Details announced on how to watch the event

November 12, 2020, OTTAWA – The Siminovitch Prize Foundation and the National Arts Centre are delighted to announce that the highly acclaimed Quebec actor, director and playwright Mani Soleymanlou will host this year’s 20th anniversary, virtual Siminovitch Prize ceremony. Best known as the founding artistic director of the Montreal-based theatre company Orange Noyée, in August the NAC announced his appointment as Artistic Director of French Theatre, a post he will begin in September 2021.

The Siminovitch Prize, which is the most prestigious prize in Canadian theatre, this year honours playwrights. The shortlist includes Carmen Aguirre (Vancouver), Tara Beagan (Mohkintsis/Calgary), Martin Bellemare (Montreal), Karen Hines (Calgary/Toronto), and Annick Lefebvre (Montreal).

Despite the pandemic, this year’s ceremony is going ahead as a virtual event. This inclusive, interactive celebration will gather Canadian theatre makers and theatre lovers together to honour the shortlisted artists and unveil the laureate.
 

HOW TO WATCH THE SIMINOVITCH PRIZE VIRTUAL CEREMONY

The Siminovitch Prize Foundation and the NAC invite the public to watch the 20th anniversary, virtual Siminovitch Prize ceremony here on Thursday, November 26 at 7 p.m. ET.

Viewers may also pre-register for the event here to receive updates and reminders from the Siminovitch Prize Foundation.

ABOUT MANI SOLEYMANLOU

A 2008 graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Mani Soleymanlou has lived in Tehran, Paris, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, and has worked with such acclaimed directors as Alice Ronfard (Les pieds des anges), Brigitte Haentjens (L’opéra de quat’sous), Claude Poissant (Rouge gueule, The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi), Serge Denoncourt (Projet Andromaque, Les trois mousquetaires), Olivier Kemeid (Furieux et désespérés), Denis Bernard (Ce moment-là), and Eric Jean (Variations sur un temps).

Mani Soleymanlou is best known as the founding artistic director (2011) of the Montreal-based theatre company Orange Noyée. His distinctive artistic practice investigates notions of community identity (Un/One, Deux/Two, and Trois/Three) and social relationships (Ils étaient quatre, Cinq à sept, 8). He pursued this approach more recently in Neuf [titre provisoire] and Zéro, presented in the fall of 2019 in Montreal and Ottawa, and also in various artistic collaborations over the years –  Lapin blanc, Lapin rouge, Les Lettres arabes II and À te regarder, ils s’habitueront. The last few months saw him adapt to health and safety restrictions to imagine Prologue, a physically distanced theatre project performed at Montreal’s OFFTA festival in spring 2020, and at the NAC in the fall of 2020. He was recently appointed as Artistic Director of NAC French Theatre and begins his post in the fall of 2021.

ABOUT THE SIMINOVITCH PRIZE

The Siminovitch Prize recognizes excellence and innovation in Canadian theatre. Over a three-year cycle, the Siminovitch Prize celebrates a professional mid-career director, playwright, or designer who is acknowledged as a leader in the theatre and whose work is transformative and influential. In 2019, the Prize was co-presented to directors Maiko Yamamoto and James Long and protégé Conor Wylie. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the prize that was launched in 2000 to honour the values and achievements of the renowned scientist Dr. Lou Siminovitch and the late Elinore Siminovitch, a pioneering playwright.  Past playwright laureates include Marcus Youssef, Olivier Choinière, Joan MacLeod, Daniel MacIvor, John Mighton and Carole Fréchette. The Prize also recognizes the importance of mentorship to support emerging talent: the laureate receives $75,000 and selects a protégé who receives $25,000. The Prize rotates annually between honouring playwrights, directors and designers. 

www.siminovitchprize.com

Twitter: @SiminovitchPrz
Hashtag: #SiminovitchPrize

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Mary Gordon
Senior Communications Advisor
National Arts Centre
613-601-3877
mary.gordon@nac-cna.ca                           

Sean Fitzpatrick
Communications Officer  
NAC English Theatre, NAC Indigenous Theatre 613-899-9737
sean.fitzpatrick@nac-cna.ca