Colm Feore to host Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards 20th anniversary Gala at the National Arts Centre
Ottawa (Canada) — The National Arts Centre is delighted to announce that Canadian film, television and stage actor Colm Feore will host the star-studded Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) Gala on May 5—the 20th anniversary of the awards that recognize the outstanding body of work and enduring contribution to the performing arts in Canada by eight extraordinary Canadians.
Mr. Feore, who has acted as master of ceremonies for the Gala for the past two years, has a distinguished body of work spanning more than 30 years. He is currently starring in Neil Jordan’s The Borgias with Jeremy Irons, which begins its second season April 8. He also starred in Thor with Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman, released last year. Among dozens of other film roles, Mr. Feore received a Genie nomination for his starring role in the wildly successful Bon Cop, Bad Cop and also starred in the Genie Award-winning film The Trotsky.
A fine stage actor, his Stratford Shakespeare Festival roles include Macbeth in Macbeth and Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac, Coriolanus, Fagin in Oliver, Hamlet, Romeo, Richard III, Iago, Petruchio, and Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady). He also played Cassius opposite Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar on Broadway, for which he received the St. Clair Bayfield Award.
Created in 1992, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards signify the country’s ultimate recognition in the performing arts.
Janina Fialkowska, Paul-André Fortier, Denis Marleau, Deepa Mehta, Rush and Mary Walsh have been named the 2012 laureates of the prestigious GGPAA Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Two other distinguished national awards are also conferred each year as complements to the GGPAA for lifetime artistic achievement. This year Earlaine Collins will receive the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, while Des McAnuff is the recipient of the National Arts Centre Award, which recognizes exceptional achievement over the past performance year.
The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards also feature a unique Mentorship Program, which unites past Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award recipients and talented mid-career artists. An announcement on this important program is coming soon.
The 2012 laureates will be honoured at various events in Ottawa from May 3 to 5. On May 3, the recipients will be introduced in the House of Commons and will then attend a Parliamentary reception. On May 4, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will present the Awards at a special ceremony and reception at Rideau Hall. On May 5, the National Arts Centre will host a sparkling Gala to celebrate the 2012 recipients, a star-studded celebration featuring superb performances, evocative film portraits and personal tributes by guest stars.
The National Arts Centre is proud to produce the 2012 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala in partnership with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation and the National Film Board of Canada. The Awards are presented with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts.
The GGPAAF gratefully acknowledges Enbridge as Presenting Sponsor of the GGPAA Gala.
The GGPAA Gala is made possible in part by its many sponsors. In particular, the National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Associate Sponsors McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. for their support of the Inspiration Seats youth section and Manulife Financial for its support as our Dinner Sponsor. This year’s Mentorship Program is supported by The Keg Spirit Foundation. National Partners are Desjardins Group, Onex Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Weber Shandwick Worldwide, and The Printing House is our official Print Sponsor. The GGPAAF also acknowledges the significant contributions of Regional Partners Cenovus Energy Inc., Cineplex Media, Cisco Systems Canada Inc., Dundee Realty Management Corp., Holt Renfrew, Invesco, The Keg Steakhouse & Bar, Kinnear Financial, Mastercard Canada Inc., MTS Allstream, Penn West Exploration, Rogers Communications Inc., The Alvin Segal Family Foundation, Shangri La Hotels, and VIA Rail Canada. Impresario Partners include Accenture Canada, Acciona, Aecon Group Inc., Aimia, The Banff Centre, Cement Association of Canada, KPMG LLP, Ledcor, Mark Motors of Ottawa Ltd., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Trinity Development Group Inc. Additional in-kind support for the Awards is received from Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, technology partner IBM, Llama Communications, The Royal Canadian Mint, and media partners National Post, The Ottawa Citizen and Le Droit. Grateful thanks also go to the GGPAA Gala’s National Committee of volunteers, led by Honorary Chair The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, CM, O.Ont. of Toronto; Co-Chairs Susan Glass and Arni Thorsteinson of Winnipeg; Past Chairs M. Ann McCaig, CM, AOE, LLD, and James S. Kinnear of Calgary; and all the individuals and families whose philanthropic support helps make these awards possible.
Tickets for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala on Saturday, May 5, 2012 are available at the NAC Box Office and through Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 or at www.ticketmaster.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
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Mary Gordon |