(July 13, 2026, | Baltimore, MD) Everyman Theatre is proud to announce that Resident Company Member Jefferson A. Russell has been selected as a 2026 Fellow of the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program. This prestigious national residency, hosted by the Ten Chimneys Foundation, honors a select cohort of 8–10 of the most accomplished regional-theater actors in the United States. Selection recognizes artists who have demonstrated over two decades of professional mastery, alongside an enduring commitment to mentorship, leadership, and the health of the American theater ecosystem.
Jefferson joins a distinguished lineage of artists from some of the nation’s most esteemed institutions who have been selected for this honor, including those from Alley Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cleveland Playhouse, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Paper Mill Playhouse, and Trinity Repertory Company.
This year marks the first time Everyman Theatre has been eligible for this distinction, making Jefferson’s selection a historic milestone for the institution. It serves as a powerful affirmation of the strength of Everyman’s Resident Company model—a unique structure that fosters long-term artistic growth and deep community connection. With a significant number of company members who have reached the professional longevity required for this fellowship, the theatre looks forward to this being the beginning of many such honors for its resident artists in the years to come. This recognition is not only an individual honor for Russell but an institutional one, reinforcing the national standing of the theatre’s “Built in Baltimore” philosophy, which prioritizes long-term artistic collaboration over the project-to-project nature of typical theatrical work…