If anyone needs proof that culture in English Canada means nothing more than projecting a triumphant image of culture, of being culturally advanced and relevant, even superior, among first world countries, while gorging on and drowning in sodium-laden, fast food, tabloid culture from south of the border, just look at yesterday’s CBC's The National 3-minute story on the National Theatre School and today’s Toronto Star full page on Charlie Sheen’s meltdown.
I never said the National Theatre School was undeserving of celebrating it’s 50th anniversary for training actors. The CBC News’ editors with their bureaucratic mindset believe fundamentally that Canada is undeserving of culture given the 3-minute dog bone they dedicated to the National Theatre School story. It’s the news media across the country that deems Canada’s viewing and reading public culturally dumb and unsophisticated.
My CBC (raw) interview was almost an hour long. The crux of what I said was that the National Theatre School’s 50th should make us question what ALL theatre schools in Canada have done with the training of actors given that almost 90% of our theatrical output and over 98% of our movie screens showcase and project American, British and foreign made plays and films. The problem is not with the American, British and foreign works. The problem is with the dearth of authentic Canadian works by its theatre and film artists reflecting the time and society they live in. That the few homegrown plays, films and TV produced in Canada do not reflect and exclude – for the most part – the multiracial and multicultural population riding our city buses and subways should also be a concern.
A theatre school, an institution, can’t be a cocooned laboratory disconnected from its society. It can’t be a peace treaty between Canada’s Two Solitudes to heal the wounds of the Plains of Abraham – the premise on which NTS was founded. It can’t profess to prep actors for gladiator stardom south of the border. Canada is not what it was in the 1950s. Above and beyond supplying and distilling an actors' skills and techniques, a school and its students must reflect – be connected to - the landscape and society they inhabit. The students – and what they do later in the professional realm – best reflect the quality of the school and culture. It is not for the school to define and shape students' artistic qualities. That’s branding. And should be reserved for cattle not humans. A school should encourage critical thinking in artists, and the skills and toolboxes artists acquire (together with their innate talent) should serve and nourish the creation of culturally relevant works.
Jazz musicians and composers of the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50’s and ‘60s for the most part did not attend music institutions. Yet they perfected their musical skills and toolbox on the job, reflected their reality through their music, and contributed to humanity the 20th century’s most relevant music with Duke Ellington being the 20th century’s greatest and most prolific composer. In the opinion of many Jazz also predicted the civil rights movement.
Yet here in Canada, we have no problem shutting eyes and ears to reality, promoting facsimile culture, dedicating full page ink to a Hollywood star's personal problems, justifying it as culture, and bragging to the world that we're a world class country when it comes to culture.
Silver, golden and centennial anniversaries in Canada simply project an image of itself out of touch with reality. It was the case with Expo ‘67. And as always, after the party, reality hits.
see: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/The_National/1242568525/ID=1830669048
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