2013-2014 JOE A. CALLAWAY AWARD WINNERS: JOHN RANDO AND MARTHA CLARKE
FINALISTS: Jo Bonney, Chase Brock, Gordon Edelstein, Doug Hughes, Denis Jones, Des McAnuff, Bob Richard, Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Shea Sullivan
The Callaway Award Selection Committee, comprised of current longstanding SDC Members, also selected finalists. For Direction: Jo Bonney for Small Engine Repair, produced by MCC Theater, in association with Jon Bernthal, Eric Bernthal, and Story Factory, LLC; Gordon Edelstein for Satchmo at the Waldorf, produced by Long Wharf Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Scott & Roxanne Bok, Roz & Jerry Meyer, Ronald Guttman, Shadowcatcher Entertainment, John LaMattina, Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner, and John Johnson; Doug Hughes for The City of Conversation, produced by Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse; Des McAnuff for Fetch Clay, Make Man, produced by New York Theatre Workshop; and Moritz von Stuelpnagel for Hand to God, produced by MCC Theater. For Choreography: Chase Brock for Tamar of the River, produced by Prospect Theater Company; Denis Jones for Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, produced by Merged Work Productions; Bob Richard for Inventing Mary Martin, produced by The York Theatre Company; and Shea Sullivan for Pageant, produced by SAS Productions, Kitty Potapow, Drew Desky, Michelle R. Rogers, and ABS Productions.
The 2013-2014 Joe A. Callaway Award recognizes excellence in the crafts of direction and choreography during the New York City theatre season from September 1, 2013 through August 31,2014 and is the only award given by professional directors and choreographers to their peers for work on a specific production. The production must take place within the five boroughs of New York City under an SDC contract and an Actors’ Equity Association contract, excluding Showcase code and Broadway contracts, and the artist must be a Member of SDC.
SDCF’s Joe A. Callaway Award was first presented in 1989. Previous winners are Gloria Muzio, Frank Galati, Susan Stroman, George C. Wolfe, Hope Clarke, Harold Prince, Gerald Gutierrez, Joe Mantello, Scott Elliott, Julie Taymor, Moises Kaufman, Frank Galati, Graciela Daniele, Trevor Nunn, Gabriel Barre, Mark Dendy, Jack O’Brien, Bartlett Sher, Devanand Janki, Daniel Sullivan, Doug Hughes, Christopher Gattelli, Peter DuBois, Bill T. Jones, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler, Giovanna Sardelli, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Garry Hynes, Martha Clarke, Ciaran O’Reilly, Byron Easley, Carolyn Cantor, Larry Keigwin, John Tiffany, Steven Hoggett, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Marlo Hunter.
This award is given annually and serves as a complement to the Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes a regional director changing the landscape of their community, and the “Mr. Abbott” Award, presented in recognition of lifetime achievement in theatre. The Joe A. Callaway Awards will be presented alongside the Fichandler Award this year on November 3 in New York City.
Joe A. Callaway dedicated more than 50 years to the theatre as an actor, director, lecturer and critic. He was a founding member and director of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, the first recipient of a Master’s degree from the Goodman School of Theatre, an associate professor at Michigan State University, a noted radio and television reviewer, and an actor Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. Since his death in 1991, his legacy lives on in awards he endowed for direction and choreography (through SDCF), for acting (through Actors’ Equity Association), for playwriting (through Young Playwrights Inc.) and for theatre scholarships (through NYU).
Founded in 1965, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation exists to foster, promote and develop the craft and creativity of stage directors and choreographers. SDCF’s goals are to provide opportunities to practice the crafts of directing and choreography; to gather and disseminate craft and career information; to promote the profession to emerging talent; to provide opportunities for exchange of knowledge among directors and choreographers; and to increase the awareness of the value of directors’ and choreographers’ work. For more information, visit SDCF online at SDCFoundation.org.
Stage Directors and Choreographers Society is a national theatrical labor union whose mission is to foster a national community of professional stage Directors and Choreographers by protecting the rights, health and livelihoods of all of its Members; to facilitate the exchange of ideas, information and opportunities, while educating the current and future generations about the role of Directors and Choreographers and providing effective administration, negotiations and contractual support.