Peter Friedman Receives 2017 St. Calir Bayfield Award

Peter Friedman has received the annual St. Clair Bayfield Award presented by the Actors' Equity Foundation for his performance as Polonius in The Public Theater's production of Hamlet. The announcement was made by Arne Gundersen, President of the Foundation, and Joan Glazer, Managing Director.

The award will be presented at Actors' Equity Association's Eastern Regional Membership Meeting at 2 pm on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at the Equity offices, 165 West 46th Street, New York City.

Peter Friedman, being honored for his role as Polonius, was hailed in this production by one critic as "the excellent Peter Friedman, who you want to listen to for hours; his cadence and timing are meticulous".His New York Theater credits include Her Requiem, The Nether, Jacuzzi, Fly By Night, The Open House, The Hatmaker's Wife, End Days, Circle Mirror Transformation, Body Awareness, Uncle Vanya, The Shaggs, After the Revolution, The Great God Pan, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, The Heidi Chronicles, Ragtime, The Common Pursuit, A Soldier's Play, and a Nightingale Sang..., The Loman Family Picnic, Twelve Angry Men. His film and television credits include The Savages, Safe, Single White Female, The Messenger, Breaking Upwards, Love and Other Drugs, "The Muppet Show," "Brooklyn Bridge," "The Affair," "High Maintenance," and "The Path."

Established in 1973 in memory of Equity member St. Clair Bayfield, the award honors the best performance in a supporting role by an Actor in a Shakespearean play in the New York City metropolitan area. The recipient receives a $1,000 check and an engraved crystal plaque.

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

Previous recipients of the St. Clair Bayfield Award include: Carmen DeLavalade, Dana Ivey, Charles Kimbrough, Nathan Lane, Brian Murray, Bradley Whitford, and, in 2016, Louis Cancelmi.

The Actors Equity Foundation is a philanthropic and humanitarian nonprofit organization 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.