The Brown theater major bested actors from 16 colleges to win the Irene Ryan Winners' Circle best college actor award in the annual American College Theater Festival competition at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The gods of fate are smiling upon Ben Steinfeld.
On April 23, the anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, Steinfeld '01 performed a brief scene from the Bard's "King Lear" on one of the nation's most prestigious stages - and, in the process, earned a national acting award.
Steinfeld, who didn't start out to be an actor, sees his win as kismet.
"It seems like all of the circumstances of my life led me to this point - on
Shakespeare's birthday - to the brink of a life in the arts," he said after
returning from Washington last month. "This was one more thing to fate me in
this direction.... It's frightening and exhilarating."
Still, he came to Brown with the intention of majoring in English or history,
but the lure of the stage was too great to resist. He took on roles in "Camino
Real," "A Devil Inside" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
His performance earlier this year in "A Flea in Her Ear" earned him a
nomination to compete in the American College Theater Festival (ACTF) regional
competition at the University of New Hampshire.
Steinfeld was, in fact, one of 10 Brown students who with their acting partners
competed earlier this year in the regional contest, said Professor John Emigh,
coordinator of Brown's ACTF program. Although the University's actors have
frequently won the regional competition and advanced to the national
competition, Emigh believes this is the first time a Brown student has garnered
the top national acting award.
Steinfeld's capture of the college-level equivalent of the Best Actor Oscar
"shines a light" on Brown's drama program and "gives us prominence," Emigh
said.
During the festival, each contestant presented a five-minute program to the
national judges. Steinfeld combined scenes from two productions, "King Lear"
and Neil Simon's "God's Favorite." He partnered in the second scene with fellow
Brown student Darius Pierce '01.
Both Emigh and Steinfeld speculated it was the acting range he demonstrated in
those two strikingly different vehicles, as well as his comedic chemistry with
Pierce in the Simon scene, that won the judges' favor.
Steinfeld gives a large measure of the credit for his win to his acting
partner, as did Emigh.
"One of the extraordinary things about the performance was its mental spirit
and energy, and one of its strengths was the way they fed off one another,"
said Emigh. "This (award) is a tribute to Darius, as well as Ben."
There are already new auditions ahead in Steinfeld's future, but he's undecided
whether his post-graduation destination will be New York or Los Angeles. Still,
he, Pierce and other friends are trying to develop a full-scale production
company that would serve as a vehicle for Brown alumni to pool their acting,
writing, technical and other theater skills to produce their own work.
"That would be the most exciting thing, but it's still very embryonic," he
said.
According to Susan Schaffer, the national ACTF coordinator at the Kennedy
Center, the theater festival was founded in 1969. The Irene Ryan Winners Circle
awards were established and endowed in 1972 by the actress, who was best known
for her television role as Granny on "The Beverly Hillbillies."
Steinfeld wasn't the only Brown student to win accolades from ACTF judges for
their work this year, said Schaffer. Dan O'Brien, a 1999 MFA graduate, won the
playwrights' Mark Twain Comedy Award for "An Irish Play." Playwright Sara Ruhl,
a current MFA candidate, won the 4th Freedom Forum Award for "The Passion
Play," an honor that includes a fellowship to the Sundance Theater Institute.
Both awards, which also carry cash prizes, were announced April 23.
Ben Steinfeld '01, left, is working with acting partner Darius Pierce '01 and others to develop a full-scale production company that would serve as a vehicle for Brown alumni to
pool their acting, writing, technical and other theater skills.
Originally from Brookline, Mass., Steinfeld moved to Los Angeles eight years
ago, when his main interest was in music and playing the guitar. At the urging
of his best friend, he ventured into the world of musical theater in high
school. He took on his first part at summer camp in a production of "Into the
Woods" - and he was hooked.