Santino Fontana and Tracee Chimo Win 2011 Clarence Derwent Awards

The Importance of Being Earnest's Santino Fontana and Bachelorette's Tracee Chimo have won the 2011 Clarence Derwent Awards. The awards, which are given by the Actors Equity Association, honor the most promising performers on the New York stage. The association also named Deirdre O'Connell (In the Wake) and Reed Birney (A Small Fire, Dream of the Burning Boy) as winners of the Richard Seff Awards, which honor veteran actors in supporting roles.

Fontana's Broadway credits include A View From the Bridge, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Billy Elliot and Sunday in the Park with George. He has also appeared off-Broadway in The Fantasticks. Chimo made her Broadway debut in 2009's Irena's Vow. Her off-Broadway credits include The Break of Noon, Circle Mirror Transformation and Guilty.

O'Connell's stage credits include Circle Mirror Transformation and The Front Page. Birney's many stage appearences include Circle Mirror Transformation, The Savannah Disputation, Our Leading Lady, Stuff Happens, Bug, Pen, The Exact Center of the Universe, The Knee Desires the Dirt and Minor Demons.

The Derwent Award was established in 1945 by Clarence Derwent, who was president (1946-1952) of Actors’ Equity. Past recipients of the prize include Nina Arianda, Annette Bening, Kristin Chenoweth, Morgan Freeman, Allison Janney, Frances Sternhagen, Christopher Walken and Fritz Weaver.

The awards will be presented on June 14.