The Terence G. Hall Memorial Award is the gift of playwright member Linda Faigao-Hall and her family in honor of her late husband, Terence G. Hall (March 24, 1945 - February 15, 2011). It is open only to members of the Ensemble Studio Theatre; it includes a one-week stay at a one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Dublin and a travel stipend.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MS. JANET ZARISH!
As the second recipient of The Terence G. Hall Memorial Award, EST member Janet Zarish has just come back from Ireland where she was afforded a week’s stay in Dublin, enabling her to do research as both a Teacher and an Actress. Janet was a visiting guest at The Lir Drama School, the newly formed Graduate Acting Program of Trinity College, now in its sixth year. The Lir’s teaching philosophy and its program became Janet’s focus; she was able to observe classes in classical text, psychological movement, acting and scene study and participated in rehearsals for their upcoming production of D.H. Lawrence’s “The Widowing of Mrs. Holyrod”. A meeting has been set up in New York in the spring to discuss a possible exchange program between the two schools.
Janet was also able to do research on Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley, a play she was acting in upon her return from Dublin. Her apartment was only a stone’s throw away from the tiny town of Killucan where the play takes place, and she spent time interviewing the locals and visiting locations referenced in the play. When she returned, she covered the rehearsal room with her photos of Killucan, offering a unique window into the life of the play and its characters for all the actors involved.
Janet thanks Linda Faigao-Hall, and the rest of the Hall family for such a rich artistic experience and is grateful to them for the generous opportunity they provided.
JANET ZARISH: New York credits include leading roles at The Public Theater, The Roundabout, Primary Stages, Minetta Lane Theater, Harold Clurman Theater, The John Houseman Theatre, The Pearl Theatre, New York Stage and Film, and The Daryl Roth. Regional Theatre credits include The Long Wharf Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre, The McCarter Theatre, Sundance, The Old Globe, ACT Seattle, O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Yale Rep, Hartford Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Humana Festival at Actor's Theatre Of Louisville. Film includes: Brooklyn To Manhattan, Life In Flight, The Zoo, Season Of Youth, The Next Big Thing, Object Of My Affection, Malcolm X, Square Root Of Three, Mystic Pizza, Without A Trace, Danny. Television includes: "Blue Bloods", "Forever", "Law & Order", "Seinfeld", "Mad About You", "The Client", "Homicide", "NY Undercover", "The Webster Report", "The Early Days", "Love & War", and others. She is best known for playing Lee Halpern on "One Life To Live" and for her episode of "Seinfeld", which was named one of the top ten "Seinfeld" episodes by Rolling Stone. She is Head of Acting at NYU’s Graduate Acting Program and directs at NYU, The Juilliard School and Ensemble Studio Theater where she is a member.