Peter Howard, John Douglas Thompson et al. Awarded Fox Foundation Acting Fellowships

The William & Eva Fox Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, are pleased to announce the sixth round of Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship recipients. The program is designed to support actors' professional and artistic development, to enrich relationships between actors and nonprofit theatres and to ensure continued professional commitment to live theatre. Funded by the Fox Foundation and administered by TCG, the fellowship is one of only a few programs of its kind for actors in the country.

"The Fox Foundation is extremely appreciative of its long-term collaboration with TCG, created to further develop actors that have a serious commitment to theatre," said Robert P. Warren, President of the Fox Foundation. "This fellowship has been successful in advancing the careers of actors by providing meaningful opportunities for them to enhance their craft."

The Fox Foundation fellowship is comprised of two categories:

Extraordinary Potential recipients are early- to mid-career actors, who have demonstrated a strong interest and commitment to continued training. Each fellow receives $15,000 each, with up to an additional $10,000 available to relieve student loans.

Distinguished Achievement recipients have demonstrated considerable experience in professional theatre with a substantial body of work. Each fellow receives $25,000 awards. The host theatre companies will receive grants of $7,500 in support of these residencies.

"TCG is committed to supporting the artistic and professional development of actors." said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "Our partnership with Fox Foundation allows us to further empower these talented artists throughout their career and deepen their relationships with theatres around the country."

The Fox Foundation fellows and host theatres are:

Extraordinary Potential

Sandra Delgado (Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL) will immerse herself in an intense study of actor-generated and interview based theatre making techniques and apply these techniques to an original show, para mis Madres. She plans to embark on observerships with The Civilians and Tectonic Theatre Project in the US and Marta Carrasco in Spain. She will train in physical theatre with Pig Iron and SITI Company. She will also travel to Colombia to conduct interviews for para mis Madres and observe theatre. Sandra is a founding member of Collaboraction, an Ensemble member and former Associate Artistic Director of Teatro Vista and a TCG Young Leader of Color. She will be seen in the world premiere of Chicago Boys at the Goodman Theatre in October.

Maria Dizzia (Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT) will travel to China to observe professional mourners to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of expressivity in cultural practice and the foundations of theater in ritual. She plans to work with teacher Kim Gillingham to help her integrate funeral ritual performance with contemporary theater practice and with the Linklater Center for Voice and Language to study how this vocal training method undoes the societal repressions that inhibit our voices and frees the emotional life of the actor. Maria has performed off-Broadway in Cradle and All, Hallway Trilogy, The Drunken City, Eurydice, Pullman Car Hiawatha, Apparition, Alice the Magnet, Cause for Alarm, and Gone Missing, as well as her Tony-nominated Broadway performance in Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room.

Miriam Silverman (The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC) will develop a personalized approach to verse and voice work to serve her as a performer and educator. She plans to study with experts in the field including Patsy Rodenburg, Kristen Linklater, Andrew Wade and Catherine Fitzmaurice. She will apprentice Ellen O'Brien, STC's Head of Voice and Text, while in residency at STC. Miriam will travel to London to take part in a workshop on the Estill method and attend the RSC's World Shakespeare Festival. In London she will also attend training sessions with Tim Carroll and The Factory. She will travel to Thorais, France for a workshop in the Roy Hart technique and to Gdansk, Poland to attend the International Shakespeare Festival. As an Affiliated Artist Miriam will return to STC to perform leading roles in classical plays and hold workshops for the theatre's acting fellows. Miriam has appeared on stage at STC, The Public Theater, Guthrie Theater, Folger Theatre, Red Bull, Arena Stage, and Trinity Rep.

Distinguished Achievement
Peter Howard (Cornerstone Theater Company, Los Angeles, CA) will travel to six former Cornerstone host communities to observe changes that have happened since the company's residency. These observations will form the core of a large-scale inquiry into how an actor can affect community, and how community can affect an actor. He will write and perform in a piece that explores the changes in these disparate American communities, in the theater company he helped found and in himself over the span of 25 years. Howard will also train in Theater of the Oppressed and Lessac vocal techniques, and visit other models of community-based professional theater practice in the U.S. and abroad.

John Douglas Thompson (Theatre for a New Audience, New York, NY) will expand as a classical actor by preparing himself to play lead roles in Shakespeare's comedies. John will approach this goal with academic study and comparative analysis of Shakespeare and Marlowe with James Shapiro at Columbia University. He will also explore clown techniques, and Shakespeare clown with group and individual study with Christopher Bayes, as well as observing rehearsals and performances of Mr. Bayes' productions of The Servant of Two Masters and The Doctor in Spite of Himself. Thompson will also study how language works in Shakespeare's comedies and Marlowe's tragedies with Andrew Wade. He will perform in readings of three Marlowe tragedies and three Shakespeare comedies led by Arin Arbus and other directors. John has performed at American Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Royal Shakespeare Company, Hartford Stage, Shakespeare & Company, Yale Rep, Irish Rep, Wilma Theater, Red Bull, and New York Theatre Workshop. He received an OBIE, Lucille Lortel, and Callaway Award for his performance of Othello at Theatre for a New Audience, and a Callaway Award for The Emperor Jones at Irish Rep.

The Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships panel included Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director, La Jolla Playhouse; Regina Bain, National Director of Training and Evaluation, The Posse Foundation; Lisa McNulty, Artistic Line Producer, Manhattan Theatre Club; David Muse, Artistic Director, The Studio Theatre; and Daniel Swee, Casting Director, Lincoln Center Theater.

The William & Eva Fox Foundation was established in 1987 by Belle Fox in honor of her parents, who founded the Fox Film Corporation. The Foundation has awarded more than $2.7 million in fellowships to 296 actors since 1994. The Fox Foundation is the largest US grant maker dedicated to the artistic and professional development of theatre actors, and one of very few that provides direct financial support to individual actors. For more information, visit www.tcg.org/fox/index/htm or www.thefoxfoundation.org.

For 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the US Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. For more information visit www.tcg.org