Glenn Close Honored at Princess Grace Awards Gala

Award Winning Actress Glenn Close to be Honored With Prince Rainier III Award
For Her Outstanding Contribution To The Arts

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, October 15, 2008, the
Princess Grace Foundation-USA will host the Princess Grace Awards Gala at
Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City and present 31 Awards to emerging
artists in theater, dance and film, as well as two Princess Grace Statue
Awards to artists who have previously won Awards and have shown achievement
and growth in their respective fields. Every year, the Princess Grace
Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) proudly awards these grants at its annual gala to
support its mission of providing crucial support to emerging artists in
America. Additionally, PGF-USA is proud to announce that award winning
actress Glenn Close will be honored with the Prince Rainier III Award in
recognition of her outstanding career and contribution to the arts.
Entertainment for the evening will include a performance by Sharon Jones & The
Dap-Kings and dancing to DJ Tom Finn. Co-chairs for the Gala (and Platinum
Sponsors) will be Noelle and Dick Wolf, Emmy Award winning writer/producer of
the Law & Order drama series and Dolly Lenz, Vice Chairman of Prudential
Douglas Elliman. Presenting Sponsor for this year's Princess Grace Awards
Gala is Hermes. Crown Sponsors this year are Ana Tzarev Gallery and Mrs.
Edmond J. Safra. The Gala will take place in the presence of HSH Prince Albert
II of Monaco.
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a not-for-profit, publicly-supported
foundation headquartered in New York City founded more than 25 years ago by
Prince Rainier III of Monaco in honor of his wife, Princess Grace [Kelly].
The Foundation's mission, that mirrors Princess Grace's in her lifetime, is to
support emerging artists in theater, dance and film through the awarding of
scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. Since its inception, the
Foundation has awarded more than $5 million in grants to nearly 500
recipients.
Glenn Close will be honored this year and presented the coveted Prince
Rainier III Award for her outstanding contribution to the motion picture,
television and theater arts. Ms. Close's accomplished artistic career spans
almost 35 years. In that time she has been nominated for and won numerous
accolades including Academy, Emmy and Tony, Golden Globe and SAG Awards. She
made her professional theater and Broadway debut with the New Phoenix
Repertory Company in Love for Love in 1974. In 1980 Ms. Close was nominated
for her first Tony Award for her role in Barnum and went on to win Tonys for
her performances in The Real Thing, Death And The Maiden and her role as Norma
Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Boulevard.
Ms. Close's film debut came in 1982 as Jenny Fields in John Irving's The
World According to Garp, for which she received an Academy Award nomination
for Best Supporting Actress, followed by Oscar nominations for The Big Chill
and The Natural. Her unforgettable performance as Alex Forrest in Fatal
Attraction garnered and her subtly crafted characterization of the Marquise de
Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons garnered her fourth and fifth Oscar
nominations. Ms. Close has also starred in many television shows and
miniseries including FX's groundbreaking drama The Shield for which she
received an Emmy nomination as well as FX's original series Damages for which
she won the 2007 Golden Globe as well as Emmy and Screen Actor's Guild
nominations. Additionally, Ms. Close has also served as executive
producer/producer on a number of projects.
"Glenn Close's extraordinary artistic talent and distinguished career in
theater, television and film has been a beacon of inspiration to countless
creative young artists, many of whom we acknowledge at this celebration," says
the Hon. John Lehman, Chairman of the Board, Princess Grace Foundation-USA.
"In the spirit of Princess Grace, it is with great pleasure that we celebrate
the achievements of Ms. Close and the creativity, passion and budding talent
of our Awards winners."
This year, guests will be entertained by the funk/soul styling of Sharon
Jones & The Dap-Kings, who recently appeared on The David Letterman Show and
will open for The Dave Matthews Band this fall in California. Following
dinner, guests will dance to the spinning of famed DJ Tom Finn, who has worked
at many of NYC's top dance clubs. Guests can bid on their favorite lots in a
silent auction and a live auction will take place during dinner. All auction
proceeds will benefit Princess Grace Awards to advance its mission of
providing crucial support to emerging artists in America.
Co-Chairs for this year's gala include Noelle and Dick Wolf and Dolly
Lenz. Mr. Wolf has won numerous Emmy Awards for his series Law & Order and
has been a longtime supporter of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and its
mission. In addition, Mr. Wolf is Honorary Consul to Monaco. Ms. Lenz is the
