2010 - today
2012
In March, The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages confirmed the renewal of the School's annual operating grant of $4.6 million from his ministry for the next two years.
In January, major fundraising "Revealing Talent" campaign surpasses the $ 10 million mark.
2011
On November 1, the School and the organization MU inaugurated its mural Les Conteurs, an NTS legacy to the Montreal community.
Homecoming Weekend, October 28 to 30, 2011, was a defining moment of the 50th Anniversary celebrations. Close to 400 alumni attended the welcome home cocktail, cabaret performances, conferences and the farewell brunch. They came from as far away as Australia, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, France, California, Texas and Vancouver, B.C. What a turnout – what a party – what a walk down memory lane!
At the end of October, the 2012 English and French Section graduating classes worked together to create En français comme en anglais, it's easy to criticize, loosely based on several of Jacob Wren's works and directed by two graduates, Chris Abraham (Directing, 1996) and Christian Lapointe (Mise en scène, 2005).
In October, the NTS announced a $ 1 million donation from Cirque du Soleil towards its Revealing Talent Campaign, co-chaired, Gerry McCaughey, President and CEO of CIBC, and Louis Vachon, President and CEO of National Bank of Canada, and launched at the start of the School's 50th anniversary, November 2, 2010 to raise $12 million from private sources.
The French Section of the NTS presented embouteillageS, a mega theatrical traffic jam, in Hangar 16 in Montreal's Old Port in April 2011. embouteillageS implicated all French Section programs of study and featured 70 students, 27 author/playwrights and 8 directors (mostly NTS grads or close collaborators) – all under the artistic direction of Robert Bellefeuille.
On April 6, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, hosted a reception at Rideau Hall in honour of the National School of Canada's 50th anniversary. Speaking on behalf of the School were Jodi White, Chair of the NTS Board of Governors, Simon Brault, the School's CEO, and Guy Nadon, a 1974 graduate of the French Acting program.
The School and Financière Sun Life formed a partnership to equip and manage a new performance space at the Monument-National called Scène Financière Sun Life. It was officially inaugurated in March 2011 and its mission is to the promote Quebec singer songwriters through a series titled Les Monumentales.
In March, the 2011 graduating Acting class embarked on the Revealing Talent Tour in March 2011, performing staged monologues in five theatres across Canada: Canadian Stage / Bluma Appel Theatre (Toronto, ON), Theatre Calgary (Calgary, AB), Arts Club (Vancouver, BC), Neptune Theatre (Halifax, NS) and Centaur Theatre (Montreal, QC).
Thanks to the support of several of its major donors, the School established Theatre Engaging Communities (TEC), a permanent program created in the wake of the Cultural and Artistic Leadership Program (CALP). TEC's mission is to encourage NTS artists to explore a theatre that reaches individuals and the communities to which they belong or to encourage and support the emergence of artists through their transition from artistic training to the creative workplace.
2010
In mid-December, the French section presented a show-stopping song-based performance featuring the 2011 graduating French Acting class alternating with French Section alumni such as Robert Charlebois and Louise Forestier.
At the invitation of Peter Hinton, Artistic Director of the NAC English Theatre, the NTS partnered with the NAC to present Romeo & Juliet at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in October 2010.
An alumni-based major ad campaign was created for the 50th anniversary year titled Revealing Talent for 50 Years.
On November 2, 2010, the National Theatre School launched its 50th anniversary celebrations in its theatre, Montreal's Monument-National. In attendance were politicians, dignitaries, the arts community and past Gascon-Thomas Award winners. The golden anniversary year was devised to straddle three sessions, running from November 2, 2010 to October 30, 2011.