TCG Announces Fox Foundation Recipients

The William & Eva Fox Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, are pleased to announce the five recipients for the fifth round of the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships. The program, which is funded by the Fox Foundation and administered by TCG, is designed to support an individual actor's professional and artistic development, to enrich relationships between actors and nonprofit theatres and to ensure continued professional commitment to live theatre. It is one of only a few programs of its kind for actors in the US.

The fellowship is comprised of two categories, Extraordinary Potential and Distinguished Achievement. For Extraordinary Potential, three early- to mid-career actors, who have demonstrated a strong interest and commitment to continued training, will receive $15,000 each, with up to an additional $10,000 available to relieve student loans. For Distinguished Achievement, two actors, who have demonstrated considerable experience in professional theatre with a substantial body of work, will receive $25,000 awards. The host theatre companies will receive grants of $7,500 in support of these residencies.

"The Fox Foundation applauds these talented actors for their commitment to the art and in seeking opportunities to enhance their craft," said Robert P. Warren, President of the Fox Foundation. "We hope the fellowship will provide them with the means to achieve artistic depth - so that they too can help ensure a vibrant and thriving live theatre community for years to come."

The Fox Foundation fellows and host theatres are:

Extraordinary Potential

Usman Ally, American Theater Company (ATC), Chicago, IL
Ally will study documentary theatre techniques and interview-based character creation with ATC artistic director PJ Paparelli. He plans to travel to Pakistan to conduct interviews on immigration with his parents and US Embassy immigration officials. He will also interview South Asian immigrant families in Chicago. Usman will then workshop the documented work through a series of readings and retreats, which will culminate in a production at ATC.

Suli Holum, HERE, New York, NY
Holum's Fellowship will support and enhance the process of developing Chimera, a highly theatrical solo-performance exploring medical chimerism - the combination of two sets of genes in an individual body. Chimera is being developed in collaboration with playwright Deborah Stein through the HERE Artist Residency Program with additional support from the Creativity Fund at New Dramatists, the Playwrights' Center, and Workhaus Collective. Holum will work towards certification at the Laban Institute in New York, participate in workshops on the use of technology in new performance at EMPAC, train with Complicite in the United Kingdom, and develop grantwriting skills at the Foundation Center. She also plans to attend the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, an international three-week festival that emphasizes interdisciplinary work.

Alvin Chan, Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY), Honolulu HI
Chan will travel to China, Hong Kong, Japan and his native Hawai'i to develop his expertise in traditional Asian performance techniques. He will study Beijing Opera in Nanjing with master teacher Master Lu, take a Manga intensive course at the Kyoto Seika University in Kyoto, receive private training in Japanese Kyogen from Master Mariushi Yatsuhi, and take a four-week intensive course with the Ha Kwok Cheung Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe in Hong Kong. On his return to Hawai'i, Chan will lead a series of workshops on these techniques with the HTY Acting Company, and perform in their productions, The Lion Dancer and Momotaro.

Distinguished Achievement

Laurie Mccants, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble (BTE), Bloomsburg PA
Mccants will hone her skills in physical performance, puppetry/object manipulation, musical instrument and Pranayama Yoga (breath work) in preparation for her solo performance Industrious Angels, a music-theatre piece evoking women's secret creative lines, mother/daughter bloodlines, and Emily Dickinson's ghost. She will study puppetry with Eric and Ines Bass of Sandglass Theatre, Jon Ludwig of the Center for Puppetry Arts, and Lynn Jeffries of Cornerstone Theater; physical performance with Joan Schirle of Dell'Arte International; and toy piano with composer Guy Klucevsek. She will present the first public workshop versions of Industrious Angels at BTE and the Ko Festival of Performance in July 2011, and then prepare for a national tour starting in 2012.

Frank Corrado, A Contemporary Theatre (ACT), Seattle WA
Corrado will expand Pinter Fortnightly, a series he founded in March 2009, which is devoted to public readings of the works of Harold Pinter. As the series' resident actor/curator/co-producer/casting agent, he will better compensate participating actors and invite actors, directors and scholars outside Seattle to take part. Corrado will work in partnership with ACT artistic director Kurt Beattie to expand the series to include other intellectually rigorous and underrepresented writers. Also, there have been preliminary discussions about a possible Pinter Festival at ACT in 2012 utilizing a number of the theatre spaces.

An advisory selection panel evaluated the applicants and made their recommendations. The panel included: Ricardo Khan, Director/Writer, Crossroads Theatre Company; Ellen Lauren, Associate Artistic Director, Siti Company; Lisa Portes, Head of Directing, The Theatre School at DePaul; Melissa Smith, Conservatory Director, American Conservatory Theater.

Fellowship activities will take place within a two-year time frame between October 1, 2010 and April 1, 2011 and will conclude before March 1, 2013.

The William & Eva Fox Foundation was established in 1987 by Belle Fox in honor of her parents, who founded the Fox Film Corporation. The Foundation has awarded more than $2.7 million in fellowships to 296 actors since 1994. The Fox Foundation is the largest US grant maker dedicated to the artistic and professional development of theatre actors, and one of very few that provides direct financial support to individual actors. Www.tcg.org/fox/index/htm<http://www.tcg.org/fox/index/htm>.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, exists to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Its programs serve nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals nationwide. As the US Center of the InterNational Theatre Institute, TCG connects its constituents to the global theatre community. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. TCG is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. www.tcg.org<http://www.tcg.org/>.