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The Star Treatment: Les Prix Rideau Awards

As my partner Jes and I crossed the boulevard outside l’École secondaire De La Salle, a number of figures came into view, standing outside the entrance of the school in full evening dress. A sensation washed over me.

It feels like I’m crashing someone else’s Prom night.

The third annual Rideau Awards—rather, Les Prix Rideau Awards, as for the first year the presentation ceremony was entirely bilingual, inspired Ottawa-Gatineau’s best and brightest theatre talent to break out the best of their wardrobe and descend upon the De La Salle auditorium en masse.

From the first leather-masked usher handing out programs at the door, to the stilt-walker slowly roaming the lobby, to the tableau vivante of costumed burlesque performers in the exquisitely-decorated Party Room, it was immediately evident that this was not your average local theatre awards night.

And why should it be? 2009 was a banner year for theatre in the Ottawa region. Of the nominated productions I’d seen only a few, but heard of most. I was present in the beer tent at the Ottawa Fringe Festival after the opening night of Countries Shaped Like Stars and Inclement Weather (although I have yet to see either, even though they have since played at the Great Canadian Theatre Company), so it was no surprise to me that MiCasa had earned nine nominations for the two productions. If there were an underground theatre award betting circuit, I’d've placed money on that horse to win. A Midwinter’s Dream Tale and The Syringa Tree were also nominated in a number of different categories; in French theatre, L’honnête homme / un one woman show was nominated in nearly every category.

In the Party Room, I spotted some familiar faces, including Louis-Philippe Roy, whose performance as Ludvig in Rappel (director: Simon Lalande) at La Nouvelle Scène was a breathtaking re-introduction to the wonder of French theatre for me. We ran into veteran journalist Mike Levin of UnFolding.ca, who commented on the wide spectrum of wardrobe choices. Looking around, it seemed that for each attendee in an evening gown or smart blazer, there was a matching one in jeans and, at the most, a sportcoat. I found myself hoping they were writers or directors.

Al Connors, himself nominated in the category of Outstanding Director for A Midwinter’s Dream Tale, kicked off the ceremony by introducing co-hosts Alan Neal (of CBC Radio One) and Annie Lefebvre. While Alan stood at the podium, Annie strode down the aisle bathed in a spotlight, sporting a sparkling tiara, wielding a whip, and tugging at the leashes of two silent men in full BDSM slave outfits.

In those few minutes, the Rideau Awards outdid this year’s Academy Awards by a country mile.

“Tonight, we are sharing tongues,” Ms. Lefebvre deadpanned, both underscoring the bilingual aspect of the event and setting the stage for a running theme of French translation gags throughout the presentation.

Next to be introduced were Brie Barker and the cast of Sanitas Playback Theatre (Scott Florence, Paul Gareau, Lucy Lu, Sterling Lynch, and Jen Vallance). Throughout the evening, they would be performing their unique brand of improvisational theatre, theatrically interpreting stories elicited from nominees by Mr. Barker’s gently probing questions, with Nancy Kenny providing French translation. By way of demonstration, Brie interviewed Teri Rata Loretto about her one-woman show Shirley Valentine, and then the players acted out the panic and exhaustion she described, followed by the feeling of getting something different back from the audience.

Following a video retrospective of the year in local theatre, Pierre Brault and Benjamin Gaillard presented the awards for Outstanding Performance—Female to Patricia Fagan for The Syringa Tree and for Interprétation féminine de l’année to Geneviève Couture, for L’honnête homme / un one woman show. Lise Ann Johnson, Artistic Director of the GCTC, accepted on behalf of Ms. Fagan, who was unable to attend as she was having a baby.

Next, presenters Yves Turbide and Margo MacDonald took the podium to present the awards for Outstanding Performance—Male to Paul Rainville for The Drawer Boy and for Interprétation masculine de l’année to Pierre Antoine Lafon Simard for L’illusion comique. Once again, Ms. Johnson took the stage, this time to accept on Mr. Rainville’s behalf. M. Simard was also unable to attend, as he was in France; his mother stepped forward to accept the award on his behalf.

As Annie and Alan were preparing to introduce the next presenters, the booming voice of the Stage Manager shooed them into the wings, and took over. Here the awards diverged slightly; while the English theatre had separate categories for Outstanding Lighting, Set, and Costume Design, Angéla Haché presented the single award for Conception de l’année to Guillaume Houët-Brisebois, for the lighting design for L’honnète homme / un one woman show.

Lynne Cox presented the award for Outstanding Lighting Design to Jock Munro for The Syringa Tree, for whom Lise Ann Johnson again accepted, as Mr. Munro was on his boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

In presenting the award for Outstanding Set Design, Peter Honeywell said that “good set design, like good government, is a tricky thing; it doesn’t call attention to itself… or cut arts funding.” The award went to Ivo Valentik for A Midwinter’s Dream Tale.

