This coming Monday ArtsWave will honor D. Lynn Meyers, The Ruth Dennis Sawyer/Mary Taft Mahler Producing Artistic Director at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, with the 2018 Sachs Fund Prize for her regional arts accomplishments.

Lynn is in her twenty-third season at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, where she holds the endowed position as The Ruth Dennis Sawyer/Mary Taft Mahler Artistic Director Producing Artistic Director. She has directed over 80 world and regional premieres, including "The Legend of Georgia McBride," "Hands on a Hardbody," "Detroit '67," "I Am My Own Wife," "Next to Normal," and recently the world premieres of "Cinderella, After Ever After," "James and Annie" and "The Dancing Princesses."

She has directed Off-Broadway at the York Theatre with Marsha Norman's "Traveler in the Dark" and James McClure's "Max and Maxie." Lynn has directed extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada. She began her career as the Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. In addition to her directing work, she is a member of the Casting Society of America, having cast for PBS, CBS, BBC, HBO, MTM, Paramount, and MGM.

Lynn's favorite feature credits include serving as Location Casting Director for "The Shawshank Redemption" and recently "Carol," "Miles Ahead," "The Goat," "The Public" and, currently, "Dry Run."

Lynn was a named one of four finalists for the Zelda Fichandler National Award in 2011 and is a past recipient of the YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award and the 2018 Women Who Means Business Award from Cincinnati Business Courier.

The Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize is made possible through an endowed gift to ArtsWave in 1929, a bequest from the late Samuel B. Sachs to honor outstanding accomplishments in the arts, which includes visual arts, music, theater, dance, literature, sculpture and architecture.

Over the years, the Sachs Fund Prize has recognized individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the cultural life of Cincinnati, bringing distinction to themselves and the region through their work. Previous recipients include Zaha Hadid, Leah Stewart, Phyllis Weston, Stephen Sondheim, Shepard Fairey, James Conlon, Kathy Wilson, Jim Borgman and Jay Chatterjee. 

The Sachs Fund Prize Committee, led by ArtsWave Life Trustee Richard Rosenthal, decided early on not to make this a competitive process with a call for nominations and/or applications. Rather, using the MacArthur Foundation's "genius grants" as a model, ArtsWave assembles a group of this region's most knowledgeable leaders in the areas of theater, music, dance, architecture, visual arts, photography and literature to select the individual who, in their combined estimation, best meets the criteria for this award.

We are delighted to honor Lynn Meyers with the 2018 Sachs Fund Prize. She's been a trailblazer in her commitment to Ensemble's neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine, to theater with a social conscience, and to inclusive arts education. Her work as a casting director for commercial films has also helped build Cincinnati's reputation as a place where creativity thrives and artistic talent is abundant."

An evening reception will be held at Ensemble Theatre and will include ArtsWave Board members, 2019 Campaign Cabinet members and various community stakeholders. ArtsWave will also recognize individuals who have made a planned gift commitment to ArtsWave.