Twelfth annual awards celebration slated for May 30, 2008

PROVIDENCE, RI –The Trinity Rep resident acting company - the last company of its kind in the nation- will be honored with a National Pell Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts at the 2008 Pell Awards at Trinity Rep, a tribute to Senator Claiborne Pell and the arts. The fifteen current members of the award-winning resident acting company will be honored alongside the many actors and actresses that have called Providence and Trinity Rep home over the past 45 years. The Rhode Island Pell Award winners will be announced shortly.

The Pell Awards Gala will be held on Friday evening, May 30, 2008 at Trinity Rep. Honorary Chairs for the event are Governor Donald L. Carcieri, Mayor David N. Cicilline and Senator and Mrs. Claiborne Pell. Tickets are $250 or $500 for Patrons and corporate sponsor tables are also available. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit artistic programming at Trinity Rep. For information and reservations contact Trinity Rep at (401) 521-1100, x237.

Now in their second decade, the Pell Awards honor Senator Claiborne Pell and recognize artistic excellence in Rhode Island and on the national level. This season, a special National Pell Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts will be awarded to Trinity Rep's resident acting company. Since the 1960s, resident acting companies around the country have built a special relationship with their communities, with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts -- established through Senator Pell's initiative. Achieving a higher level of artistry through years of collaboration, resident acting companies entertained and inspired audiences, enhanced education for all ages, encouraged economic development and civic pride, and nurtured larger arts communities. Forty-five years after it was founded by a group of Rhode Island citizens, Trinity Rep is the last large long-standing resident acting company left in the country.

"As we approached our 45th anniversary, we started looking at just how far we have come from such humble beginnings in - literally - the Trinity Square church basement, "states artistic director Curt Columbus, "Since 1964, our resident company has been at the heart of our mission and identity - hundreds of talented and committed actors have appeared on our stage and have called this city home. We want to honor all of the artists who have formed this company, and celebrate the ideals that inspired the regional theater movement a generation ago. "

Currently the resident acting company has fifteen members: Stephen Berenson, Angela Brazil, Timothy Crowe, William Damkoehler, Janice Duclos, Mauro Hantman, Phyllis Kay, Brian McEleney, Barbara Meek, Anne Scurria, Cynthia Strickland, Fred Sullivan, Jr., Stephen Thorne, Rachael Warren and Joe Wilson, Jr. The current company has been with the theater between three and 39 years - some having appeared in over 100 productions.

Columbus explains "The heart of this theater is the acting company. Their familiarity, chemistry, and theatrical shorthand make possible the kind of distinctive artistry originally envisioned by the founders of the American regional-theatre movement, our own Adrian Hall among them. Rhode Islanders should feel great pride in the fact that Providence's own acting company is the reason Trinity Rep is such a strong part of the American cultural landscape today."

The twelfth annual creative black tie-event will consist of an awards ceremony in Trinity’s Chace Theater, followed by a festive party in a city-block sized tent in the center of Downcity. Organizers have done away with the traditional sit-down dinner, and instead will a more free flowing evening with food and mixed drinks served at a variety of restaurant-themed bars.

Throughout his career, Senator Pell worked to support the arts and provide new opportunities for artists. He sponsored the landmark legislation that established the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities in 1965, and chaired the Senate Education and Arts subcommittee. He also served a four-year term on the board of Trinity Repertory Company.

Previous Pell Award honorees include Jason Robards, Arthur Miller, Beverly Sills, Stephen Sondheim, Toni Morrison, Robert Redford, Maurice Sendak, Jane Alexander, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis and Chita Rivera. Since the inception of the Pell Awards in 1997, there have been thirty-two New England and Rhode Island winners, including Howard Ben Tre, Dorothy Jungels, Chris Van Allsburg, Paula Vogel, Eugene Lee, David MacCaulay, Rose Weaver, Thomas Sgouros, Dave McKenna, Maria Spacagna, William Warner, Brian Dennehy, Barbara Meek, Ruth Frisch Dealy, Gretchen Dow Simpson, Dan Butterworth, Virginia Lynch, Toots Zynsky, George Kent, Bob Colonna and Duke Robillard.

About Trinity Repertory Company Since its founding in 1963, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring the last long standing permanent resident acting company in America, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works for an estimated annual audience of nearly 160,000. In its 43-year history, the theater has presented 52 world premieres, mounted national and international tours, and, through its graduate-level theater arts conservatory, trained hundreds of new actors and directors. Project Discovery, Trinity Rep's pioneering educational outreach program launched in 1966, introduces over 20,000 Rhode Island and Massachusetts students a year to live theater. Trinity Rep's 44th season presents six subscription productions and an annual production of A Christmas Carol. The 2007-2008 season concludes with Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward and Paris by Night book & lyrics by Curt Columbus, music by Andre Pluess & Amy Warren. For more information, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.trinityrep.com

HI-RES IMAGE: http://www.trinityrep.com/DownloadDocs/company%20portrait.jpg 

PHOTO CAPTION - Left to right clockwise:
The Trinity Repertory resident acting company: (Back row-standing) Brian McEleney, Stephen Berenson,William Damkoehler, Fred Sullivan, Jr., Joe Wilson, Jr., Timothy Crowe, Angela Brazil, Stephen Thorne, Janice Duclos, Mauro Hantman, Rachael Warren (front row -seated) Cynthia Strickland, Anne Scurria, Barbara Meek and Phyllis Kay.

Photo Credit: Mark Turek