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10 • POSTED ON November 21, 2008
Posted by steve 
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On Monday, November 10, 2008, NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Peter Hinton was awarded the Audrey Ashley Award from the Capital Critics Circle in Ottawa, honouring him for his body of work and contribution to theatre in Ottawa.
On Monday, November 10, 2008, NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Peter Hinton was awarded the Audrey Ashley Award from the Capital Critics Circle in Ottawa, honouring him for his body of work and contribution to theatre in Ottawa. On the same day, he began leading artists in The Ark, a three week workshop that culminates in a public reading on Saturday, November 29.
The National Arts Centre English Theatre for the past two seasons has devoted time to a special professional development project titled, The Ark. In a program unique in Canada, the NAC English Theatre partners with the National Theatre School of Canada to bring together professional artists and theatre students for a three-week intensive workshop experience designed to enrich our understanding of the history and context of the theatre through research and development that culminates in an evening of readings and song shared with our audience. This season, with the flavour being international, The Ark will focus on the work of German poet, playwright and theatre director Bertolt Brecht.
The Ark allows seasoned artists, including dramaturgs, actors, playwrights, directors, and others, to bring their experience to a body of work that they can otherwise rarely investigate. At the same time, theatre students are mentored and guided through a dramatic landscape where they can discover their strengths and interests. We are joined each season by guest lecturers, academics and other interested specialists who bring the period and its context to vivid life.
The Ark has become enormously valuable to the participating artists, and is one important way in which the NAC English Theatre realizes its leadership in theatre in Canada and brings an exclusive theatre experience to Ottawa audiences and plays a role for potential future productions.
Among the Brecht works that will be explored will be Baal; In the Jungle of Cities; Man Equals Man; St. Joan of the Stockyards; Threepenny Opera; The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Lehrstruck; The Mother; Fear and Misery in the Third Reich; The Good Person of Szechuan; The Caucasian Chalk Circle; Mother Courage and The Life of Galileo.
Joining Peter Hinton on this voyage through Brecht’s work are Paula Danckert, NAC English Theatre Company Dramaturg and Alexandra Lunney, NAC English Theatre Company Manager. The Acting Company for this extraordinary project will be Diane D’Aquila (Stratford); Richard Donat (Halifax); Todd Duckworth (Ottawa); Tanja Jacobs (Toronto); David Jansen (Niagara-on-the-Lake); Kris Joseph (Ottawa); Martin Julien (Toronto); Kevin Loring (Vancouver); Patrick McManus (Toronto); Niall McNeil (Vancouver); Leni Parker (Montreal); Lucy Peacock NTS Coach/Actor (Stratford); Nadia Ross (Wakefield); Alix Sideris (Ottawa); Jovanni Sy (Toronto). Guest Artists will include Sherry Bie (Montreal) Head of English Acting National Theatre School; Carol Cece Anderson (Toronto) NAC English Theatre - Playwright in Residence; Allen Cole (Toronto) Musical Director; Michael Danckert - Niall McNeil’s coach; David Dean (Ottawa) Historian; Paul Lefebrve (Gatineau) Guest Lecturer; Arthur Milner (Val-des Monts) Playwright; Andrew Steinmetz – Author; Eo Sharp (Montreal) Designer; Andrey Tarasiuk (Stratford) Guest Lecturer
They will be joined by National Theatre School students Nathan Barrett, Simon Bracken, Brandon Crone, Meilie Ng Fuk Chong, Leah Doz, William Greenblatt, Chala Hunter, Ron Klappholz, Jessica Moss, Thomas Olajide, Gia Sandhu, University of Ottawa Masters in Directing students, Bronwyn Steinberg and Sarah Waisvisz. Laurie Champagne is Stage Manager, Erin Finn is Production Assistant.
Bertolt Brecht (10 February 1898–14 August 1956). An influential theatre practitioner of the twentieth century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble—the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife and long-time collaborator, actress Helene Weigel—with its internationally acclaimed productions. From his late twenties Brecht remained a lifelong committed Marxist who, in developing the combined theory and practice of his 'epic theatre', synthesized and extended the experiments of Erwin Piscator and Vsevolod Meyerhold to explore theatre as a forum for political ideas and the creation of a critical aesthetic of dialectical materialism. Brecht's modernist concern with drama-as-medium led to his refinement of the 'epic form' of drama.
Produced by the NAC English Theatre Company in association with the National Theatre School of Canada with assistance from the Goethe-Institut Toronto, the University of Ottawa and the Friends of NAC English Theatre.
Generously supported by The Cyril & Dorothy, Joel & Jill Reitman Family Foundation.
The National Theatre School’s participation is made possible in part by Enbridge.
The NAC’s participation is also made possible in part with the assistance of the Government of Canada through the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities (IPOLC), an initiative of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The Ark: The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht
Readings take place on Saturday, November 29, 2008.
Dominion-Chalmers United Church
355 Cooper Street, Ottawa 7:30 p.m.
$20.00 – English Theatre Subscribers $15 – Students $10
Tickets are available for purchase:
In person at the NAC Box Office
At all Ticketmaster outlets
By telephone from Ticketmaster, (613) 755-1111
Online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (www.nac-cna.ca)
A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster
For any information, please call:
Sean Fitzpatrick, Communications Officer, National Arts Centre English Theatre
613-947-7000 ext. 389; e-mail: sfitzpat@nac-cna.ca
Or visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca
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