Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Ali Louis Bourzgui and More to Receive Actors’ Equity Foundation ’26 Awards

The Actors’ Equity Foundation has revealed the recipients of its 2026 awards for theatre artists. These honors will be awarded at a ceremony emceed by Julie Halston, a previous recipient of the Foundation’s Richard Seff Award.

The Richard Seff Award for two veteran actors is awarded to Linda Emond (Susan Slater in Becky Shaw), and  Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Bynum Walker in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone). The Seff Award has been presented annually since 2004 to character actors, 50 years old or older, who have been members of Actors’ Equity Association for at 25 years or longer, for the best performance in a featured or unfeatured supporting role in a Broadway or off-Broadway production. Recent recipients include Linda Lavin, Francis Guinan, Jessica Hecht and Francis Jue.

The Clarence Derwent Award for the two most promising performances of the season is given to McKenzie Kurtz (Betsy in Schmigadoon and Heather Chandler in Heathers) and Ali Louis Bourzgui (David in The Lost Boys). Established in 1945, the Clarence Derwent Award has previously been presented to future luminaries at the beginning of their careers including Judy Holliday, Frederick O’Neal, Gene Wilder, Morgan Freeman and, most recently, Nicholas Barasch and Julia Lester.

The Joe A. Callaway Award for the two best performances in a classical play is awarded to McKinley Belcher III (Aaron in Red Bull Theater’s Titus Andronicus and Caius Martius in Coriolanus at Theatre for a New Audience) and Olivia Reis (Antigone in Oedipus and Lavinia in Red Bull Theater’s Titus Andronicus). The Callaway Award was established in 1989, with past recipients including Alfre Woodard, Victor Garber, Frank Langella, Kate Burton and, most recently, Steven Epp and Kimber Elayne Sprawl.

The Michael McCarty Recognition Award, honoring Los Angeles–based Equity members who have built their lives in the theatre, is awarded to stage manager Linda M. Tross. This award is named for Michael McCarty, a veteran Equity actor who died in 2015 in Santa Barbara at the age of 68. He left a portion of his estate to establish an award to be presented annually by the Actors’ Equity Foundation to an Actors’ Equity member over the age of 50 residing in Los Angeles. The award is intended for a “lunch bucket” theatre professional, not a star, who has made a life in the theatre.

The Patrick Quinn Award for Distinguished Service to Actors, honoring an individual who has worked tirelessly for the betterment of actors and stage managers, is awarded to Sandra Lundwall Nance, a former Equity councilor who co-founded Save the Theatres, Inc. Recent recipients include Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christine Toy Johnson and Nancy Daly.

Previously announced was the 2026 Paul Robeson Award, the humanitarian award jointly administered by the Foundation and Actors’ Equity Association, which this year will be presented to Sheryl Lee Ralph.

The Foundation will hold a ceremony to present these awards on June 22 at Green Fig in New York City. In addition to hosting by Halston, the accompanist for the evening’s festivities will be Tina deVaron. That ceremony will also include the presentation of Actors’ Equity Association’s ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus (winners to be announced).

The Judges Panel for the seasonal performance awards included: Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Theatre Guide; Adam Feldman, Time Out New York; Elysa Gardner, New York Sun, New York Stage Review; Kobi Kassal, Theatrely; and Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter, New York Stage Review.