“It’s not an exaggeration to say I grew up in NACC. It was truly the hub of my community.”
Kira Hall
NACC’s history with Golden Seat Plates goes all the way back to the early 1980s. They were originally sold as part of a national fundraising campaign, organized by the Globe and Mail newspaper. These original plates remained adorned on the seats’ arm rests until 2013, when the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre underwent its first major renovation.
These Golden Seat Plates are a way for us to remember the experiences had in the theatre. Before they’re all sold, we’d like to reflect back on some of the stories these plates are honouring…
Kira Hall, best known for their work on Fraggle Rock, is a Canadian puppeteer, writer, and actor. Kira performed in the first ever Canadian production of Avenue Q, as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut, and has made their mark on the puppeteering world of performance. Before all of that, they fell in love with performance on the NACC stage. Read more about their time at NACC below, and why they love their Golden Seat Plate.
“My plate was actually a gift from my friend Kelsey Miller! We spent a lot of time in NACC both on and backstage together as teens, and we’re both working in arts still (her as a technician/designer, me as performer/writer), so one year she got two golden plates– one for her and one for me. Very appropriate for our lives and friendship.
It’s not an exaggeration to say I grew up in NACC. My first time on stage there would have been at age 5 or 6 with the Aurora Ukrainian Dancers. I was easy to spot: the tiny human in a blue floral skirt correcting the other kids’ choreography during the performance. I got hooked on plays via Ptarmigan Ptheatric’s production of Carousel at age 7, and with Ptarmigan Ptheatrics, Lunch Pail, and other local theatrical endeavours, I averaged a play a year until I left for school. If there wasn’t a role for me, I would inevitably end up helping my mom, Stage Manager Lynn, by jumping in as a stagehand, spotlight op, prop person, etc– getting to help in the fly exactly once during Oklahoma is a highlight. Between local theatre, dance shows with Crazy Legs and Bella, the Sir John Franklin Drama musicals, and many choir and band concerts, you couldn’t get me out of NACC. Most of my April and May memories growing up are of tech weeks, shows, and loadouts. And this doesn’t even include all the shows I enjoyed at NACC from the audience. It was truly the hub of my community.
Even after leaving for school, almost every trip home managed to have a NACC moment. Watching my cousins perform in the SJF band; becoming a surprise swing in Cabaret when a Kit-Kat Girl fell ill; running the sound board for a Bella recital. Despite living in the south for ten years now (gross), I’ve been lucky to stay connected to the Yellowknife performing arts community via my writing for local companies like BAM, Parcel of Rogues, and Kestrel Puppet Players. I do miss being there in person sometimes: tucked behind one of the legs, savouring the cozy pre-show darkness and that musty-rope-and-baked-paint smell that (I’ve since happily learned) all theatres have. But, if I can’t be there, at least my words can be– and so can my name, on a very nice gold plate from a very good friend.“
Kira Hall
Engrave a seat plate and leave a legacy for generations to come in the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.
Visit our ticketing site, or contact our box office for further details.
