| Stephen Berenson Honored With Prestigious Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship |
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Program to take place at Wisconsin’s historic Ten Chimneys PROVIDENCE, RI: Trinity Rep Resident Actor Stephen Berenson has been selected as a 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow. One of only nine actors from around the country to receive the award, Berenson will represent Trinity Rep at a weeklong intensive this summer at Ten Chimneys, the National Historic Landmark estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin. "I'm humbled and honored to be chosen as one of the 2010 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows. I look forward to interacting and working with this exciting group of colleagues and I hope to bring back new ideas to share with my friends in the Trinity Rep Acting Company and with my students in the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Acting and Directing Programs,” said Berenson. Berenson will participate in a weeklong intensive master class and retreat at Ten Chimneys from July 11-18 with renowned Shakespeare expert and director Barry Edelstein along with nine actors from some of America’s premiere non-profit regional theaters. In addition, he will receive a cash fellowship in recognition of his contributions and dedication to Trinity Rep and the city of Providence and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of theater artists in the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Acting and Directing Programs. "Stephen Berenson is that rare actor whose gift for finding and nurturing young talent is as great as the artistry of his own performances. He has quite literally fed the community's new generation, launching every Brown/Trinity MFA graduate on a career path and proudly chronicling their success. Stephen empowers each student to become the best actor he or she can be. Virtuosic artist to his audiences, mentor and mother hen to his students, consummate gentleman and witty raconteur to his colleagues, we are all proud to call him our friend," said Trinity Rep Artistic Director Curt Columbus. In twenty seasons at Trinity Rep, some of Berenson’s most memorable roles include Harry in Paris by Night, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucio in Measure for Measure, Praed in Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Frederick Fellowes in Noises Off, Jack in Into the Woods, Bellomy in The Fantasticks and Scrooge in several productions of A Christmas Carol. Previous roles this season include Feste in Twelfth Night and Herr Schultz in Cabaret. His resume also includes performing at New York’s Town Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center, The White House, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, various tours around the United States and Canada and fifteen summers with Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble. World renowned actress Lynn Redgrave, the master teacher at last summer’s inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program and this year’s scheduled teacher, passed away on May 2 from breast cancer. In a statement following her passing, Ten Chimneys President Sean Malone spoke of Redgrave’s commitment to the program and its future. “In addition to her great talent as an actor of depth and honesty, Lynn Redgrave was deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of great stage actors…Lynn set the tone and the standard for the future of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. She now stands, not only as a pillar of the Redgrave legacy, but also of the Lunt-Fontanne legacy.” said Malone. Widely respected as one of the leading Shakespeareans in the United States, Barry Edelstein is the Director of The Public Theater’s Shakespeare Initiative, overseeing all Shakespearean production at the theater, as well as The Public’s extensive educational, community outreach, and artist-training programs. Malone spoke highly of Edelstein as well, noting: “Mr. Edelstein is greatly revered for his love and understanding of Shakespeare,” said Sean Malone, President of Ten Chimneys Foundation. “Lynn [Redgrave] was so in love with Shakespeare – its power and its truth – that I know she would have been thrilled to have someone of Mr. Edelstein’s talent, passion, and abilities carry on for her.”
Trinity Rep Resident Acting Company Member Stephen Berenson |
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