country's leading real estate broker and is currently marketing the largest
residential conversion in the United States at Manhattan House, a luxury
apartment condominium where Grace Kelly made her home in the 1950s and where
her father's company was the brickwork contractor.
Crown Sponsors for the Princess Grace Awards Gala are Ana Tzarev Gallery
and Mrs. Edmond J. Safra
Corporate Chair for the Princess Grace Awards Gala is Gerard Cohen, of
HSBC Private Bank (Monaco) S.A.
The Gala is being produced by Scott Mauro of Scott Mauro Entertainment,
Inc. for the fourth consecutive year. Tickets for the Gala start at $1,000
for Patron tickets, $1,750 for Sponsor tickets and $2,500 for Benefactor
tickets. Tables may be purchased for $15,000, $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000.
Approximately 600 guests are expected to attend. Those interested in tickets
may contact Event Associates at 212-245-6570 or
tamaral@eventassociatesinc.com. Additional information can be found at
www.pgfusa.org.
THE PRINCESS GRACE AWARDS AND 2008 RECIPIENTS
The first Princess Grace Awards winners were announced in 1984. To date,
PGF-USA has awarded more than $5 million to support and continue excellence in
the arts. The recipients are selected by a panel of experts in their
respective fields - theater, dance, and film - and the prizes awarded are in
the form of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. This year, the
Foundation welcomes 21 emerging artists to the Princess Grace Awards Family
and extends two Statue Awards. Honoraria are also offered to artists whose
talent deserves recognition and special support to past awards winners
demonstrate the Foundation's commitment to continuing its involvement in these
artists' careers. In all, the Foundation will award more than $750,000 this
year.
Notable Princess Grace Award recipients of the past include: Anna D.
Shapiro, winner of 2008 Tony Award for Director of current Broadway hit
August: Osage County; Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob
SquarePants; Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright; Gillian Murphy,
principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre; Eric Darnell, director of
Madagascar 1 & 2; Greg Mottola, director of Superbad and Eric Simonson,
Academy Award winning filmmaker.
Past winners of the Princess Grace Award are eligible to win the coveted
Princess Grace Statue, which will be presented at this year's Gala to Rose
Bond for her accomplishments in film and Alexander (Alec) T. Hammond for his
accomplishments in production design and art direction. The Award includes a
$25,000 unrestricted cash gift and a special limited edition Bronze Statue of
Princess Grace created by Monegasque artist Kees Verkade. Rose Bond received
her original Princess Grace Award in 1989 as the Graduate Film Scholarship at
School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Alec Hammond received his original
Princess Grace Award in 1995 as the Faberge Award for Scenic Design at the
Yale School of Drama.
Special Project Awards are available to previous Princess Grace Award
winners and Honoraria recipients for uniquely significant projects that
advance a previous winner's artistic development. Seven Special Project
Awards will be presented this year.
This year, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA Arts Advisory Board announced
a partnership with the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) to provide further
support for Princess Grace Award winners. The aim of this Works in Progress
Award is to provide previous Awards winners the opportunity for creative
experimentation without the pressure to produce a final, finished product.
The 2008 Princess Grace Award winners are:
PRINCESS GRACE STATUE AWARD
Alec Hammond - Original Award, 1995, Faberge Award for Scenic Design, Yale
School of Drama
Rose Bond - Original Award, 1989, Graduate Film Scholarship, School of the
Art Institute of Chicago
THEATER AND PLAYWRITNG
Arin Arbus, Los Angeles, CA - Grace LeVine Theater Award - Directing
Fellowship, Theatre for a New Audience
Jaime Castaneda, San Antonio, TX - Gant Gaither Theater Award - Directing
Apprenticeship, American Theater Company
Ben Gunderson, Moorhead, MN - Robert and Gloria Hausman Theater Award -
Acting Scholarship, North Carolina School of the Arts
Patrick Kennelly, Evanston, IL - Pierre Cardin Theater Award - Directing
Scholarship, University of California, Los Angeles
Arnulfo Maldonado, Eagle Pass, TX - Faberge Theater Award - Costume Design
Fellowship, Diverse City Theater
Kaneza Schaal, Freestone, CA - Acting Apprenticeship, The Wooster Group
Kara Lee Corthron, New York, NY - Playwriting Fellowship, New Dramatists
Maureen C. Huskey, Denver, CO - Directing Honoraria, California Institute
of the Arts
Thom Pasculli, Newton, NJ - Acting Honoraria, Double Edge Theatre
Productions, Inc.
Ashley Sparks, Stuarts Draft, VA - Directing Honoraria, ArtSpot
Productions Damon E. Williams, Havertown, PA - Acting Honoraria, Temple
University

