American Theatre Wing Honored With Three Inaugural Anthem Awards

The American Theatre Wing announced today that it has been named a winner in the inaugural Anthem Awards for its following projects:

Counting Together - Community Engagement Categories; Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion - Partnership or Collaboration - GOLD

Counting Together - Awareness Categories (Not-For-Profit); Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion - Partnership or Collaboration - SILVER

Working in the Theatre - Awareness Categories (Not-For-Profit); Education, Art, & Culture - Special Projects - SILVER

The American Theatre Wing advances the full breadth of American theatre - commercial and nonprofit, on Broadway, off-Broadway and nationwide. Through the Tony Awards, Obie Awards, and its suite of linked programs, the Wing aims to create equitable opportunities for diverse theatre-makers nationwide to discover the art form, deepen their knowledge, build networks of support, launch careers, and celebrate achievement.

"It is our distinct honor to recognize the work that brands, organizations, and individuals are all making to create an impact in their community," said Jessica Lauretti, Managing Director, The Anthem Awards. "We launched this platform to show the world that all corners of our culture, from sports and entertainment to business leaders and celebrities, are all standing up to say, it is time for systemic change and that social good is what we value as a society."

"I am so honored that the Wing is being recognized with multiple honors from the Anthem Awards. Inclusivity, advocacy, partnership, and creating significant opportunities for all theatre makers are core values of our work. The fact that the judges recognized this is beyond meaningful," said Heather Hitchens, American Theatre Wing President & CEO. "Two of the honors recognize our partnership work on Counting Together. True, systemic change requires many partners working together. Therefore, I want to acknowledge all of the partners that make up the Counting Together coalition, and especially recognize The Dramatists Guild and Emmanuel Wilson, Executive Director of Creative Affairs for The Guild's role as a co-host of the coalition."

Counting Together is a growing coalition of theater artists, arts professionals, and organizations engaged in separate, long-term studies of race, gender, and disability in American Theatre. By telling the stories of its findings, Counting Together's stated goal is to identify and forge pathways to greater equity and inclusion. For more information on all participating partners and to further explore the website, please visit CountingTogether.org.

Working in the Theatre is The Wing's Emmy® Nominated documentary series produced to entertain audiences by revealing theatre's inner-workings, profiling industry luminaries, and taking a closer look at unique stories that surround important work. It documents conversations, narratives, technique, and history on film to excite and inform audiences about theatre, sharing and preserving knowledge of the industry. Spanning five decades of programming and featuring extraordinary work across the nation, Working in the Theatre is the most comprehensive theatre series to date.

Winners for the inaugural Anthem Awards will celebrated at the first annual Anthem Voices virtual conference as well as at a star-studded virtual Awards Show on Monday, February 28, 2022. Fans will be able to watch the virtual show on-demand featuring special moments, and hallmark Speeches from all the Winners at www.anthemawards.com.

The Anthem Awards was launched in response to the prevalence social good has taken within the national conversation and cultural zeitgeist in recent years. The inaugural competition received nearly 2,500 entries from 36 countries worldwide. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, the Anthem Awards are defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their communities. A portion of program revenue will fund a new grant program supporting emerging individuals and organizations working to advance the causes recognized in the inaugural Anthem Awards.

Anthem Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Members include Daniel Dae Kim (actor, producer, and activist); Ashley Judd (Author, Actor, and Social Justice Humanitarian); Mitchell Baker (CEO and chairwoman, Mozilla); Lisa Sherman (president and CEO, Ad Council), Sarah Kate Ellis (president and CEO, GLAAD); Renata Erlikhman (chief investment officer, OW Management); Shayla Tait (director of philanthropy, The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation); Russlynn Ali (CEO and co-founder, XQ Institute); Marc Ecko (chief commercial officer and board member, XQ Institute); Heidi Arthur (chief campaign development officer, Ad Council); and Alexis M. Herman (chair and chief executive officer, New Ventures, and former U.S. secretary of labor).