The award is given annually to two rising young artists in recognition of outstanding achievement. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein was the other recipient. The award includes $7,500 to be used for future study and career advancement.

Kail, who also directed the Off-Broadway production of In the Heights, previously received the 2006-07 Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers' Joseph A. Callaway Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his work on the production. He is artistic director and co-founder of Back House Productions (BHP), the resident theater of New York City's The Drama Book Shop. Additional directing credits include Feifer's People, Freestyle Love Supreme, and The Guys.