Wajdi Mouawad, OC, is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play Incendies (2003). His works often revolve around family trauma, war, and the betrayal of youth. Since April 2016, Mouawad has been the director of the Théâtre national de la Colline in Paris.

The National Theatre School of Canada is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and from cultural ministries in each of the provinces, with added financial support from private and corporate donors. it has offered incomparable training to actors, directors, playwrights, set and costume designers and production specialists to work in professional theatre.