As far as red carpet events go, the UBCP/ACTRA Awards is one of the most festive and boisterous on the Vancouver calendar. The awards honour the on-screen and voice achievements of UBCP/ACTRA members; as a result, the sense of camaraderie among attendees is acute, and there's a lot of fist-bumping and "hey, how you doin'?" on the red carpet.
This year’s UBCP/ACTRA Awards took place on Nov. 22 at the Vancouver Playhouse. After the obligatory red carpet photos and boozy pre-show mingling, the 650 attendees filed into the theatre for the main event.
Tom Cavanagh – the former Ed star who is currently playing the mysterious baddie on The CW’s locally shot superhero series The Flash – brought some sparkle and pop to the awards show as its more than capable host.
The Ontario native has lived in the States for decades, but there was a time when he called Vancouver home, and he’s clearly glad to be back: wearing a toque, commanding funny lady Ellie Harvie (in the role of the hard-pressed stage manager) to deliver poutine to the stage, and engaging in clever stage banter with actor/filmmaker Ben Ratner, honoree Jay Brazeau, and Paul McGillion (who, Cavanagh noted, served as a reference on his recent passport application).
The presentation of the five awards and two achievement awards – the Lorena Gale Women of Distinction Award to Gabrielle Rose, and the John Juliani Award of Excellence to Brazeau – were intercut with musical numbers and comedy bits.
Stand-outs included a version of “Let it Go” (with lyrics changed to reference realities faced by people in the biz), and a breathtaking comedy bit by MADtv alum Will Sasso, who took audience ideas and transformed them into pitches for series that, he said, would be sure to snag UBCP/ACTRA awards next year.
As for this year, the following actors and actresses took home trophies:
Best Actress - Sara Canning (Remedy)
Best Actor - Ian Tracey (Continuum)
Best Newcomer - Taylor Hill (Leap 4 Your Life)
Best Voice - Andrea Libman (My Little Pony)
Best Stunt - Leif Havdale (Arrow)
See the full list of nominees at http://www.westender.com/arts/reel-people/nominees-announced-for-2014-ubcp-actra-awards-1.1385194.
From the press release: The Union of British Columbia Performers (UBCP/ACTRA) is an autonomous branch of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), the national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 22,000 members across Canada - the foundation of Canada's highly acclaimed professional performing community.
Find them on Twitter at @UBCP_ACTRA.