Steve Martin (no, not as in Shopgirl) presented the award for Outstanding Costume Design to Louise Hayden, on whose behalf Scott Florence (one of the Sanitas players) accepted.

The Stage Manager gave way to Annie and Alan again, who proceeded to introduce Marc Depatie and Kris Joseph (who was just barely visibly wearing chaps) who were to present the Emerging Artist Award to Emily Pearlman (who proceeded to thank her MiCasa colleagues, Nicolas Di Gaetano and Patrick Gauthier, also nominated in the same category) and Artiste en émergence to Emmanuelle Lussier-Martinez.

James Richardson and… a red dragon marionette animated and voiced by the brilliantly talented Diane Bouchard took the stage to award the Outstanding Stage Management / Technical Award to Donna Bourgeault for A View from the Bridge, an Ottawa Chamber Theatre production, and the corresponding Prix technique / de la régie to Lindsay Tremblay for Le Projet Rideau.

They were followed on stage by Marie-Ève Chassé and Ann Connors, who presented the awards for Outstanding New Creation to Countries Shaped Like Stars and for Nouvelle création de l’année to L’honnête homme / un one woman show.

Sanitas Playback Theatre turned their spotlight to Laura Astwood of the Ottawa Stilt Union, writer/director of The Girl Who Was Eaten By The Dark, for their next theatrical interpretation. She explained how she had come up with the idea of a production involving monsters and Sara Waisvisz, over coffee, had given her the title. The players did an admirable job of capturing the spirit of her story, with appropriate stilt-like movements.

Annie and Alan returned to the podium to thank each of the major sponsors of the evening; after several slides it was clear that this wasn’t just a theatre event, it was a community event, with businesses, individuals, unions, and educational institutions involved.

When Nancy Kenny started to interview Marc Lemyre for the next Sanitas interpretation, I had to suppress a smile. I get a charge out of hearing him speak; you can follow his train of thought as he weighs and accepts or rejects premises and conclusions—if you pay very strict attention. In short, he’s fabulously indirect, and watching the look of consternation creep across the faces of the players as they concentrated on grasping his meaning was a source of glee. After they presented their theatrical interpretation, Nancy Kenny again asked if that was a correct interpretation of his story. M. Lemyre responded, warmly, “C’est exactement ça.”

Jean-Stéphane Roy and Nancy Webster were up next to present the awards for Outstanding Director and Mise en scène de l’année. Lise Ann Johnson accepted the award for Outstanding Director on her own behalf, for The Syringa Tree, and Marc Lemyre for L’honnête homme / un one woman show.

The award for Outstanding Fringe Production was presented by Kristina Watt to Emily Pearlman, Nicolas Di Gaetano, and Patrick Gauthier for Countries Shaped Like Stars. I was personally pleased to see that Samira Rose’s production We Never Clothed had been nominated for the category, as it was one of my personal favourites of the 2009 Fringe season, but not one I had expected to attract much critical attention, as a piece still in its early stages.

Natalie Joy Quesnel, who I had somehow failed to notice had been sitting just three seats to my right throughout the presentations, took the stage to present both Outstanding Adaptation and Adaptation de l’année. Not to cast aspersions on anyone else, but I found her presentation to be one of the best, most engaging and passionate performances of the evening, and a whisper or two overheard at the party afterward suggest others did too. A Midwinter’s Dream Tale took the English award, while Cyrano Tag took the corresponding French award.

Before the final pair of awards, we were treated to a Sanitas “Full Story”—the preceding Sanitas segments were short versions of the longer performances that they usually do, but as a finale Brie Barker invited Bronwyn Steinberg, whose Fringe production Pirate Jenny’s Circus had been nominated for Outstanding Adaptation, to take the “Teller’s Chair” on stage and tell the story of its conception. The story led from a study of the plays of Bertolt Brecht through coffee with Sara Waisvisz (who, apparently, is the go-to person if you want to develop a creative idea, or the title of a theatre piece), to the construction of a piece of musical theatre with multiple endings centering around a single character, Jenny (from Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera). The Sanitas players’ interpretation brought Bronwyn to the brink of tears, particularly due to Sterling’s incredibly apt choice of words to express the appreciation she said she had felt after the show met with success.

At last, Annie and Alan were prepared to present the awards for Outstanding Production and Production de l’année, which went to The Syringa Tree and L’honnête homme / un one woman show respectively, bringing the show to a close.

After we left the auditorium, my partner and I stepped outside for some fresh air with photographer Patrick Kennedy (of Andrew Alexander Photography) and GCTC Marketing & Communications Manager Kevin Falkingham.

Before returning to the Party Room, Kevin introduced me to Lise Ann Johnson, and we sat down to talk about the event and the state of theatre in Ottawa (after I gently teased her for having such a huge stack of awards to take home).

