Foster Fellowship Theater Arts Winners Announced

Two Broward County Winners for Emerging Artists

Foster Fellowship in Theater Arts

The Cultural Foundation of Broward Announces the Winners for the Fellowship Award –

Michael Ryan Pilato and Michelle Rosenfarb are this Year's Winners 

The Cultural Foundation of Broward, Inc. announces the winners of the 2007 Foster Fellowship for emerging Broward-based artists. $1,500 each will be given for a specific project, or for purchases to advance the artist's career. The winners are Michael Ryan Pilato of Coral Springs and Michelle Rosenfarb of Fort Lauderdale. 

Michelle Rosenfarb is a Master's graduate of Nova Southeastern University, where she received notable attention for her original play, 100 GATES, the reading which she directed and produced at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center. During her Master's program she served as assistant stage manager to Mosaic Theater's productions of Amadeus and Memory of Water and worked at Art and Culture Center of Hollywood as the education public programming coordinator. She has also directed and choreographed their musical theater programs for adolescents in such performances as Fiddler on the Roof, Aladdin, Once on This Island Jr., The Music Man and Annie. In May 2007 the New Vista Theater selected Rosenfarb's original work Beyond the Gates, to be read as part of the South Florida Theater Festival at the Lake Worth Playhouse.  Rosenfarb's winning project is a playwright's forum that will support emerging playwrights in the inception and development of new plays that speak to an increasingly diverse society. 

Michael Ryan Pilato's winning project is an actor's performance workshop and performance with students of Parkway Middle School of the Arts. He has recently played the roles of Audrey 2 in Little Shop of Horrors, Munkustrap in Cats, Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables, Jason in Media, Big Josh in BIG, MacDuff in MacBeth, Horton in Suessical, Phillip Glass and Trotsky in All in the Timing and Edward in A Class Act. He has been awarded Outstanding Male Vocalist in Broward County Cappie Awards, Critics Choice in Duet Acting, Directing, Monologue, Large Group Musical Ensemble, Play Writing and Student Directed Scene and Superior Awards at State and District levels for Solo Musical and Duet Musical. He also won Best Supporting Actor in Broward County 2004 and Best Actor in Broward County in 2005 and 2006. 

"The Foundation is pleased to honor and assist artists who are committed to advancing their professional career in the area of theater arts," says Peter Palin, president of the Cultural Foundation of Broward County Inc. "Artists make a significant contribution to our community." For more information on this fellowship, please visit www.broward.org/arts. 

"A people's art is the genesis of their freedom."

                              Claudia Jones, Founder

                               London Carnival, 1959

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