Gideon Arthurs thought he’d never leave Toronto but then Montreal made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
He presides over the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS), over the marble halls of its training facility on St. Denis Street and over its main performance space in the historic, yet state of the art, Monument National Theatre on St. Laurent Boulevard that was the initial showcase for Yiddish theatre in Montreal.
As the school’s youngest CEO in 50 years, at 36 he is a wunderkind who enchanted the search committee that installed him in June 2014. His vision for the place demonstrates the reason.
“The arts in general are changing very rapidly. They have to react to all kinds of new things like the competition of the Internet and changing demographics,” he says.
“Traditionally, theatre has been a fairly privileged area with predominantly upper and middle-class audiences but the world right now is becoming more democratic, much more diverse and more decentralized. We have to make our institution more flexible, able to jump on opportunities, more in touch with the communities.”
Arthurs’ desire for inclusiveness must run in his blood since his great-grandfather Henry Dworkin was a major facilitator of the immigration of Eastern European Jews before World War II and his great-grandmother, nurse and philanthropist Dorothy Goldstick Dworkin, helped found Mount Sinai Hospital.
Coincidentally, Henry Dworkin took to the stage at the Monument National as a delegate to the first Canadian Jewish Congress in 1919.
The CEO’s father, Harry Arthurs, former president of York University and a decorated lawyer and labour law scholar, is understandably proud of him.
“While we were always close, we never had a personal connection over the work I was doing until now. We can talk about institutional planning, strategic plans, good governance and I think he really enjoys seeing me grow into this role,” says Arthurs.
His two newly bilingual daughters, aged 3 and 5, and his wife Erin Shields, an award-winning playwright, are happily ensconced with him in mostly francophone Villeray near the Jean Talon Market.
A foresight on his parents’ part was placing him in a French primary school and sending him to theatre classes at Le Théâtre français de Toronto.
“I was an actor throughout my childhood, and continued to study in the Claude Watson School for the Arts and then at Brown University in Rhode Island,” he says.
Back in Toronto, he was company manager for Soulpepper Theatre, then executive director of the Toronto Fringe Festival followed by general manager of Tarragon Theatre.
“To come to the NTS which has almost 60 years of creating the most important artists in the country is a huge honour. It’s a wide mandate,” he says. “I’m the one who is ultimately responsible for the financial situation of the organization, interacting with the board of directors and all our donors, I write the grant applications, and hire the directors. I’m responsible for any kind of strategic initiative and I represent the school out in the world and develop creative partnerships to place students.”
The 167 NTS students choose from acting, playwriting, directing or production programs in French or English. Costume design/scenography is bilingual.
The level of personalized attention is such that last year the NTS issued 350 teaching contracts. Applications are being accepted for the 2016 school year until Jan. 31.
Among famous grads are Sandra Oh of TV’s Grey’s Anatomy, and Jewish alumni such as actors Ian Lake, Cara Pifko (This is Wonderland) and Jake Epstein. The upcoming season of classical and contemporary performances open to the public, will soon be announced online.