I asked about the importance of the bilingual aspect of the awards. “That’s what’s unique about Ottawa,” she said. Although she doesn’t get to see as much French theatre as she’d like to, Ms. Johnson is keenly aware of the opportunity for collaboration between two different theatrical cultures; citing examples like The Rideau Project. She also noted the number of established and emerging artists that were capable of working in either language, and therefore could cross-pollinate the two theatre communities. The Rideau Awards provide an additional point of contact between English and French theatre in the region that is growing in importance.

As it’s a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed more and more frequently recently, I ask if she too believes that this is an exciting time for theatre in Ottawa. Her face lights up. “Ten years ago, University of Ottawa theatre students graduated and left the city; now people are staying, and coming back. Countries Shaped Like Stars couldn’t have been created anywhere else.” Ottawa is coming into its own as a city where theatre and the arts are viable, vibrant, and vital.

But isn’t Ottawa economically and politically hostile to the arts? Ms. Johnson doesn’t think so. “I’m not sure that’s true,” she says, shaking her head emphatically, “City council gets the value of the arts to the city. In the wake of all this new creation, within the next five years, Ms. Johnson would like to see touring productions of locally-conceived works.

If the people packed into the Party Room were anything to go by, her optimistic vision is well-founded.

Before leaving the party, I decided to try to get close enough to Emily Pearlman to congratulate her in person. She was surrounded by camera flashes and a constant procession of friends and well-wishers. Soon enough, an opportunity presented itself; a masked server offered her a tray of hors d’oeuvres. With her hand to her mouth, the cameras were stayed, the conversations paused, and I stepped forward… at the exact same moment as Nadine Thornhill. So we congratulated her together. The excitement was still brimming over in her voice and gestures as Ms. Pearlman described to us the feeling of accepting her first award, being barely able to get five words out, and rushing away as quickly as she came.

What stayed with me most about the awards was the strong sense of solidarity between everyone in the English and French theatre communities; there was no sense of a clique culture, no shadow of isolationism, no selfishness, but a mutually supportive network of theatre professionals of every stripe, encouraging and challenging each other to excel.

It is, indeed, an exciting time for theatre in Ottawa. And I can’t wait for next year’s party.

I just hope I can find the right dress.

Andrew Snowdon is a theatregoer, concert attendee, and writer living in Lowertown, Ottawa, sandwiched between a MacBook and a typewriter, with a cup of coffee.

Photography by Jes Lacasse.

Special thanks to Nancy Kenny and the rest of the Rideau Awards promotional team.

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Les Prix Rideau Awards Nominations

From the Official Press Release:

NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL RIDEAU AWARDS
Peer-assessed awards celebrate Ottawa-Gatineauʼs professional theatre in both official languages

The votes have been tallied and it’s time to announce the nominees for the third annual Rideau Awards, which celebrate achievement in professional theatre in the region of Ottawa-Gatineau. This year for the first time, Les Prix Rideau Awards will be fully bilingual, with a full slate of awards to be presented for both English and French-language productions. The awards will be handed out during a celebration to take place on Sunday, April 18, 2010, at De La Salle High School. Tickets go on sale March 15 at La Nouvelle Scène.

The nominees for English-language productions are:

Outstanding Performance – Female
Mary Ellis, Doubt
Patricia Fagan, The Syringa Tree
Teri Rata Loretto, Shirley Valentine
Margo MacDonald, A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale
Emily Pearlman, Countries Shaped Like Stars

Outstanding Performance – Male
Pierre Brault, Portrait of an Unidentified Man
David Fox, The Net
Kris Joseph, Doubt
Andy Massingham, Peer Gynt
Paul Rainville, The Drawer Boy

Outstanding Lighting Design
Martin Conboy, Portrait of an Unidentified Man
Martin Conboy, The Drawer Boy
Rebecca Miller, Henry V
David Mcgladry, A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale
Jock Munro, The Children’s Republic
Jock Munro, The Syringa Tree

Outstanding Set Design
Robin Fisher, The Drawer Boy
Robin Fisher, The Syringa Tree
Ivo Valentik, A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale
Ivo Valentik, The Final Twist
Sarah Waghorn, Old Times

Outstanding Costume Design
Louise Hayden, A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale
Louise Hayden, The Girl Who Was Eaten by the Dark
Jennifer Triemstra & Karen Rodd, A Guy Named Joe
Sarah Waghorn, Henry V
Sarah Waghorn, Old Times

Outstanding Stage Management / Technical Award
Donna Bourgeault, A View from the Bridge
Sean Green & Tina Goralski, Noises Off
Louisa Hache, The Children’s Republic
Samira Rose, The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Outstanding Fringe Production
Countries Shaped Like Stars, Mi Casa
The Girl Who Was Eaten by the Dark, Ottawa Stilt Union
Inclement Weather, Mi Casa
Squatter Heart, ReduxDelux
We Never Clothed, People with Principles

