January 16, 2004 -

Ottawa -- At a recent press conference in Montreal, the Académie québécoise du théâtre announced the nominees for this year’s Soirée des Masques, the Académie’s tenth annual awards gala honouring and celebrating the achievements of Quebec’s theatre artists. The 2004 gala will take place on Sunday, February 1 at the Monument-National in Montreal, and will be telecast live by ARTV and Radio-Canada.

Actress Christiane Pasquier is among the finalists for the masque (award) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her role as the Mother in L’Éden Cinéma, coproduced by the National Arts Centre (NAC) French Theatre, the Festival de théâtre des Amériques, and Sibyllines. Sonoyo Nishikawa, lighting designer for the show, is nominated for the masque for Best Lighting Design. Written by Marguerite Duras and directed by Brigitte Haentjens, L’Éden Cinéma was presented in the NAC Studio from May 14–17 and May 30–June 7, 2003, as part of the Festival de théâtre des Amériques.

Paul Lefebvre, Associate Artistic Director of the NAC French Theatre, has been nominated for the masque for Best Translation or Adaptation for his translation of Kevin Kerr’s Unity, 1918 (Unity, mil neuf cent dix-huit), produced by the Théâtre PàP and presented in the NAC Theatre March 27‑29 and April 4 and 5, 2003. Two family productions presented by the NAC French Theatre during the 2002–2003 season are also up for awards: Le Capitaine Horribifabulo, produced by the Théâtre des Ventrebleus (“Masque des Enfants terribles,” a “people’s choice” award presented by the young audience members themselves) and Deux pas vers les étoiles, produced by Mathieu, François et les autres… in coproduction with the Théâtre les gens d’en bas and Les Coups de Théâtre (masque for Best Production for Young Audiences and masque for Best Original Script). This play by Jean-Rock Gaudreault won the 2003 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama.

As well, the finalists for the masque for Best Franco-Canadian Production include Le Testament du couturier by Michel Ouellette, produced by Théâtre la Catapulte with the support of the NAC French Theatre through its Développement du théâtre en région (DTR) programme; and La petite ombre, a Théâtre populaire d’Acadie/Théâtre du Papyrus coproduction that will be presented in the NAC Studio in late February. L’Inoublié ou Marcel Pomme-dans-l’eau: un récit-fleuve, the Momentum production of the one-man show by Marcel Pomerlo that will close the French Theatre’s current season (Studio, May 5–8), is a finalist in three categories: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Original Script, and Outstanding Montreal Production.

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Information:
Guy Warin, Communications Officer
National Arts Centre French Theatre
(613) 947-7000 or 1 866 850-2787, ext. 759
gwarin@nac-cna.ca