The Lunt Fontanne
Fellowship.

Sponsored by Ten Chimneys Foundation​

​

The culmination of my accomplishments as a creative artist thus far in my career came in April of 2023, when I was nominated by the Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center (where I serve as a member of the resident acting company) and, ultimately, selected for the prestigious Lunt Fontanne Fellowship (named after iconic American stage actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne) by the Ten Chimneys Foundation. The award is presented annually as a creative opportunity for a select group of ten accomplished actors in the American theater, all operating at the top of their field. This fellowship offered an exciting and creatively rich training intensive, led by a four-time Tony Award-winner (along with numerous Obie, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk awards) and member of the American Theater Hall of Fame Jerry Zaks, at the Wisconsin estate of Lunt and Fontanne in July of 2023.

With giant photos of two of the foremost actors of the American theater, the Lunts, looking down on us in historical theatre images that lined all four walls of the studio, the week of watching some of the most talented actors in American regional theatre (all working at the top of their game) in collaboration with a man who is a legend in the American theatre was enthralling. Mr. Zaks’ eye for both comedy and pathos was nothing short of astounding. He was able to watch an actor go through a scene a single time and then give just a few precise notes that instantly doubled the effectiveness of the work. Most impressive to me was Jerry’s instruction about how artists must interact and treat one another. He is a firm advocate of a rehearsal room that is driven by kindness and mutual respect. I have never seen anyone give notes and direction in such a thoughtful, respectful, considerate way, while all the time pushing the actor to go further and deeper with the work. It was something I immediately took back to my own classroom at UNT.

 

Listening to Mr. Zaks’ informal accounts from his own career felt like hearing the memoir of an icon delivered firsthand. He has worked, across the decades, with some of the most renowned American theatre artists in history and, as expected, became friends with all of them. And, with each story, there came a lesson: what Zero Mostel taught him about the deftness of comedy or Bette Midler’s ability to hold an audience in the palm of her hand every single second she was onstage or the utter terror of performing “Yankee Doodle Dandy” for James Cagney when he was given the Kennedy Center Honor.

 

My fellow actors who have previously received this honor told me in advance it would offer an unforgettable, inspiring experience that would change me as an artist and offer me lessons to take back to my own artistic community. And they were absolutely right about that. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to Dallas Theater Center for nominating me, the Ten Chimneys Foundation for the graciousness they extended to us, the nine glorious fellow artists with whom I shared the honor, and, of course, Mr. Zaks himself.