There’s a Company at the NAC! The NAC 40th Anniversary English Theatre Acting Company is now in Rehearsal!
November 24, 2009
In its 40th anniversary year, the National Arts Centre is making theatrical history! For the first time in 25 years the NAC has formed an English Theatre Company made up of 18 artists selected from across the country.
Our Acting Company will work alongside some of the finest directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, designers and composers, from across the nation.
Since late October the NAC’s English Theatre Acting Company has been rehearsing two productions: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children, both in new versions for the stage by English Theatre Artistic Director, Peter Hinton, and dramaturged by Artistic Associate, Paula Danckert. A Christmas Carol will begin previews at the NAC on December 8th, and Mother Courage and Her Children will be performed at the NAC beginning January 12th, followed by a run at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg in February.
On Thursday, November 26, media is invited to join the Company as rehearsals take place in the morning. From 10 a.m. to noon, media will have access to record a rehearsal of A Christmas Carol and interview members of the English Theatre Company, Artistic Associate Paula Danckert , and Artistic Director Peter Hinton.
Since his appointment to the National Arts Centre in 2005, Hinton has championed the reinstatement of a National Theatre Company. As part of its role as a National Theatre the NAC is responsible for nurturing the work of Canadian artists, of all disciplines.
“The Acting Company is National, giving a face to the plays we produce that genuinely looks like Canada today. We are dedicated to the Arts, by presenting new and Canadian versions of two masterful texts. We are a Centre; a place where artists gather from across the country to explore and celebrate the diversity of our experience,” -- Peter Hinton.
The NAC 40th Anniversary English Theatre is pleased to introduce you to the 14 seasoned professionals and 4 apprentices that make up its Acting Company. They are:
NISHA AHUJA (Ottawa, Ontario). Nisha was the workshop leader for the 2009 March Break Youth Program at the NAC. She also conducted English Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Schools programme in 2008 and will do so again in 2010. A graduate of York University she is an actor, writer and educator who has performed and created original work across Canada, the Netherlands, and India. NAC Debut.
MICHAEL BLAKE (Toronto, Ontario). Michael has performed in such productions as Othello, The Lion King and Rock and Roll. He was an inaugural member of Soulpepper Theatre’s Academy program and is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. NAC Debut.
RICHARD DONAT (New Elm, Nova Scotia). Richard is an award-winning actor and director who is well known as Dr. Burnley on TV’s Emily of New Moon. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, he has worked in theatres across the country and appeared in The Ark 2008 for the NAC.
RANDI HELMERS (Toronto, Ontario). Randi has appeared at the NAC in The Wrong Son, The Way of the World, The Ark 2007 and 2009, and The Changeling. Randi has worked on stages across the country including The Stratford Shakespeare Festival and, as a singer, she performs with John Millard and Happy Day and with bassist Rob Clutton.
TANJA JACOBS (Toronto, Ontario). For the NAC, Tanja has performed in Happy Days, The Way of the World, The Ark 2006 and 2008, and The Little Years. She was born in Brussels and is now based in Toronto, where her acting work has brought her 10 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and two wins.
GEORDIE JOHNSON (Calgary, Alberta). Living now in Monkton, Ontario, Geordie has appeared on stages throughout North America and Britain, including 11 seasons at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He is a Dora Award recipient, and his extensive work includes directing and TV, including such shows as Durham County, Traders, Dracula: the series and The City for which he received a Gemini Award. NAC Debut.
KRIS JOSEPH (Swift Current, Saskatchewan). Kris is based in Ottawa and has performed in several NAC productions including The Changeling, The Ark 2008, and Macbeth. Recent credits include The Pillowman (Vision Theatre) and two seasons with the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott.
RON KENNELL (Stratford, Ontario). This two-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee spent six years in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and recently played Caliban in the Canadian Stage Company’s The Tempest. Ron has performed in the International Theatre Festival in Iran and in the Arctic. NAC Debut.
JOHN KOENSGEN (Ottawa, Ontario). John was a member of the original NAC English Theatre Company, joining in 1978. He’s appeared in many NAC productions including Macbeth and Buried Child. He is a graduate of Carleton University.
JANI LAUZON (Cranbrook, British Columbia). Jani appeared recently at the NAC in Death of a Chief. Sheis a Métis artist, now based in Toronto. Jani has received three Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations, three Juno nominations and is a Gemini Award-winning puppeteer. Jani was co-founder of Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble and is Playwright in Residence at Factory Theatre.
