Photo Flash:The Acting Company's Commedia Dell'Arte Gala

The Houseman Award honors a profound commitment to the development of classical actors and an audience for the theater. The award this year was given to Theatre Development Fund. The Warburg Award is presented for outstanding philanthropic endeavor. The award was presented to William D. Zabel, Chairman of Human Rights First, by its President, Michael Posner. The awards took place Monday, November 10th at Cipriani Wall Street.

Founded 36 years ago by Houseman and current Producing Artistic Director, Margot Harley, The Acting Company has won Obie's, Audelcos and a special TONY award as it developed the careers of Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline, Jeffrey Wright, Frances Conroy, Jesse L. Martin, Rainn Wilson and hundreds of others - presenting 131 productions on and off-Broadway and touring all across America.  Proceeds of the evening benefit the Company's Literacy Through Theatereducation programs for students in disadvantaged schools.   

Theatre Development Fund programs over the past 40 years have filled nearly 72 million theater seats, provided subsidies to over 900 plays -  including 30 Pulitzer Prize honorees - and returned over 1.5 billion dollars in revenue to thousands of productions.  This season alone, they made it possible for a record breaking 2.1 million patrons to attend 650 theatrical, dance and music productions.  

The Warburg Award (named for noted philanthropist Joan Warburg) has been presented five times previously, to Mr. Schoenfeld, Harry Belafonte for his work for civil rights and AIDS prevention; to Martin E. Segal, Chairman Emeritus of Lincoln Center, to the Honorable Thomas Kean for contributions to arts and education and to Phyllis Newman for founding The Women's Health Initiative of the Actors' Fund of America. 

Underwriting of the event was contributed by Anne L. Bernstein (Executive Producer of Broadway: The Golden Age); additional major support has been received from Jeremy Shamos; both board directors of The Acting Company.  The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, SONY, Thomson Reuters, U. S. Trust, John K. Castle, Clive Davis, Joan M. Warburg and Earl D. Weiner have also made significant contributions.

John Houseman and Margot Harley founded The Acting Company in 1972 with members of the first graduating class of The Juilliard School's Drama Division.  Since then several million people in 49 states and 10 foreign countries have been introduced to the theater by the Company, which, in addition to New York, tours to over 50 communities each year, especially to those with little or no access to live performance. 

Photo Credit: Shevett Studios

Dana Ivey and Marian Seldes

debra monk, Margot Harley and Mary Cambell Mitchell

Pia Lindstrom and Jack Carley

Haley Joel Osment, Bill Zabel and Mike Posner

Harriet Harris and Matt Sullivan

Margot Harley, Dakin Matthews, Kelley Curran and Matt Steiner