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes.
- Himanshu Sitlani (2022–Present)
- Isaac Thomas (2012–2022)
- Donna-Michelle St. Bernard (2003–2012)
