Pam MacKinnon and Orlando Pabotoy to Receive 2022-2023 Joe A. Callaway Awards From SDCF

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has revealed that the 2022-2023 Joe A. Callaway Awards will be awarded to Pam MacKinnon for excellence in directing for Downstate (Playwrights Horizons) and Orlando Pabotoy for excellence in choreography for The Half-God of Rainfall (New York Theatre Workshop). The Callaway Awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony in Spring 2024.

The Callaway Awards are peer-given awards recognizing excellence in the arts of stage direction and choreography in a given New York City Off-Broadway season. The Callaway finalists for excellence in directing are Knud Adams for Primary Trust (Roundabout Theatre Company) and Dustin Wills for Wolf Play (MCC Theater).  The Callaway finalists for excellence in choreography are Edgar Godineaux for The Harder They Come (The Public Theater) and Steph Paul for Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (Manhattan Theatre Club). The Callaway Awards were first presented in 1989.

The 2022-2023 Callaway Committee was chaired by Shea Sullivan and included William Carlos Angulo, Pam Berlin, Maggie Burrows, Roger Danforth, Richard Hamburger, Dell Howlett, Margarett Perry, Amy Saltz, Danya Taymor, and Chay Yew.

Callaway Committee Chair Shea Sullivan said in a statement, “The Callaway Awards are such a thrilling opportunity to both witness and lift up the work of our directing and choreography peers who are creating exciting and innovative theatre in continuously challenging times. It's a difficult choice every year but the committee is overjoyed for this year's awardees and finalists.”

To learn more about the Callaway Awards, please visit this website: https://sdcfoundation.org/2022-2023-callaway-award-recipients-and-finalists/

Pam MacKinnon

is a Tony, Drama Desk, and Obie Award–winning director, having directed upwards of 80 productions around the country, off Broadway, on Broadway and in London. She serves as artistic director of American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco. Her Broadway credits include Beau Willimon's The Parisian Woman, David Mamet's China Doll, Amélie, a New Musical, Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Direction), and Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park (Obie Award and Tony nomination for Direction). Other recent credits include Christopher Chen's The Headlands and María Irene Fornés's Fefu and Her Friends (A.C.T.), the world premiere of Downstate (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, London's National Theatre, off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons); Lydia R. Diamond's Toni Stone (Roundabout Theatre Company, A.C.T., and Arena Stage), Kate Attwell's Testmatch (A.C.T.), Edward Albee's Seascape (A.C.T.), and Christopher Chen's Communion (A.C.T.). Pam is the most recent past president of SDC and the most recent past chair of the board of Clubbed Thumb.

Orlando Pabotoy

is a NYC Based multidisciplinary theater artist. His role as a Choreographer and Movement Designer has been showcased in notable productions such as The Half-God of Rainfall (NYTW/A.R.T.), Henry VI (National Asian American Theatre Company), The Cherry Orchard (Classic Stage Company - by Andrei Belgrader), and Marisol (Trinity Rep), among others. Pabotoy has also directed a physical approach to Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at PlayMakers Repertory Company. His contributions to the world of new productions extend to writing and performing in Sesar (commissioned by the Ma-Yi Theater Company) and writing and directing That Beautiful Laugh (La MaMa's 50th-year anniversary). Pabotoy's diverse portfolio includes adaptation and direction of Goldoni's The World in the Moon (Juilliard Drama MainStage) and collaboration on projects like The Object Lesson (New York Theatre Workshop, BAM), Home (BAM), and Holoscenes by Lars Jan. He is also a member in perpetuity of the Lopsided Caravan of Misfit Toys, led by Christopher Bayes: past productions by LCMT Servant of Two Masters, Ruzzante, Zibadone.

Pabotoy's past performances were seen at renowned venues such as The Met Opera, The Public Theater, NYTW, Yale Rep, Kirk Douglas Theatre (CTG, Los Angeles), the Guthrie Theater, American Airlines Theater, TFANA, and the Lake Lucille Project. 

Beyond the footlights: His television and film credits include appearances on Comedy Central, WB, NBC, and ABC, and has enjoyed working and collaborating with Animators. 

Acknowledging his contributions, Pabotoy has received an OBIE (special citation) in 2003, Red Socks Award and the Fox Fellowship. 

Bringing over two decades of experience in training performers across the globe, Orlando Pabotoy has recently assumed the role of Head of Physical Acting for The Juilliard School Drama Division. Succeeding Moni Yakim, a distinguished founding faculty member with a legacy spanning over 50 years.

In parallel with his academic responsibilities, Pabotoy remains active in the creative sphere. He is currently working on an untitled commissioned piece for The Classical Theater of Harlem and collaborating with The Pig Iron Theatre Company.  Additionally, his direction and co-conception of Breathe (A Musical) with J. O'Connor Navaro, is seeking a second development.  Venturing into experimental territory, Pabotoy is also in process of exploring the intersection of sound and space, conducting experiments in "choreographing" sound using Spatial Audio, particularly in connection with nature.

More information can be found on his official website, www.orlandopabotoy.com.

Founded in 1965, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) celebrates, develops, and supports professional stage directors and choreographers throughout every phase of their careers. We work to build a theatrical community that reflects the cultural, racial, and gender diversity of our nation by creating opportunities for artists of all backgrounds to bring their full, authentic selves to their work as creative leaders in the theatre.

SDCF is committed to fostering an environment that is inclusive and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression in its programs or activities. www.sdcfoundation.org.