Ben Platt & Alana Arenas Will Receive Equity Foundation's Clarence Derwent Award; Bill Camp and Lois Smith Win Richard Seff Award

The Actors' Equity Foundation's 2016 Clarence Derwent Awards for most promising female and male performers on the New York metropolitan scene have gone to Alana Arenas (Head of Passes) and Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen). The announcement was made by Arne Gundersen, president of the Foundation, which administers the awards.

Additionally, Bill Camp and Lois Smith are the recipients of the annual Richard Seff Award presented by the Actors' Equity Foundation to a veteran male and female character actor for the best performance in a supporting role in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production.

Alana Arena was recognized for her performance as Cookie in the Public Theatre production of Head of Passes. Arenas, an ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theater Company since 2007, has performed regionally in numerous productions, and Off Broadway as well. She was awarded the Lucille Lortell Award for Outstanding Featured Actress just this week for her role in Head of Passes.

Ben Platt was recognized for his performance as Evan in Dear Evan Hansen (Second Stage Theater). Ben Platt got his start in a national tour of Caroline, or Change at age 11 before snagging the breakout role of Benji in Pitch Perfect. After starring in the national tour of The Book of Mormon, Platt made his Broadway debut as Elder Cunningham in 2014.

Bill Camp was cited for his performance as Reverend Hale in the Broadway production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Other t Broadway shows include Death of a Salesman, Coram Boy, Heartbreak House, Jackie,Saint Joan, and The Seagull. His film and television credits are many as well. He has been nominated for the 2016 Tony Award and the 2016 Drama Desk Award for his role in the Crucible as well.

Lois Smith, winner of multiple theater awards including the Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement (2016) and New York Drama Critics' Circle Special Citation (2016), was recognized for her performance in Signature Theater's production of Annie Baker's John for her role as Genevieve. She was also cited for her role as Marjorie in Playwrights Horizon's Marjorie Prime.

The award, a check and crystal trophy, will be presented at Equity's Eastern Regional Board meeting at 2pm on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at the Equity offices, 165 West 46th Street.

Established in 1945 by Clarence Derwent, distinguished actor and president of Equity from 1946-1952, the award is the oldest on Broadway. Past recipients include Nina Arianda, Annaleigh Ashford, Annette Bening, Kristin Chenoweth, Morgan Freeman, Allison Janney, Frances Sternhagen, Michael Urie, Christopher Walken, Fritz Weaver and in 201, Phillipa Soo and Josh Grisetti.

Equity member Richard Seff established the award in 2003. Previous recipients include: Tom Aldredge, Reed Birney, Larry Bryggman, Lynn Cohen, Jim Dale, Hallie Foote, Jayne Houdyshell, Dana Ivey, Patrick Page, Laila Robins and, in 2015, Julie Halston and Brad Oscar. The presentation, a check and crystal trophy, will take place at Equity's Eastern Regional Board meeting at 2 pm on Tuesday May 31, at Equity's office, 165 West 46th Street.

The Judges' Panel includes Joe Dziemianowicz, Daily News; Adam Feldman, Time Out New York; Susan Haskins-Doloff, Theater Talk; Harry Haun, Playbill and David Rosenberg, The Hour Newspapers.

The Actors' Equity Foundation, a philanthropic and humanitarian nonprofit organization, was created in 1962 to aid and assists the 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.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy