Zéro Mani Soleymanlou Role Photo © Xavier Inchauspé The National Arts Centre (NAC) is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation Mandate The NAC is governed by the National Arts Centre Act, which defines its mandate as follows: to operate and maintain the Centre; to develop the performing arts in the National Capital Region; and to assist the Canada Council for the Arts in the development of the performing arts elsewhere in Canada. Accountability and Funding As a Crown Corporation, the NAC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Of the NAC’s total revenue, less than half is derived from an annual Parliamentary appropriation, while more than half comes from earned revenue — box office sales, food and beverage services, parking services and hall rentals – and from the NAC Foundation. Each year, the Minister of Canadian Heritage tables the NAC annual report in Parliament. The Auditor General of Canada is the NAC’s external auditor. Embracing Structure A Board of Trustees consisting of 10 members from across Canada, chaired by Adrian Burns, Change oversees the NAC. The President and CEO is Christopher Deacon. The creative leadership team is composed of Heather Gibson (Popular Music and Variety), Brigitte Haentjens (French Theatre), Jillian Keiley (English Theatre), Kenton Leier (Executive Chef), Cathy Levy (Dance), Kevin Loring (Indigenous Theatre), Heather Moore (National Creation Fund) and Alexander Shelley (NAC Orchestra). Mani Soleymanlou is the Incoming Artistic Director of French Theatre and will begin his term on September 1, 2021. Table of contents Embracing Change . 3 Official Languages Executive Letters . 12 The NAC is a federal bilingual arts organization with legislative obligations towards the 2019 – 2020 Highlights . 14 Official Languages Act, playing an important role in showcasing artists from Canada’s Learning Highlights . 26 Francophone and Anglophone minorities, and supporting initiatives that foster artistic diversity. The NAC is proud of the many positive measures that its various artistic Report on Strategic Goals . 29 departments have taken over the last fiscal year to enhance the vitality of the English Board/Management . 34 and French linguistic minority communities in Canada, and to support and foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. For example, as part Management Discussion and Analysis . 39 of Zones Théâtrales in the fall of 2019, francophone artists from six Canadian provinces Financial Statements/Notes . 43 converged on the National Capital Region to practise their art in front of some 3,000 spectators and 40 presenters. National Arts Centre Foundation . 54 Cover: Josée Bourgeois Photo © Tracey Lynne Photography 2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 2 Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools Evalyn Parry and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory Lighting Design: Rebecca Picherack Set Design: Kaitlin Hickey Embracing Change Artistic Treatment: Heather Campbell Photo © Jeremy Mimnagh The 2019 – 2020 season at the National Arts And through research and collaboration, Centre was full of extraordinary change. we galvanized a national effort to explore how the performing arts can respond to the NAC Indigenous Theatre launched its climate crisis. exceptional first season, with brilliant Indigenous artists and powerful Indigenous There has been an abundance of change. stories on the national stage. Indigenous Theatre has changed us; it’s now a And yet we imagine the performing arts fundamental part of who we are. renewed, and encompassing a far wider spectrum of voices and cultures. Through our National Creation Fund, we invested in change-makers — innovative We believe greater opportunities for artists who push the limits of what we everyone to engage with the performing arts thought possible. are possible. We responded to dramatic changes in And we envision a strong, adaptable our world. performing arts sector — one that embraces innovation and fosters the next generation of In light of COVID-19, we acted to help the artists, audiences and cultural leaders. performing arts recover. We created a digital stage to support artists, and lift the spirits At the NAC, we embrace change and the of Canadians. transformational opportunities it can bring. We stayed connected to each other, engaging with audiences in their homes and on their phones. In witnessing the Black Lives Matter movement, we committed to making our stages and spaces more diverse, accessible, equitable and inclusive. 2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 3 Indigenous Theatre “ In a season focused on themes of cultural 2019 – 2020 marked the launch of Indigenous reclamation, Mòshkamo proudly claimed Theatre, the most important development at Indigenous Theatre’s rightful place at the NAC the NAC in 50 years. Led by Artistic Director and on the national stage. Mòshkamo set the Kevin Loring and Managing Director Lori tone for our first season, a season filled with Marchand, the enormously successful first strong and authentic Indigenous voices. ” season featured more than 10 Indigenous languages, and celebrated the beauty, strength – Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Loring and resilience of Indigenous women, with most works written and created by women. The season kicked off with Mòshkamo: Indigenous Arts Rising (September 11-29), a festival of 111 events in music, theatre and dance that featured 332 participants and attracted 15,000 people. It began with an emotional and uplifting Grand Entry featuring an Algonquin-led, three-kilometre canoe procession along the Rideau Canal. The first play was Marie Clements’ The Unnatural and Accidental Women. Directed by Muriel Miguel, the opening night on September 13 in the Babs Asper Theatre attracted a capacity crowd, including Elders and prominent members of the Indigenous community from across Canada and around the world. The Unnatural and Accidental Women Pictured: Monique Mojica Set Design : Andy Moro Lighting Design : Jeff Harrison. Costumes : Sage Paul Photo ©Justin Tang 2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 4 Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha Neema Bickersteth Photo ©John Lauener Photography National Creation Fund Some artists are change-makers. Through their work, they inspire us to see the world differently. Treemonisha is one of the world’s first Black operas. Created in 1911 by Scott Joplin, it is one of the few surviving performance pieces about the immediate post-slavery era written by a Black person. Sadly, Joplin could find no backers and never saw the work fully staged. Volcano Theatre, in association with the Moveable Beast Collective, is reimagining Treemonisha. Led by an international creative team consisting primarily of Black women, the new version features a new orchestration, arrangement, libretto and story that extends Joplin’s feminism and politics. The project looks to restore Joplin’s voice as central to a North American Black classical canon. “ This work is about the things we were told The NAC, with an investment from the separated us and how we internalized this National Creation Fund, is a co-commissioner separation. It is about the remnants of of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, joining memory and trauma, love and joy, but most an impressive group of national and of all it is about Black women and their international partners. Scheduled to extraordinary ability to survive. ” premiere in California in April 2020, the work was postponed due to the pandemic and will – Leah-Simone Bowen, book and libretto adaptation, Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha be presented at a future date. 2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 5 Jim Cuddy Photo © Chris Chapman #CanadaPerforms “ We were so grateful to get such 5M Six days after the NAC closed its doors, the NAC views from immediate help from our industry across Canada launched #CanadaPerforms in partnership with and around the peers at the NAC in a time that is Facebook Canada. The initiative paid Canadian artists world crushing for the arts community.” for online performances, and lifted the spirits of Canadians during the pandemic. #CanadaPerforms – Melissa McClelland of the Toronto duo Whitehorse, kicked off with a performance by the Jim Cuddy who took part in #CanadaPerforms Band that has since been viewed more than 666,000 times. Over the next two months, audiences enjoyed 80% more than 700 Canadian artists in music, theatre, NAC web traffic dance and literature. from outside the National Capital Region The $700,000+ Facebook-National Arts Centre Fund for Performing Artists was made possible through generous contributions from founding 19K partner Facebook Canada, Slaight Music, RBC Foundation, SiriusXM Canada and the Bennett increase in Family Foundation. NAC Facebook and Instagram followers On June 1, the NAC extended #CanadaPerforms as a two-year partnership to benefit livestreamed performances, music events and festivals, made possible through an additional $500,000 investment from Facebook Canada. It began in June 6,000 with the Road to Canada Day, profiling Canadian applications by Canadian artists performing arts festivals. And in the summer, to perform #CanadaPerforms partnered with RBC Bluesfest to present live, drive-in