Jayne Houdyshell To Deliver Episcopal Actors' Guild's Annual Memorial Service Address

Since 1925, the Episcopal Actors' Guild has gathered members of New York City's performing arts community to honor and celebrate those colleagues we have lost in the previous year. EAG has announced that the 2024 Memorial Address will be given by acclaimed actor of stage and screen Jayne Houdyshell.

EAG's 2024 Annual Memorial Service will take place in the sanctuary of the Church of the Transfiguration (1 East 29th Street, NYC 10016) on Sunday, November 10 at 3:00 PM. The traditional Evensong service will be led by The Rev. John David van Dooren.

It will include music by Organist and Choirmaster Dr. Claudia Dumschat and the Church of the Transfiguration's Choir of Men & Boys and Girls, Jayne Houdyshell's memorial address, a reading of the names of those we have lost, and a call for one final standing ovation. This free, heartfelt event is open to those of all faiths, and none.

Jayne Houdyshell began her acting career performing a wide range of plays in regional theaters across the country. In 2016, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in The Humans, and she was a Tony Award-nominee for her work in The Music Man in 2022; A Doll's House, Part 2 in 2017; Follies in 2012; and Well in 2006. Other accolades include a Joseph Jefferson Award, a Barrymore Award, a Theatre World Award, two Drama Desk Awards, and two Obie Awards. In 2019, Houdyshell received a Lilly Award in recognition of her extraordinary career.

To date, Houdyshell has appeared in 13 Broadway shows, most recently Uncle Vanya at Lincoln Center. Her regional and Off-Broadway credits include performances at Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, MCC Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Shakespeare in the Park, Yale Repertory Theatre, MacCarter Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and many others. Houdyshell's work in film includes Causeway, The Humans, Little Women, The Chaperone, Everybody's Fine, Changing Lanes, and Garden State. On television, she has appeared in Only Murders in the Building (twice nominated for the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series), The Good Fight, Evil, Law & Order: SVU, Elementary, and Blue Bloods.

As a part of the service, a collection will be taken up for the Florence James Children's Holiday Fund. Through this fund, EAG provides 50 supplementary $100 grants annually to the young children of our clients who are experiencing a crisis during the winter holiday season. Recipients of this direct cash assistance have reported that the top items being purchased with these funds are coats and shoes to replace items that have been outgrown or food. Donations can be made to the fund online at bit.ly/childrens-holiday-fund. 

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