The Bleviss Family Library

With a collection of more than 100,000 items, NTS' library is the largest bilingual theatre resource centre in Canada.

Consult the catalogue and reserve your books online!

LIBRARY OPEN

After having been closed for a long period of time, the Bleviss Family Library can once again welcome its members from the outside community. 
 

We have now resumed our regular schedule: 

  • Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
  • Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Friday, noon to 3 p.m. 

We look forward to welcoming you again. 

 
To contact the library: 
Email: bibliocrculation@ent-nts.ca 
Phone: (514) 842-7954, x125 

54, ext. 125

Access

Please note that until further notice, many of distancing and hygiene safety standards required by the public health authorities are still in place in the library. Among other things, mask-wearing is mandatory, and a distance of 1 m. from other visitors must be respected at all times.

However, there is no longer a limit to the number of outside visitors inside the library.

You should not visit the library if:

  • You show symptoms associated with COVID-19.
  • You have tested positive for COVID-19 but have not completed your mandatory isolation period.
  • You are in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.


We thank you for your collaboration.

Borrowing

Members can now reserve documents directly through the library catalogue, by clicking on the RESERVE button in the document page. Do not hesitate to contact us if you need help with this operation.

Returns

Documents can be returned directly at the library’s circulation desk, or else through the blue book-return box located near the library entrance when the library is closed. 
 

Membership

Starting from the 1940s, the Community Players Theatre Library collection was available to theatre enthusiasts in Montreal and across the province. And, still today, in addition to members of the NTS community (students, teachers and staff), anyone interested in the theatre arts who has a paid annual membership can have access to the library and use its services.

Please visit the library's website to learn about memberships.

Origins of the collection

Back in the 1940s, members of Montreal Repertory Theatre began assembling a collection dramatic works and books on theatre that would later become the starting point for the NTS library.

Originally part of the Community Players Theatre Library, the collection was turned over to NTS in the early 1960s and has steadily continued to grow to become the outstanding resource that it is today.

The Bleviss Family Library is home to a collection of over 100,000 documents, making it the most comprehensive bilingual documentation centre for theatre arts in Canada and one of the largest in the world.

Alan Bleviss (Acting, 1966)

Actor Alan Bleviss (1941-2017), originally from Edmonton, attended the National Theatre School (NTS) and graduated 1966.

Endowed with an exceptionally deep, rich voice, Alan gained his reputation as a fine actor while working as a voice-over artist. Throughout his nearly 40-year career, his voice was featured in hundreds of Hollywood movie trailers and was the official voice of several major companies. During the 1970s and 1980s, his was one the most recognizable voices in the voice acting industry.

Nevertheless, Alan Bleviss never forgot where he had first received his professional training and worked tirelessly to further the School’s mission.  A long-serving member of the Board of Directors (1990-2016), he was appointed a Life Governor in 2016 and, among other things, financed many of the Alumni Association’s activities and set up special student bursary funds.

It is in recognition of his exceptional commitment to the School and great generosity that NTS named its library the Bleviss Family Library.

What the collection contains

The Bleviss Family Library houses over 100,000 documents pertaining to the theatre arts and other relevant fields.

Within the collection’s most comprehensive sections, you will find:

  • Tens of thousands of published dramatic works in English and French from Quebec, Canada, and around the world
  • over 6,000 manuscripts (unpublished texts), in both French and English, received directly from the authors, translators, adapters, etc.
  • an impressive collection of books on costumes and fashion
  • press releases about the theatre world, actors, dramatic works, theatre companies, etc.

For external students and people who are preparing for auditions, the library also holds a monologue bank* comprised of thousands of scenes in Quebec and international French, available for on-site consultation only.

 (*only in French)

Whether you are an actor or set designer, director or playwright, stage manager or artistic director, whether you work professionally or as an amateur, the NTS Bleviss Family Library will probably have what you are looking for.

The Library - A gathering place

In addition to providing essential resources for NTS students and teachers—as well as for the greater theatre community of Montreal and elsewhere—the library is also a wonderful gathering place for the NTS community and regularly hosts a variety of activities such as play readings and poetry or song nights. These bilingual evening events, open to anyone, are organized at various times throughout the school year and play an important role within the School.

LIBRARY SCHEDULE

  • Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
  • Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Friday, noon to 3 p.m.

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