Blanka Zizka to Receive Zelda Fichandler Award

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has awarded The 2011 Zelda Fichandler Award to Blanka Zizka of The Wilma Theater. It will be presented to her at a free public presentation at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. on Monday, October 24.

The $5,000 award recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who has transformed the regional arts landscape.

In a statement, Selection Committee Co-Chair Sharon Ott said, “She has made a deep commitment to the arts in Philadelphia, promoting theater, dance, and utilizing a European-style rehearsal process at the Wilma. She has been bold in her selection of material and artists, and now launches into a new phase of her career, taking on the role of sole Artistic Director at the Wilma after years of collaboration with Jiri Zizka.”

The Committee also chose to honor Howard Shalwitz of Washington D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre as Distinguished Finalist. Three additional finalists were named: Richard Garner, Produc ing Artistic Director and co-founder of Georgia Shakespeare in Atlanta; Joseph Haj, Artistic Director of PlayMakers Repertory Company of Chapel Hill, NC; and D. Lynn Meyers, Producing Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.