NEPA HISTORY
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On the 13th of November 1982, a group of Native and non-Native individuals from across Ontario collectively agreed that there was a need for, and an interest in, the development of a professional Aboriginal theatre company in Canada. It was at that meeting that Native Earth Performing Arts was born. Following that meeting an Interim Board of Directors was formed and the new company was incorporated in 1983.

The early productions (1982-1985) were collective works, since scripts were almost non-existent. as there were a very limited number of Aboriginal actors available at the time and no one had ventured into production work before, most of the plays were written by the actors who starred in them. Artists such as Jim Compton, Ron Cook, Gary Farmer, Rosa John, Makka Kleist, Dennis Lacroix, Doris Linklater, Billy Merasty, Monique Mojica and Maariu Olsen.

In the late 80's, Native Earth Performing Arts produced the work of an exciting new playwright who would then go on to become one of the most recognized names in Aboriginal Theatre. That play was "Aria", and the playwright was Tomson Highway. Highway then went on to pen a number of works that were premiered by Native Earth Performing Arts, such as The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move To Kapuskasing. Since then Native Earth Performing Arts has introduced Toronto and Canadian audiences to such playwrights as Columpa C Bobb, Ben Cardinal, Joseph Dandurand, Darrell Dennis, Floyd Favell, Briar Grace-Smith, Joyce B Joe, Margo Kane, Leonard Linklater & Patti Flather, Tina Mason, William Merasty, Jim Morris, Daniel David Moses, Beatrice Mosionier, Drew Hayden Taylor, Ronald Weihs and now Yvette Nolan. In 1988, Native Earth Performing Arts was the first Aboriginal company in Canada to produce original dance pieces with New Song...New Dance and The Sage, The Dancer and The Fool by Tomson Highway and his late brother Rene Highway.

In addition to staging productions Native Earth Performing Arts is also a major force in the development of new Aboriginal plays. For the past 13 years, Native Earth Performing Arts has presented the Weesageechak Begins To Dance Festival of new plays. Many of the scripts involved in this festival go onto Main Stage production with Native Earth Performing Arts and other Aboriginal theatre companies across Canada. This play festival has become one of the most important festivals for Aboriginal theatre Artistic Directors in Canada to attend when planning their upcoming seasons.

Over the course of its 19 year history, Native Earth Performing Arts has gone on to present the first North American Aboriginal written and performed production at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, has received 7 Dora Mavor Moore Awards from the Toronto Theatre Alliance, 24 Dora Mavor Moore Award Nominations, and 2 Chalmers Canadian Play Awards from the Ontario Arts Council. Native Earth Performing Arts is also pleased that it was awarded the 1997 James Buller Award for Aboriginal Theatre Excellence in the category of The Advancement Of Aboriginal Theatre, presented by The Center for Indigenous Theatre.

Operating in the City of Toronto, Native Earth Performing Arts works in association with various theatre facilities around the city and our productions are seen by some of the most varied audiences in Toronto. Subjects tackled in Native Earth Performing Arts' plays are often at the forefront of Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal cultural and political relations in Canada. Over the past 19 years, twelve of Native Earth Performing Arts productions have been published by a number of Canadian publishing companies and have been purchased by Canadian, American and European school boards, universities and the general public.