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Thursday, October 06, 2022
Brownstein: Montreal's National Theatre School 'over the moon' after receiving $1.5M donation
Montreal Gazette: 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.
That large of a donation is so so so meaningful for theatres. I agree when they say it’s a great donation after dealing with the pandemic and how much the arts were affected by it. I remember in my high school my theatre teacher was fighting tooth and nail to have our shows be funded. We really had to push that we were career and technical education, and this was all learning opportunities and not just having fun to get that money. And this year, the city voted no on a huge bill that cut out millions of dollars of funding, which ultimately is going to affect theatre. Theatre is expensive but so worth it. I’m glad that this company got that much money and was even more glad to see what they are going to do with that money. Training is so important, and updating equipment is also so important.
The National Theatre School’s newest donation from the Slaight family is great to hear but also reminds one of the largest issues with theatre and education: funding. Or more specifically, lack of funding. While theatre is a privilege it’s still a shame to know that it’s not part of every school, and when it is it is often neglected as a “trivial” department to fund. While I can see why theatre is at the bottom of highschool and some college’s lists of priorities, I think it’s overlooked for the wrong reasons. School heads and budgeters may see theatre as an extra, but for the students it can provide a space and an experience that will improve other areas of their study. The theatre at any age or caliber brings people together and for many can create a safe space to explore and express themself. It’s unfortunate that such a unique subject for students to engage in has to be funded most of the time by gracious donors who are theatre-goers themselves. Even at huge institutions such as the National Theatre School dedicated to theatre are extremely thankful for private fundings.
2 comments:
That large of a donation is so so so meaningful for theatres. I agree when they say it’s a great donation after dealing with the pandemic and how much the arts were affected by it. I remember in my high school my theatre teacher was fighting tooth and nail to have our shows be funded. We really had to push that we were career and technical education, and this was all learning opportunities and not just having fun to get that money. And this year, the city voted no on a huge bill that cut out millions of dollars of funding, which ultimately is going to affect theatre. Theatre is expensive but so worth it. I’m glad that this company got that much money and was even more glad to see what they are going to do with that money. Training is so important, and updating equipment is also so important.
The National Theatre School’s newest donation from the Slaight family is great to hear but also reminds one of the largest issues with theatre and education: funding. Or more specifically, lack of funding. While theatre is a privilege it’s still a shame to know that it’s not part of every school, and when it is it is often neglected as a “trivial” department to fund. While I can see why theatre is at the bottom of highschool and some college’s lists of priorities, I think it’s overlooked for the wrong reasons. School heads and budgeters may see theatre as an extra, but for the students it can provide a space and an experience that will improve other areas of their study. The theatre at any age or caliber brings people together and for many can create a safe space to explore and express themself. It’s unfortunate that such a unique subject for students to engage in has to be funded most of the time by gracious donors who are theatre-goers themselves. Even at huge institutions such as the National Theatre School dedicated to theatre are extremely thankful for private fundings.
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