DANCE AND CHOREOGRAPHY
Thang Dao, Montclair, CA - Choreography Fellowship, Ballet Austin
Blaine Hoven, Mobile, AL - Chris Hellman Dance Award - Ballet Fellowship,
American Ballet Theatre
Jermel Johnson, Baltimore, MD - Ballet Fellowship, Pennsylvania Ballet
Alexander Peters, State College, PA - Ballet Scholarship, School of
American Ballet
Lucien Postlewaite, Santa Cruz, CA - Ballet Fellowship, Pacific Northwest
Ballet
Spenser Theberge, Vancouver, WA - Ballet Scholarship, The Juilliard
School-Dance Division
Dominic Walsh, Elgin, IL - Choreography Fellowship, Sarasota Ballet of
Florida
Nejla Y. Yatkin, Washington, D.C. - Choreography Fellowship, Cleo Parker
Robertson Dance Theater
Elisa Clark, Bethesda, MD - Modern Dance Honoraria, Mark Morris Dance
Group
Leah Morrison, St. Louis, MO - Modern Dance Honoraria, Trisha Brown Dance
Company
FILM
Caitlin Craggs, Lake Stevens, WA - Animation Undergraduate Film
Scholarship, University of Southern California
Derrick A. Jones, Youngstown, OH - Documentary Graduate Film Scholarship,
Ohio University
Nikyatu S. Jusu, Atlanta, GA - Narrative Graduate Film Scholarship, New
York University
Deirtra Thompson, Baltimore, MD - John H. Johnson Film Award -
Experimental Graduate Film Scholarship, Bard College
Josh Weissbach, Austin, TX - Cary Grant Film Award - Documentary
Undergraduate Film Scholarship, Hampshire College
Iman K. Zawahry, Panama City, FL - Narrative Graduate Film Scholarship,
Florida State University
Kimberly Bautista, Pasadena, CA - Documentary Film Honoraria, UC Santa
Cruz
Henry C. Fernandez, E. Los Angeles, CA Narrative Film Honoraria,
California State University, Northridge, Radio, TV & Film
Jordan C. Greenhalgh, Albany, NY - Experimental Animation Film Honoraria,
Rochester Institute of Technology
Dave Horowitz, Chicago, IL - Animation Film Honoraria, University of
Southern California
Erica Lisette Murphy, Rogue Valley, OR - Animation Film Honoraria, School
of The Museum of Fine Arts

SPECIAL PROJECT AWARDS
Rosemary Newcott, Theater
Chi Wang Yang, Theater
Eric Kupers, Dance
Drew Jacoby, Dance
Ilya Chaiken, Film
Miwa Matreyek, Film
Julie Wyman, Film

WORKS IN PROGRESS AWARDS
Nancy Bannon, Dance
Shelia Callaghan, Playwriting
Maureen Towey, Theater

ABOUT THE PRINCESS GRACE FOUNDATION-USA
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA, a public charity formed after the death
of Princess Grace in 1982, awards scholarships, apprenticeships and
fellowships to assist emerging theater, dance and film artists. For more
information about PGF-USA, please visit www.pgfusa.org.
SOURCE Princess Grace Foundation-USA

Manuela Savona of Lisa Lori Communications, +1-203-228-5090,
savona@lisalori.coml; or Christine Kite of Princess Grace Foundation-USA,
+1-212-317-1470, or ckite@pgfusa.org; or Gail Parenteau (Awards Recipients
Press) Parenteau Guidance, +1-212-532-3934, or gail@parenteauguidance.com