Princess Grace Foundation-USA Announces 2010 Award Winners

The Board of Trustees of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) and its Chairman, Hon. John F. Lehman, announced today the winners of the 2010 Princess Grace Awards. The Awards for theater, dance and choreography, and film continue the legacy of Princess Grace (Kelly) of Monaco, who anonymously helped emerging artists pursue their artistic goals during Her lifetime. This year's Awards winners represent 18 states around the country and eleven organizations that are new to partnering with the Foundation. They will travel to New York City as guests of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, where they will receive their Awards at the annual black-tie Princess Grace Awards Gala, held in the presence of HRH The Princess of Hanover, on November 10, 2010 at Cipriani 42nd Street.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA, a public charity, was formed after the death of Princess Grace in 1982. They award scholarships, apprenticeships, and fellowships to assist artists at the start of their careers. The Foundation cultivates a diverse group of nearly 500 artists to date who continue to advance the spectrum of performing arts with innovative, cutting-edge, and vibrant theater, dance, choreography, film, playwriting and design. Since the Foundation's inception, more than 650 Awards have been given to recipients, totaling more than $7 million.

For the second year in a row, celebrated artist Alex Soldier, known for his mastery of fine jewelry and precious miniatures, has created an objet d'art to symbolize the Princess Grace Awards. The Award symbolically combines the three art forms lauded by the Foundation: theater, dance, and film by using precious metals and Swarovski crystal accents. The sculpture is made for each recipient to wear as a pin, a special reminder of their Award for the world to see.

PRINCESS GRACE STATUE AWARD
Past winners of the Awards who distinguish themselves in their artistic disciplines since receiving their initial Princess Grace Awards are eligible to win the coveted Princess Grace Statue Award. It includes a $25,000 unrestricted cash gift and a special Bronze Statue of Princess Grace created by Dutch artist Kees Verkade. This year's Statue Award winner is:

Anna D. Shapiro
- 2008 Tony® Award winner for Best Direction of a Play (August: Osage County)
- Steppenwolf Theater Company Ensemble Member
- Head of Graduate Directing Program at Northwestern University

PRINCESS GRACE AWARDS
Each year, the Foundation presents the Princess Grace Awards to artists who show excellence and promise in the areas of theater, dance, and film. Students are eligible for scholarships; emerging artists working in companies qualify for apprenticeships and fellowships. A playwriting fellowship is available for individual artists through a residency at New Dramatists in New York City, which includes the opportunity to have the winning play be licensed and published by Samuel French, Inc. In addition to these, the Foundation also gives honorable mention grants to applicants through Honoraria.

The 2010 Princess Grace Awards winners (listed below) represent 20 colleges, universities, and not-for-profit theater and dance companies throughout the United States. The Awards winners exemplify both classical and experimental artistic disciplines and, while still considered emerging talent, already show exceptional promise in their areas of expertise. The Foundation's support assists their theater and dance studies, helps pay their artistic fees at non-profit theater and dance companies and helps support their thesis film projects. In addition to the Awards, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA extends general operating monies to companies hosting an Awards winner. This year's Princess Grace Awards winners are:

THEATER AND PLAYWRITNG
Andrea Assaf
Theater Fellowship, Gant Gaither Theater Award
Pangea World Theater

Charlotte Brathwaite
Theater Scholarship, George C. Wolfe Award
Yale School of Drama

Shana Cooper
Theater Fellowship, Robert & Gloria Hausman Award
Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Tom Gleeson
Theater Fellowship, Fabergé Theater Award
Arden Theatre Company

Virginia Grise
Theater Apprenticeship, Pierre Cardin Theater Award
Playwrights' Arena

Adam Pinti
Theater Scholarship, Grace Le Vine Award
Arizona State University

A. Rey Pamatmat
Playwriting Fellowship
New Dramatists Inc.