Alison Fraser, Jay O. Sanders Receive Actors' Equity Foundation Joe A. Callaway Award

Alison Fraser and Jay O Sanders have been selected to receive the 2018 Joe A. Callaway Award presented by the Actors' Equity Foundation. The award, honoring the best performance in a professional production of a classic play (one written prior to 1920) in the New York metropolitan area, will be presented at Actors' Equity Association's Eastern Regional Membership Meeting at 2 pm on Monday January 28, 2019 at the Equity offices, 165 West 46th Street in New York. The announcement was made by Judy Rice, President of the Foundation, and Joan Glazer, Managing Director.

Fraser is being honored for her performance as Lady Ariadne Utterword in the Gingold Theatrical Group's production of Heartbreak House. Alison Fraser is a nationally acclaimed performer who has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway and in concert at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the White House, and Town Hall. She is a two time Tony Award nominee for The Secret Garden and Romance/Romance, a Lucille Award nominee for First Daughter Suite, a Drama Desk Award nominee for The Secret Garden and a Carbonell Award winner for Romance/Romance.

Jay O Sanders is being honored for his performance as Uncle Vanya in Richard Nelson's production of Anton Checkov's Uncle Vanya at the Hunter Theater Project. He has played many of the great roles in Shakespeare and other classics and has devoted much of his time to birthing new American plays. He is an original cast member of Richard Nelson's Apple Family Plays and more recently The Gabriels.

Established by Equity member Joe A. Callaway in 1989, the award includes a $1,000 check plus a commemorative engraved plaque for each recipient.

The Judges for the Callaway Award are: Joe Dziemianowicz,; Adam Feldman, Time Out New York; Susan Haskins, Theater Talk; Harry Haun, The Observer; and David Rosenberg, Hearst Media.

Previous recipients of the Callaway Award include Kate Burton, Byron Jennings, Frank Langella, Laura Linney, Lily Rabe, Liev Schreiber and, in 2017, Arnie Burton and Mary Testa.

The Actors Equity Foundation, a philanthropic and humanitarian nonprofit 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.