September 12, 2005 -

Ottawa -- The Association des théâtres francophones du Canada (ATFC), chaired by Guy Mignault, has awarded its second Prix Marcus to director, actor, musician and composer René Cormier, Artistic and Executive Director since 1993 of the Théâtre populaire d’Acadie in Caraquet, New Brunswick. Established in 2001, the Prix Marcus is presented each year to an artist who has made a significant contribution to the development of regional theatre.

Ms. Martha J. Durdin, Vice President of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), presented the Council’s 2005 John Hirsch Director’s Award to director Joël Beddows, Artistic Director since 1998 of Ottawa’s Théâtre la Catapulte. Established in 1993, the award is presented every three years to a promising Ontario theatre director to further the recipient’s professional development. This is the first time the award has gone to a francophone director.

Both awards were presented on September 9th during the Festival Zones Théâtrales, produced by the National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre, at a reception held at La Nouvelle Scène in downtown Ottawa.

The Prix Marcus

The Prix Marcus is awarded each year to an established artist who has made a significant contribution to the development of regional theatre. This ties in with the ATFC’s goal of anchoring theatre companies and artists in their regional/historical context. The award was established in 1991 at the Festival du théâtre des régions, and its inaugural recipient was Roland Mahé, Artistic Director of the Cercle Molière. The award consists of an original sculpture by artist André Lapointe, and is named in honour of Jean?]Claude Marcus, former Artistic Director (1993–2001) of the NAC French Theatre, whose unwavering support made an important contribution to the development of French-language theatre in Canada. It was he who spearheaded the NAC French Theatre’s creation in the 1980s of the fonds de Développement du théâtre en region/DTR (a fund to support regional theatre development) and, in 1995, the 15 Jours de la dramaturgie des régions, a biannual theatre festival that became the Festival du théâtre des régions and is now reborn as the Festival Zones Théâtrales.

René Cormier

Director, actor, musician, composer and emcee René Cormier has been the Artistic and Executive Director of the Théâtre populaire d’Acadie in Caraquet, in the heart of Acadia, since 1993. He is nearing the end of his term after 12 years of outstanding service to the first French-language professional theatre company established east of Quebec. He has a music degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and trained in theatre at the École internationale Jacques Le Coq in Paris, and has worked for nearly three decades to promote the arts and culture of Acadia and French Canada. Mr. Cormier chaired the Association des théâtres francophones du Canada (ATFC) for four years and the Commission internationale du théâtre francophone (CITF) for five; he is currently (since June) chair of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF).

His many awards and honours include the 1998 Theatre Artist of the Year Award presented by the Association acadienne des artistes professionnel.le.s du Nouveau-Brunswick; the Manager of the Year Award (2000) from the New Brunswick Economic Council; and the 2000 Racines Award presented by the Conseil provincial des sociétés culturelles (CPSC) for his role as cultural development ambassador for New Brunswick. More recently, he was recognized by the Aliant Group as one of the prominent personalities of the Atlantic Provinces, and in April 2003 his company received the New Brunswick Foundation for the Arts’ Artistic Organization of the Year Award. Also in 2003, France recognized René Cormier’s contribution to the growth of the Francophonie by investing him as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

The John Hirsch Director’s Award

This award consisting of a cash prize of $5,000 is given every three years to Ontario’s most promising upcoming theatre director to further the recipient’s professional development. The John Hirsch Memorial Fund was established by a bequest to the Ontario Arts Council in 1989 from the late John Hirsch, one of Canada's most distinguished directors. Previous recipients of the John Hirsch Director’s Award include Colin Taylor (1993), Josephine LeGrice (1996), Chris Abraham (1999), and Jennifer Tarver (2002). John Hirsch endowed several other awards, including the Canada Council for the Arts’ John Hirsch Prize for new and developing theatre directors.

Joël Beddows

Joël Beddows is an activedirector, translator, researcher and teacher, known for his energy and his unswerving commitment to emerging Franco-Ontarian artists and playwrights. In the summer of 1998 he was appointed Artistic Director of Ottawa’s Théâtre la Catapulte, and the company has blossomed under his leadership, earning a 2001 Lieutenant-Governor’s Arts Award and the 2003 Ontario Minister of Culture Award for the quality of its productions for young audiences, particularly Stephan Cloutier’s Safari de banlieue, which Mr. Beddows directed. His production of Faust: chroniques de la démesure by Richard J. Léger earned him the Capital Critics Circle (CCC)’s Palme for Best Ottawa-Gatineau Production 2000–01; he received this award a second time in 2002–03 for his staging of Michel Ouellette’s Le Testament du couturier, which also won the 2003 Masque (award) for Best Franco-Canadian Production. His production of Joan MacLeod’s Cette fille-là (The Shape of a Girl) received Vancouver’s Jessie Richardson Award for Best Production for Young Audiences, 2004–05. Le Droit, Ottawa’s French-language daily newspaper, awarded him its 2003 Prix Théâtre for “the rigour of his practice as an artistic director, and for his production of Le Testament du couturier.”

Joël Beddows is also on the teaching faculty of the University of Ottawa Theatre Department. Upcoming projects include directing the Canadian premiere of La Société de Métis by Quebec playwright Normand Chaurette for the NAC French Theatre.

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Information:
Guy Warin
Communications and Media Relations Officer
NAC French Theatre
Festival Zones Théâtrales
(613) 947-7000 or 1 866 850?]2787, ext. 759
gwarin@nac-cna.ca