Bianca Amato & Matthew Amendt Receive Shakespeare Theatre Company's Emery Battis Award

The Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) congratulates this year's recipients of the Emery Battis Award for Acting Excellence, Bianca Amato and Matthew Amendt. Since 2010, STC has recognized two actors per season who have demonstrated exceptional skill and technique on the stage.

Amato and Amendt were praised for their incredible performances as Amanda in Private Lives and Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, respectively. The awards will be presented Monday, November 3, 2014, at the opening night dinner for STC's mainstage production, As You Like It, hosted by the Board of Trustees. They each will receive a $5,000 cash prize made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor, along with a crystal sculpture commemorating their achievement.

Each season, a panel comprised of D.C. theatre critics, STC supporters and theatre professionals recommends two performers from the mainstage season to receive the esteemed Emery Battis Award. This award, named in honor of STC's longtime friend and affiliated artist, the late Emery Battis, is presented to two actors whose performances are deemed especially noteworthy. All performers and shows within STC's mainstage season are eligible for the award. Panelists nominate two actors each year who have given one of the season's most impressive performances, and whose commitment to not only classical theatre, but also not-for-profit theatre, is unmatched.

During the 2013-2014 Season, audiences enjoyed many critically acclaimed performances on the stages of Sidney Harman Hall and the Lansburgh Theatre. The panel met and discussed the various possible awardees, which, as always, inspired a lively debate concerning this year's pool of talented artists. In the end, it was Bianca Amato's striking portrayal of the cunning and fiery Amanda in Private Lives and Matthew Amendt's steely yet subtle Prince Hal in the Henry IV repertory that rose to the top of the list.