ONCE's John Tiffany and Stephen Hoggett Win SDCF's 2012 Callaway Award

On November 15th, the winners of the Stage Directors and Choreographers' Joseph A. Callaway award were announced at an intimate presentation at the SDC offices, attended by most of the finalists. John Tiffany, director and Steven Hoggett, choreographer each won the prestigious award for their collaborative work on Once, produced by New York Theatre Workshop.

The last time both the director and choreographer of a show won the award was in 2007 when Thomas Kail and Andy Blankenbueler each won for In the Heights.

John Tiffany accepted both Callaway awards stating that he and Steven Hoggett had been best friends since they teenagers in London and that only work on his new show Rocky, premiering in Germany on November 18th, kept the busy choregrapher from accepting the award himself.

Hoggett sent word to the presenters that he was, "very moved to receive this award from his peers."

The 2011 - 2012 Joe A. Callaway Award recognizes excellence in the craft of directing and choreography during the New York City theatre season from September 1, 2011, through August 31, 2012, and is the only award given by professional directors and choreographers to their peers for work on a specific production. To be eligible, Directors and Choreographers must be SDC Members in good standing. The production must take place within the five boroughs of New York City under an Actors’ Equity Association contract other than the Showcase code and Broadway contract.

The Callaway Committee, comprised of current longstanding SDC Members Melvin Bernhardt, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Linda Burson, Hope Clarke, Edie Cowan, John Going, Gus Kaikkonen, Sue Lawless, Lorna Littleway, William G. Martin Jr., Barry McNabb, Michael Montel, and Tony Parise, selected finalists from more than 300 productions considered this season. Finalists for the 2011 – 2012 Joe A. Callaway Award were:

Directors:
Rachel Dickstein, Septimus & Clarissa, produced by Ripe Time
Charlotte Moore, Dancing at Lughnasa, produced by The Irish Repertory Theatre
Jenn Thompson, Lost in Yonkers, produced by The Actors Company Theatre
John Tiffany, Once, produced by New York Theatre Workshop*

Joe A. Callaway dedicated more than 50 years to the theatre as an actor, director, lecturer and critic. He was a founding member and director of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, the first recipient of a Master’s degree from the Goodman School of Theatre, an associate professor at Michigan State University, a noted radio and television reviewer, and an actor off-Broadway and in regional theatre. Since his death in 1991, his legacy lives on in awards he endowed for direction and choreography (through SDCF), for acting (through Actors’ Equity Association), for playwriting (through Young Playwrights Inc.) and for theatre scholarships (through NYU).

SDCF's Joe A. Callaway Award was first presented in 1989. Previous winners include Gabriel Barre, Andy Blankenbuehler, Carolyn Cantor, Martha Clarke, Graciela Daniele, Frank Galati, Christopher Gattelli, Gerald Gutierrez, Doug Hughes, Garry Hynes, Bill T. Jones, Thomas Kail, Moises Kaufman, Larry Keigwin, Joe Mantello, Trevor Nunn, Jack O’Brien, Ciarán O’Reilly, Harold Prince, Bartlett Sher, Susan Stroman, Daniel Sullivan and George C. Wolfe.

Pictured: John Tiffany