Stephen McKinley Henderson will lead select group of nation’s top regional theater actors
McKinley Henderson will serve as Master Teacher for 2024 Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program at Ten Chimneys
Ten Chimneys Foundation is proud to announce Stephen McKinley Henderson as the 2024 Master Teacher for the nationally acclaimed Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program at the Historic National Landmark, Ten Chimneys. Since its groundbreaking inception in 2009, the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program has brought the nation’s top regional theater actors to Ten Chimneys to work with a world-renowned Master Teacher. The 2024 program will occur the week of July 21st through the 28th and will include specially chosen American theater actors from the nation’s top theaters to work with Mr. Henderson in an intensive Master Class at the estate of theater legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Genesee Depot, WI.
Through this groundbreaking program, the top actors in the country are given a rare and special opportunity to grow artistically, renew their passion for their art form, deepen their commitment recognized as a veteran performer of August Wilson’s oeuvre with his signature role as the gossipy Turnbo in Jitney, for which he won a Drama Desk Award. He received an Obie and Lucille Lortel award in the Outstanding Lead Actor category for his work as Pops in Stephen Adley Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy, the play which received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He revived the role in 2022-23 and was nominated for a Tony as Best Actor. He also received a Tony nomination as Featured Actor for his work in the 2010 Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Fences, starring alongside Tony Award winners Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. In 2023, he received the Lucille Lortel Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Harold Prince Lifetime Achievement Award from the Drama Desk Awards. The Acting Company honored Mr. Henderson with the John Houseman Award in 2024. Mr. Henderson is a Distinguished Alumnus of Purdue University Graduate School (MA), College of Liberal Arts.
“Being a Ten Chimney’s Fellowship Teacher is an honor and a challenge. Actors who have served the American Theatre for twenty years on stages throughout the country quickly form an ensemble that is truly inspiring. I have seen the magic before. Sharing with them enriches me.
“Ten Chimneys is a magicians’ workshop of Théâtre. The practitioners who come there from across America return to their alchemy with renewed dedication. I am proud to be one of the Fellowship Teachers who gets to stir the cauldron,” said Henderson.
About Stephen McKinley Henderson
Mr. Henderson is in residence at Ten Chimneys, joining the illustrious list of Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Master Teachers including Lynn Redgrave, Barry Edelstein, Olympia Dukakis, Joel Grey, Alan Alda, David Hyde Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, Jason Alexander, Alfred Molina, Tyne Daly, and Jerry Zaks.
Public opportunities
On Friday, July 26, 2024, Ten Chimneys Foundation will present A Conversation with Stephen McKinley Henderson, an intimate evening during which Mr. Henderson will share stories about his life and career. On Saturday, July 27, Mr. Henderson and the 2024 Lunt-Fontanne Fellows will take the stage together for a Concluding Presentation, a rare look highlighting the remarkable Fellows and the work they explored during their week at Ten Chimneys.
“Congratulations to all the actors, Partner Theaters, and Stephen McKinley Henderson for continuing to carry out the work of the Lunts. They represent the best of American Theater, and we as an audience are the beneficiaries. I wait with excitement to see what Stephen and the actors will create with ‘acting against type’. That spirit and energy provides comedy, seriousness, and thoughtful engagement,” said Ten Chimneys Foundation President and CEO Randy Bryant.
For more information, including ticket prices and program details, can be found at www.tenchimneys.org, or by calling (262) 968-4110. Seating is limited, with various sections available.
