An Historiographical Reading of the Founding of Canada's National Theatre School

On November 2, 1960, French director and teacher Michel Saint-Denis declared the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS)the nations first professional theatre training institutionopen, and the Canadian theatreits English and French traditionsentered a new stage of professional development. But how did it get there? This historiographical study of the NTS founding is the first thorough examination of the complex process through which the only bi-cultural, co-lingual school in Canada was established, from first inklings in the nineteenth century to its official opening in 1960. This dissertation utilizes Thomas Postlewaits four-part model of historiographical theory to explore and document the various contexts which helped to shape the ways in which the School was structured, operated, and received by the public at the time it opened. While the National Theatre School of Canada is clearly recognized as an important part of the professional Canadian theatre, it is argued here that the details of the Schools foundingeven nowremain contradictory, forcing the discussion to focus more on the results of the school after it officially opened rather than on the ideas which created it. After half a century, it seems time to articulate, at the very least, those founding debates, adding them to Canadas theatre history and giving them relevance in todays increasingly diverse Canada.