The National Arts Centre, as the pinnacle performing arts centre of Canada, tends to create ripples with its decisions. The company sets many precedents, is an incubator for much of the country\u2019s theatrical voices, and is an example for trying to move past stagnation of the industry. But sometimes these ripples are received as rapids by the public, as evidenced in the reaction to NAC\u2019s Black Out performance of Is God Is.<\/p>\n
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Black Out performances are a recent trend popping up in theatre programming in conjunction with various other efforts by companies to extend an invitation of designated showings to communities for programming that is specifically by or about those communities. In this case, Black Out shows aim to be a night for Black audiences in order to engage in a shared experience and discussion of the content. With a general theatre audience in North America tending to be a majority of aged, white individuals, it makes sense that companies would want avenues of direct engagement for groups represented in their programming.<\/p>\n
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Despite the fact that NAC\u2019s executive director of strategy and communications Annabelle Cloutier even stated that no one would be turned away for racial identity at this single performance, it didn\u2019t stop right-wing media platforms from framing it as a segregationist collapse of their rights.<\/p>\n
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