(© Tristan Fuge)
Tracee Chimo and Santino Fontana have won 2011 Clarence Derwent Awards, given by Actors Equity Association each year to the most promising performers on the New York stage, while Deirdre O’Connell and Reed Birney are the winners of this year’s Richard Seff Awards, given to outstanding veteran actors in a supporting role in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production. The prizes will be presented on June 14.
Chimo has won for her performance in Bachelorette, seen as part of the Second Stage Uptown series last summer. Among her other credits are Circle Mirror Transformation, which received both Drama Desk and Obie special ensemble awards, as well as Irena’s Vow on Broadway.
Fontana has won for his performance in The Importance of Being Earneston Broadway, Among his other Broadway credits are Brighton Beach Memoirs, Billy Elliot and Sunday in the Park With George. Regionally, he has appeared at The Guthrie Theatre and Old Globe, among others.
O’Connell’s award recognizes her performance in Lisa Kron’s In The Wake at the Public Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the 1986 revival of The Front Page and was nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the Off-Broadway production, Love and Anger. She is the recipient of two Drama-Logue Awards and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her theatre work in Los Angeles.
Birney has been recognized for his work in both A Small Fire at Playwrights Horizons and Tigers Be Still, seen as part of Roundabout’s Underground series. Other recent New York appearances include Circle Mirror Transformation, The Dream of the Burning Boy, Blasted, Stuff Happens, and Homebody/Kabul. He has three Obies and a Drama Desk Award.
