National Arts Centre Names Kevin Loring as Indigenous Theatre Artistic Director

KEVIN LORING | IMAGE: IMDB

The National Arts Centre (NAC) announced June 15 that Nlaka’pamux actor and playwright Kevin Loring will be the first artistic director of its newly formed Indigenous Theatre when it launches in 2019. Loring was hired after a comprehensive search by a six-person hiring committee, which worked closely with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.

Loring is originally from BC's Lytton First Nation and studied acting at Langara College. He won the Governor General's Award for English-language Drama in 2009 for his play Where the Blood Mixes. An accomplished actor in addition to his playwriting credentials, Loring is currently starring in NAC's production of Corey Payette's Children of God.

“The founding of the Indigenous Theatre Department at the National Arts Centre is an important step in reconciliation,” Loring told The Globe and Mail. “Our stories from coast to coast to coast are the original songs of this land. Now through the NAC’s Indigenous Theatre Department our stories will have a permanent home, a place to grow and thrive.”

Loring, who is currently based in Vancouver, will move to Ottawa upon assuming his new artistic directorship.