JULIE TAMIKO MANNING (Montreal, Quebec). Julie is a graduate of Montreal’s Dome Theatre. The premiere of her first play Mixie and the Halfbreeds was co-written with Adrienne Wong, and produced in Vancouver this past summer. Selected credits include Burning Vision (NAC, Magnetic North), girls! girls! girls! and most recently, Rock, Paper, Jackknife... She is 3rd generation British/Japanese Canadian.
ALEX McCOOEYE (Montreal, Quebec). Alex graduated from the National Theatre School in Montreal, and during his time there, participated as a student in The Ark 2007. His professional debut was in Rock, Paper, Jackknife... in Montreal. NAC Debut.
NIALL PATRICK McNEIL (Vancouver, British Columbia). Niall was born in Ottawa and is an actor and emerging writer. He has performed with Leaky Heaven Circus productions and Caravan Farm Theatre in British Columbia. He is the recipient of the 2010 David Leighton Arts Fellowship. NAC Debut.
MATT MIWA (Aurora, Ontario). Matt now lives in Ottawa and is a recent graduate of the Theatre Department at the University of Ottawa. NAC debut.
STEPHEN OUIMETTE (Stratford, Ontario). For the NAC, Stephen has performed in such plays as Endgame and I Am My Own Wife. He is a celebrated actor and performed in 17 seasons at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Stephen is also well known for his TV work including his Gemini Award-winning turn on Slings and Arrows.
JEREMIAH SPARKS (Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia). For the NAC, Jeremiah performed in Whylah Falls. He is an actor, singer and composer and appeared in the Toronto production of the stage musical The Lion King and released his first CD, Let Go and Let God, in 1999.
WANETA STORMS (New Denver, British Columbia). Waneta appeared in Clout at the NAC. She studied at Simon Fraser University and graduated from The National Theatre School of Canada. Waneta received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her performance in DVxT's Coyote Ugly in 1999. She has been nominated for four Gemini Awards, three of which were for her lead role on CTV's The Eleventh Hour.
MATTHEW TAPSCOTT (Winnipeg, Manitoba). Matt has toured Hedwig and the Angry Inch through the U.K. and Italy. In Canada he has worked with the Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and has recorded three records with Winnipeg’s Tequila Mockingbird. NAC Debut.
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The English Theatre Acting Company, Peter Hinton and Company Dramaturg Paula Danckert are also working with musical director Allen Cole, designers Jock Munro, Teresa Przybylski, Eo Sharp, Troy Slocum, stage managers Michael Hart, Jane Vanstone Osborn and Stéfanie Séguin, Company Historian David Dean and the NAC English Theatre Playwrights in Residence Dionne Brand (Poet Laureate of Toronto), Kevin Loring (the recent winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama) and Michael O’Brien. For A Christmas Carol, they will be joined by local child performers Joshua Bajpai, Ananya Rajkumar, and (from Toronto) Nina Rose Taylor.
The NAC English Theatre is extremely excited about this season’s English Theatre Acting Company, and look forward to the company growing as the years go on.
“We are thrilled to re-instate a resident company of actors for English Theatre at the NAC, and to bring these productions to audiences in Ottawa and Winnipeg through our co-production with the Manitoba Theatre Centre,” added Mr. Hinton.
For more information, please call:
Rosemary Thompson
Director of Communications
National Arts Centre
613-947-7000 ext 260
cell 613-762-4118
rthompson@nac-cna.ca
Sean Fitzpatrick
Communications Officer
National Arts Centre English Theatre
613-947-7000 ext. 389
Cell 613-899-9737
sfitzpat@nac-cna.ca
or visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca
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M E D I A P H O T O C A L L O P P O R T U N I T Y
FROM: Sean Fitzpatrick
Communications Officer, English Theatre NAC
Tel: 613-947-7000 ext. 389 – Fax: 613-996-2828
e-mail: sfitzpat@nac-cna.ca
MEDIA PHOTO CALL :
NAC Rehearsal Hall Thursday, November 26, 2009
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: National Arts Centre, 53 Elgin Street
Please enter by the Box Office entrance on the ground floor level (canal side of the building), or if you use another entrance, please make your way to the Main Foyer, or to Stage Door, down by parking.
Sean Fitzpatrick will meet you there and escort you to set up.
Contact: Sean Fitzpatrick – 613-947-7000 ext. 389 or 613-899-9737
Photo Shoot
Any on-camera interviews given during the media call MUST BE SCHEDULED IN ADVANCE – telephone Sean Fitzpatrick at 613-947-7000 ext. 389.
