About
This 2000-square foot mural was created by Richard Morin as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS). It pays homage to the disciplines taught at the NTS and is a testament to the vital artistic and cultural contribution of the NTS in our community. Six characters stand out on the dark, faded background. Each represents one of the disciplines associated with the practice of theatre: the author holding the script; the mother, essential character, omnipresent in theatre as a symbol of life; the young girl representing youth, the students and the future; the bird man as a symbol of play, of acting; the young woman wearing the “Velasquez” dress, highlighting the importance of costume and finally, the centaur, symbol of the director and of the complex relations and power struggles between humans. The characters were painted in studio while the wall was being constructed and were subsequently mounted onto it. The gears at the top of the mural represent production and all the work that goes on backstage. The backdrop represents set design and the bill at the bottom of the mural, going from traditional to abstract, represents time and tradition.
Mr. François Vincent (professor, NTS), Ms. Danielle Lévesque (director of the program in set design, NTS) as well as Ms. Elizabeth-Ann Doyle (co-founder of MU) were responsible for the artistic direction. Annie Hamel, Florence April-Borgeat, Olivier Roy and Nico assisted the artist Richard Morin throughout the completion of the mural.
Since the architectural integrity of the NTS building could not be altered, a steel self-supporting structure measuring 45 feet wide by 47 feet high was constructed and anchored to the wall. The wall-screen was covered with concrete panels that were then coated with an acrylic roughcast paint.
This project was made possible through the support of Roger Cyr, Stéphane Mongeau, Gille Sainte-Croix, Dominic Champagne et Julie Castonguay, Dominique Lemieux, Robert Lepage, Fernand Rainville, Lorraine Pintal et l’équipe du TNM, René-Richard Cyr, Neilson Vignola, Marie-Chantale Perron, Pierre Rousseau and partners below.
