Court Theatre Artistic Director Charles Newell Receives SDC's Zelda Fichandler Award

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), announces that Artistic Director Charles Newell of Court Theatre is the recipient of the 2013 Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre. The award heralds accomplishment to date and promise for the future, artistic vision, and deep commitment to a region outside of New York. It carries an unrestricTed Grant of $5000 to the individual recipient. The award will be presented to Mr. Newell on Monday, November 4, 2013 at a reception at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

"To receive The Zelda Fichandler Award from SDCF means the world to me. My very first theatre-going memories are of my mother taking me to Zelda's Arena Stage. The daring theatre she created and produced, the singular artists she championed, the impact her art made on her community: these all have been a beacon of inspiration to me. For twenty years, I have been fortunate to build a life in the theatre here in Chicago, seeking to follow Zelda's example. I am very proud to be a member of this most vibrant theatre community, and am constantly inspired by our artists and patrons," comments Charles Newell. "I am thankful for the unwavering support and platform that the University of Chicago provides us at Court Theatre, and for the fabulous community in which I work and have raised a family, Chicago's South Side. As any Artistic Director knows, their work is the result of a dedicated staff and generous Board of Trustees, and I am no exception. I am particularly grateful to Ron OJ Parson for nominating me, and to my fellow directors and choreographers who have selected me for this honor. Thank you for this recognition. I fully embrace the challenge that this award demands: the future promise of more to come. I am deeply humbled."

A peer review committee selected Mr. Newell from nominees from the Central region of the United States. Selection Committee Chairperson Chay Yew states, "It's an honor to give this year's Zelda Fichandler Award to Charlie Newell. His work in this region has been extraordinary and influential. Through his remarkable leadership, his brilliant direction, and his genuine dedication and desire to make a difference, he is continually changing the Chicago theatrical landscape. Always giving fresh interpretations to the classics and committing to cultural inclusion, he has opened our eyes of how to view the classics in context with contemporary America. His work has inspired us all - audience and artists alike."

The Fichandler Selection Committee comprises professional directors and choreographers; this year's committee included Chairperson Chay Yew and Lou Bellamy, Amanda Dehnert, Hayley Finn, Ron Himes, D. Lynn Meyers, Norma Saldivar, Steve Scott, Dominique Serrand and Leslie Swackhamer. Through this award, named after Zelda Fichandler, a founder of the American regional theatre movement, SDCF recognizes the profound impact of the founders of regional theatre and honors their legacy. The award is given regionally on a rotating basis. The award complements SDCF's "Mr. Abbott" Award, presented bi-annually in New York to recognize lifetime achievement, and the Joe A. Callaway Award, given annually for distinguished direction and choreography in non-Broadway productions in New York. These three awards are the only awards given to theatre directors and choreographers by their peers.

The committee also chose to honor four finalists in addition to Mr. Newell. They are Peter Brosius in Minneapolis, Jeff Church in Kansas City, Rebecca Holderness in Milwaukee, and Kimberly Senior, a fellow acclaimed Chicago director.

Charles Newell (Director/Artistic Director) has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 40 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Charlie's productions of Man of La Mancha and Caroline, or Change have also won Best Production Jeffs. Other directorial highlights at Court include The Moliere Festival (Moliere & Tartuffe), Proof, Angels in America, An Iliad, Porgy & Bess, Three Tall Women, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Wild Duck, Titus Andronicus, Arcadia, Uncle Vanya, Raisin, The Romance Cycle, Glass Menagerie, Travesties, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Invention of Love, and Hamlet. Charlie has also directed at Goodman Theatre (Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll), Guthrie Theater (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman's The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University. He has served on the Board of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the NEA. Opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein's Regina (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Rigoletto (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Don Giovanni and The Jewel Box (Chicago Opera Theatre), and Carousel (Summer 2014) Glimmerglass Festival. Charlie was the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award, and has been nominated for 16 Joseph Jefferson Director Awards, winning four times. In 2012, Charlie was honored by The League of Chicago Theatres with their Artistic Achievement Award.

Zelda Fichandler dedicated her early career to the establishment of America's regional theatre movement. In 1950 she founded Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage and in 1968 she produced The Great White Hope, which became the first production to transfer from a regional theatre to Broadway, winning the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize, and launching the careers of James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. Her production of Inherit the Wind toured Soviet St. Petersburg and Moscow and Arena Stage was the first American theatre company sponsored by the State Department to do so. Like many other regional theatres afterward, Arena Stage cultivated an evolving but resident company over the decades that included some of America's best actors: Robert Prosky, Frances Sternhagen, George Grizzard, Philip Bosco, Ned Beatty, Roy Scheider, Robert Foxworth, Jane Alexander, James Earl Jones, Melinda Dillon, Dianne Wiest, Max Wright, Marilyn Caskey, Harriet Harris, and Tom Hewitt. In 1975 it was the first regional theatre to be recognized by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League with the Regional Theatre Tony Award for outstanding achievement. When Ms. Fichandler retired as producing artistic director of Arena Stage in 1990, she had achieved the longest tenure of any non-commercial producer in the annals of the American theater. Ms. Fichandler is Chair Emeritus of New York University's acclaimed graduate acting program where she personally taught, guided, and inspired more than 500 acting students, including Marcia Gay Harden, Rainn Wilson, Billy Crudup, Debra Messing, Peter Krause, and Michael C. Hall. She has received the George Abbott Award, The Acting Company's John Houseman Award, the Margo Jones Award, and the National Medal of Arts, and in 1999 she became the first artistic leader outside of New York to be inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Founded in 1965, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation exists to foster, promote and develop the creativity and craft of stage directors and choreographers. SDCF's goals are to provide opportunities to practice the crafts of directing and choreography; to gather and disseminate craft and career information; to promote the profession to emerging talent; to provide opportunities for exchange of knowledge among directors and choreographers; and to increase the awareness of the value of directors' and choreographers' work.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Society is a national theatrical labor union whose mission is to foster a national community of professional stage Directors and Choreographers by protecting the rights, health and livelihoods of all of its members; to facilitate the exchange of ideas, information and opportunities, while educating the current and future generations about the role of Directors and Choreographers and providing effective administration, negotiations and contractual support.

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