A Message From Berkeley Repertory Theatre:
Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Robinson Family Fund for the Arts has announced that Bay Area actors Cathleen Riddley and Brian Rivera are recipients of the 2022 Charles Dean Award. Established in 2014, this annual award is presented to local actors who have dedicated their career to Bay Area theatre. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize for each actor endowed by The Robinson Family Fund for the Arts and administered by Berkeley Rep. Usually presented at the annual Theatre Bay Area Awards ceremony, this year Cathleen and Brian will receive their awards at Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor 10th Anniversary Party being held on Sunday, October 30. The Ground Floor is Berkeley Rep’s nationally recognized research and development laboratory for theatre.
This year’s recipients were selected by an esteemed panel of industry leaders, including Berkeley Rep’s Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer, American Conservatory Theater’s Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon, and Magic Theatre’s Artistic Director Sean San José.
“We are so grateful to The Robinson Family Fund for the Arts for their vision in supporting and celebrating the extraordinary actors who are making a life in theatre here in the Bay Area,” said Berkeley Rep’s Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer. “And I’m appreciative that my friends and colleagues Pam MacKinnon and Sean San José partnered with me on the selection of this year’s recipients. We are so proud to be able to celebrate Cathleen and Brian and acknowledge their deep contributions to this artistic community.”
The Charles Dean Award is the brainchild of the late Leigh and Ivy Robinson, avid Bay Area theatregoers and longtime Berkeley Rep supporters, who approached Berkeley Rep in 2014 with the idea of recognizing actors who have chosen to dedicate their professional lives working in the Bay Area. The awards were named after accomplished Bay Area actor Charles Dean, whose work the Robinsons much admired.
Past recipients of the Charles Dean Award include Charles Dean, Margo Hall, James Carpenter, Sharon Lockwood, and Stacy Ross.