Outstanding Director
AL Connors, A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale
Todd Duckworth, The Drawer Boy
Janet Irwin, The Children’s Republic
Lise Ann Johnson, The Syringa Tree
Brian Quirt, Portrait of an Unidentified Man

Emerging Artist Award
Simon Bradshaw, Actor, The Rideau Project
Nicolas Di Gaetano, Creator/Actor, Countries Shaped Like Stars
Patrick Gauthier, Director, Countries Shaped Like Stars
Brad Long, Actor, The Pillowman
Emily Pearlman, Creator/Actor/Writer, Countries Shaped Like Stars

Outstanding Adaptation
A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale, A Company of Fools
Much Ado About Nothing, A Company of Fools
The Net, Great Canadian Theatre Company
Pirate Jennyʼs Circus, Counterpoint Players
The Radio Show, Gladstone Productions

Outstanding New Creation
The Children’s Republic, Great Canadian Theatre Company/Ottawa School of Speech and Drama
Countries Shaped Like Stars, Mi Casa
The Girl Who Was Eaten by the Dark, Ottawa Stilt Union
Inclement Weather, Mi Casa
The Rideau Project, Théâtre la Catapulte

Outstanding Production
Countries Shaped Like Stars, Mi Casa
The Drawer Boy, Great Canadian Theatre Company
A Midwinterʼs Dream Tale, A Company of Fools
Portrait of an Unidentified Man, Sleeping Dog Theatre
The Syringa Tree, Great Canadian Theatre Company

The nominees for French-language productions are:

Interprétation féminine de l’année
Nathaly Charrette, (RAGE)
Larissa Corriveau, (L’Illusion comique)
Geneviève Couture, (L’honnête homme/ une one woman show)
Magali Lemèle, (Le Bout du monde)
Emmanuelle Lussier, Martinez (Le Bout du monde)

Interprétation masculine de l’année
Benjamin Gaillard, (Projet Rideau)
Richard Léger, (Et si on tuait l’ennui?)
Gilles Provost, (Mardis avec Morrie)
Pierre Antoine, Lafon Simard (L’Illusion comique)
Victor Trelles, (RAGE)

Conception de l’année
Marcel Aymar, (Le Bout du monde), env. sonore
Josée Bergeron-Proulx, (Le Bout du monde), décor
Diane Bouchard, (L’effet réel des polluants sur les animaux imaginaries), marionnettes
Julie Giroux, (Les sept jours de Simon Labrosse), décor
Guillaume Houët- Brisebois, (L’honnête homme/ une one woman show), éclairage

Artiste en émergence
Josée Bergeron-Proulx, (Le Bout du monde)
Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez , interprète, (Le Bout du monde)
Pierre Antoine Lafon Simard, interprète, (L’Illusion comique)

Prix technique / de la regie
Tina Goralski, (L’Illusion comique)
Guillaume Houët- Brisebois, (L’honnête homme/ une one woman show)
Benoît Roy, (Le Bout du monde)
Lindsay Tremblay, (Le Projet Rideau)

Mise en scène de l’année
Joël Beddows (RAGE)
Dominique Lafon (L’Illusion comique)
Marc Lemyre (L’honnête homme/ une one woman show)
Pier Rodier (Cyrano Tag)
Anne-Marie White (Le Bout du monde)

Adaptation de l’année
Le Bout du monde, Le Théâtre du Trillium
Cyrano Tag, Vox Théâtre

Nouvelle création de l’année
Cyrano Tag, Vox Théâtre
L’effet réel des polluants sur les animaux imaginaires, GESTES théâtre
Et si on tuait l’ennui?, Théâtre Dérives Urbaines
L’honnête homme/ une one woman show, poésie électrique
Le Projet Rideau, Théâtre la Catapulte

Production de l’année
Le Bout du monde, Théâtre du Trillium
Et si on tuait l’ennui?, Théâtre Dérives Urbaines
L’honnête homme/ une one woman show, poésie électrique
Le Projet Rideau, Théâtre la Catapulte
RAGE, Théâtre la Catapulte

40 English and 11 French professional theatre productions were juried by two teams of local arts professionals (14 English and 10 French) during the 2009 calendar year. Nominations were submitted by secret ballot and tallied by local accountants, Chong Pelot and Marcil-Lavallée. Complete details on award definitions, terms and criteria are available at www.rideauawards.ca

Les Prix Rideau Awards initiative was undertaken in late 2006 as a result of discussion at an open meeting of the regional Canadian Actorsʼ Equity Association. The program aims to raise the profile of locally-produced professional theatre by celebrating its successes.

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