About Us | Centre for Indigenous Theatre

Our history

In 1974, the late James Buller founded Native Theatre School with the belief that with a viable Aboriginal school, Aboriginal actors, playwrights and directors would have a respectful and supportive home for the community’s creative explorations and exchanges. Buller’s hope was that the four-week program would grow Aboriginal voices and the Aboriginal theatre community.

And today

James Buller’s dream is alive and well and bigger than he could possibly have imagined. Today, the Centre for Indigenous Theatre offers full-time three and four-year programs embracing the spirit, energy and inspiration derived from the culture, values and traditions of Indigenous people.

CIT elaborates a contemporary Indigenous performance culture by providing training and professional development opportunities for emerging and established Native theatre artists. The curriculum integrates training in acting, voice and movement with Indigenous cultural classes in dance, song, story-weaving and oral history. It also offers a professional development component, allowing students and working actors to train together, adding the all-important mentoring component to the curriculum.

You, the student, are given the opportunity to publicly perform through community showcase events, story creation projects and a year-end production which features senior students.

Our program is built to prepare you for your career in contemporary performance and theatre arts, from a distinctively Indigenous cultural foundation. The uniqueness of our training is how oscillates from Indigenous culture into contemporary theatre and performance techniques. The program equips you, the student, with Indigenous learnings, knowledge, perspectives, practices, and modern performance methodologies. This particular combination is designed to best enable you to tell your stories, in your voice. It is an opportunity to work with Indigenous artists in your own cultural milieu, and to become tomorrow’s passionate, inspired and strong Indigenous cultural curators, conservationist and artist.

The curriculum integrates training in the areas of acting, voice and movement with Indigenous cultural classes in dance, song and oral history. The program also offers professional development which allows students and working actors to train together, adding and essential mentoring element to your training. Our program is performance oriented, so all students will also have a chance to perform. You gain practical performance experience through public performance opportunities in showcase events, story creation projects. And, a year-end show written by an Indigenous playwright or adapted by an Indigenous playwright, featuring senior students.