The Helen Hayes Awards recognize outstanding achievement from professional theatres and theatre-makers across the Washington, DC region. Named for the legendary First Lady of the American Theatre, Helen Hayes, the awards celebrate the artists and companies whose work makes the Washington, DC-area a thriving, nationally recognized theatre community. We were thrilled to be selected as winner of Outstanding Choreography in a Play for 2023.
Pilobolus collaborated on the production of this play initially in 2015, and revived the production with RoundHouse Theater in 2022.
This collaboration with Teller and Aaron Posner (directors) has been an exciting and fulfilling one. The idea to cast Caliban as two actors, physically intertwined was a moment of inspiration during a period of creation with Penn & Teller on the Pilobolus dance piece, [esc]. This production’s Caliban was played by Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers, who together won the Helen Hayes award for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Play. This is a first for the awards. Recipients have tied for awards before, but this is the first time that two performers have jointly received a Helen Hayes Award for playing a single role shared between multiple people.
Read more here. And check out our fun award unboxing video here!
Caliban Photo by Scott Suchman