The Actors’ Equity Foundation named Louis Cancelmi as winner of the St. Clair Bayfield Award, and Corey Stoll and Lisa Harrow the winners of its annual Joe A. Callaway Award Award. Both awards are given for classical performances in the New York area.
Cancelmi received the Bayfield Award, which is presented to an actor for the most outstanding performance specifically in a Shakespearean role, for his portrayal of the warrior Achilles in Shakespeare in the Park’s Troilus and Cressida.
Cancelmi said that “to be recognized by the Equity Foundation for this performance in this production, is a great surprise and a terrific honor.... A few ideas came to me early on about how I might approach the role, which I tried to build on from night to night, rehearsing more than playing Achilles, really, in front of the most gracious and devoted theatergoers in New York City.”
Cancelmi has appeared in works such as The Tempest, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) and The Importance of Being Earnest, among others.
Stoll won the Callaway Award — which is presented to a male and female actor for the best performance in a classical play — for his work as Ulysses in the same production of Troilus and Cressida. The actor has appeared in House of Cards, Girls and Midnight in Paris. On stage he’s appeared in Intimate Apparel, The Heidi Chronicles, A View from the Bridge and Henry IV.
Harrow was named co-winner of the 2016 Callaway Award for her distinguished performance as Volumnia in Red Bull Theater’s Coriolanus. With classic plays such as All My Sons, The Cherry Orchard, Othello, and Merchant of Venice ton her resume, she reacted with a quote from Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “‘I’m amazed and know not what to say!’ I loved playing Volumnia; I am passionate about playing Shakespeare, and this is an honor that I am proud to receive.”
The Actors’ Equity Foundation will present the recipients with a plaque and $1,000 check on January 9, 2017, at Actors’ Equity’s Membership Meeting in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit actorsequityfoundation.org.
Judges for the both awards, included Joe Dziemianowicz of The Daily News, Adam Feldman of Time Out New York, Susan Haskins of Theater Talk, Harry Haun of Playbill, and David Rosenberg of The Hour Newspapers.
Previous winners of the St. Clair Bayfield Award include Carmen de Lavallade, Dana Ivey, Charles Kimbrough, Nathan Lane, Brian Murray, Bradley Whitford, and David Furr. Previous winners of the Callaway Award include Kate Burton, Byron Jennings, Frank Langella, Laura Linney, Lily Rabe, Liev Schreiber, Suzanne Bertish, and Paxton Whitehead.
The Actors’ Equity Foundation, a philanthropic and humanitarian nonpro t organization, was created in 1962 to aid and assist members of the acting profession and to promote the theatre arts. It is separate from Actors’ Equity Association and is funded by estate bequests and individual donations.
