TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Seth Panitch, professor of acting in The University
of Alabama’s department of theatre and dance, has earned the 2016
Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award.
Panitch will receive the award Nov. 11 in a ceremony at the UA President’s
Mansion.
The Frederick Moody Blackmon and Sarah McCorkle Moody Outstanding
Professor Award is one of the most prestigious awards given by UA. It is
based on a specific accomplishment that is innovative, creative, useful or
captures the imagination.
Created by Frederick Moody Blackmon, of Montgomery, to honor the
memory of his grandmother, Sarah McCorkle Moody, of Tuscaloosa, the
award is presented annually.
Dominic Yeager, assistant professor of theatre at UA, nominated Panitch based on his success in producing
theatrical productions in Cuba.
Panitch, now in his 12th year at UA, was the first U.S. director to helm a professional theatrical production
in Cuba since the Cuban Revolution with “Merchant of Venice,” which played at the Adolfo Llaurado
Theatre. As a result, the Cuban Ministry of Culture invited him to direct four more productions in Havana.
One of those productions transferred to a historic Off-Broadway theatre in New York, becoming the first binational
production there in 50 years and drawing coverage from some of the most notable news
organizations in both Cuba and the U.S.
“His work, seen on the most significant national and international stages, as well as on film, has attracted a
spotlight on the arts at UA that has not only raised the stature of his own career, it has hugely impacted the
national recognition of the department, College and University, as well,” said Yeager in his nomination
letter.
Panitch has written, directed and performed in four Off-Broadway shows in New York City and is working
on a fifth. The previous ones have all garnered rave reviews in The New York Times and among leading
theatrical organizations.
Panitch has also directed and performed in the nation’s most highly respected Shakespeare Festivals and