Actress Sigourney Weaver Coming to Saint Mary's

Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Ind.
(574) 284-4579

August 22, 2011 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—The Saint Mary’s College Theatre Program will welcome Academy Award nominated actress Sigourney Weaver to campus on Monday, September 26 as the 2011/2012 academic year’s Margaret Hill Endowed Visiting Artist. Weaver, known for starring roles in films like Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist and Avatar will conduct a master class with Saint Mary’s College theatre students in the morning and hold a public lecture that evening.

Over the years, Sigourney Weaver has captivated audiences and won acclaim as one of the most esteemed actresses on both screen and stage. Born and educated in New York City, Weaver graduated from Stanford University and went on to receive a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama. She made her motion picture debut in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster Alien. She later reprised the role of Warrant Officer Ripley in James Cameron’s Aliens, which earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress. She again brought Ripley back to life in David Fincher’s Aliens 3, which she also co-produced, and Alien Resurrection for director Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Following Alien, Weaver had starring roles in three back to back hit movies: Gorillas in the Mist, in which she portrayed primatologist Dian Fossey, the Mike Nichols comedy Working Girl, and Ghostbusters II. Weaver received her second and third Academy Award nominations and was awarded Golden Globes for her performances in Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl. In 1985 she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in in Hurlyburly on Broadway. In 2010, she was nominated for Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for her lead role in the Lifetime Network movie Prayers for Bobby.

Weaver’s recent films include the Academy award-winning movie Avatar, her first collaboration with James Cameron since Aliens, and the comedy You Again, which co-starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell.

“In the past four years, Saint Mary’s theatre students have worked with the likes of Broadway director Hal Prince, actress Glenn Close, and actress and comedian Lily Tomlin. Now students will have the opportunity to learn from Sigourney Weaver. It is amazing to think that our fourth-year theatre students will leave here having worked with four high-profile masters of the theatre,” pointed out Katie Sullivan, associate professor of theatre at Saint Mary's College.

“The Margaret Hill Endowed Visiting Artist program provides our students with these inspiring opportunities. That’s the power of an endowment, and we are so grateful to Peggy Hill for her gift,” Sullivan added. Hill is a Saint Mary's College alumna and a Broadway producer.

“An Evening with Sigourney Weaver” will be held at 7:30 p.m., September 26, in O’Laughlin Auditorium. The event is free to Saint Mary's College, University of Notre Dame and Holy Cross College students, faculty and staff, but tickets are still required and available at the Box Office in Moreau Center for the Arts beginning on Monday, August 29. The general public may purchase tickets beginning on Tuesday, September 6 by going to www.moreaucenter.com, by calling (574) 284-4626 or by stopping by the Box Office. Admission is $13.

About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” in the U.S. News & World Report 2011College Guide. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.