2009 National Annual Conference

and

National Career Awards in Drama

65th Annual NSAL Conference

Washington DC

May 13-16, 2009

Actor John Lithgow Honored

$10,000 First Place National Career Award 

2009 National Conference Co-Chairs

Lynn Hessick and Alicia Klaffky

During the week of May 13 through 16, the Washington DC Chapter of NSAL hosted 19 local Chapters to the 2009 National Conference and Competition.  This was the first time in more than 20 years that the Washington Chapter welcomed the NSAL national organization to their beloved city.  The Conference Committee planned activities, anchored at the newly-renovated Fairfax Embassy Row in Dupont Circle , which showcased Washington’s character and culture.  

Activities included:

The President’s Reception at The Fairfax Embassy Row

Cosmos Club Luncheon honoring NSAL Chapter Presidents

Breakfast at the Fairfax Hotel

Backstage Tour of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

with Dinner at the Watergate

The National Drama Competition

Drama Master Class

Career Awards Reception and Banquet

Optional events included:

Washington Monuments by Night Tour

 An Evening at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia

The Legacy of Stanislavsky: Brunch and Program at The Embassy of the Russian Federation.

Virginia Williams, mother of Washington’s former Mayor Tony Williams,

sings the National Anthem at opening ceremonies

Jane Taylor plays the harp at the

Cosmos Club Luncheon honoring NSAL Chapter Presidents

Master Class with Actor John Lithgow

The Duke Ellington School of Arts Show Choir

performs at the banquet dinner

John Lithgow receives NSAL’s 2009 Gold Medal Award

 Dorothy Stabell is honored at the Conference banquet

2009 National Drama Competition Contestants,

Judges, Committee Members

The Tony and Emmy Award winning actor John Lithgow was in Washington DC to receive the National Society of Arts and Letters 2009 Gold Medal Award in recognition of his dedication to the arts and humanity.  The award was presented at the NSAL Career Awards Banquet which was held in the Grand Ballroom at The Fairfax at Embassy Row.  Participating in the festivities was the Duke Ellington School of Arts Show Choir. 

Also honored were the winners of the NSAL 2009 local chapter drama competitions.  Contestants came from 19 different chapters throughout the United States, including Hawaii, to compete for the $10,000 NSAL First Place Award.    

The awards banquet was the culmination of the National Society of Arts and Letters’ 65^th Anniversary National Conference held in Washington, D.C.  The week opened with the presenting of colors by the D.C. Police Department and a rousing rendition of our National Anthem by Ms. Virginia Williams, mother of former Washington, DC mayor, Anthony Williams.

Mr. Lithgow also participated in the Saturday morning’s Master Class, along with the drama competition judges: Mark Medoff, Robert C. Pullen, Geoffrey Soffer, and Mark Ramont.  The actors were coached on resume preparation, audition, and acting techniques.  At the Master Class Lithgow admitted that, “Auditioning is a terribly unnatural thing.  It’s so artificial, and so much is at stake.”  He drew a laugh when he went on to say, “The hardest thing to deal with is being rejected by people you have contempt for.” 

After coaching the first contestant on his monologue, Lithgow admitted that this was the first time he had done any acting coaching, and he was quite nervous.  However, his advice was wise and insightful and each actor’s performance was transformed and improved as a result of his excellent coaching.  After observing one contestant’s weepy, monologue, Mr. Lithgow said, “When you cry on stage, you take away the audience’s tears.”  Lithgow then admitted that he loved being “out there” in his acting.  Commenting on his character in the hit TV show 3^rd Rock from the Sun, he said, “Dick Solomon was all id.  It was like a feast for me because excess is what I do!” 

Later he encouraged the aspiring actors in the master class to “find that self belief within.”   He also urged them to find other interests in their lives besides acting.  Added interests, he explained, would make their lives rich and full so when they get a call for a part, they can weigh the pros and cons, rather than jumping to accept any role that comes their way. 

Washington Chapter Members at the

2009 National Conference Banquet Dinner

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2009 NATIONAL CAREER AWARD COMPETITION

IN

DRAMA

Photo:Raymond Gniewek

2009 Washington DC Chapter Winner

Ben Cunis

Ben is an actor and movement artist working in the Washington, DC Metro area.  He graduated from the Catholic University of America in 2006 with a BA in Drama, where he studied acting and theatrical production.  He has been working and training with Synetic Theater as an actor since 2006.

For Synetic, he has appeared in Macbeth, Animal Farm, Hamlet... the Rest is Silence, The Fall of the House of Usher, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Host and Guest, and Dante.  For Synetic Afterhours he wrote, produced, directed, and acted in Last Tango With Rosie.

Other theatrical credits include Borrachio in Maryland Shakespeare Festival's Much Ado About Nothing and Lysander in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  His production company, Granite Kiss Productions, recently won the 2008 Washington, DC 24-hour Film Festival with its film The Choices of Ghosts.  Ben practices parkour, the art of movement, at Primal Fitness in Mt. Vernon Square and studies Break-dance and Hip Hop at the DC Dance Collective in Tenleytown, both in Washington DC.

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