The benefit gala at the Players Club celebrates the conclusion of E.S.T.'s 30th annual Marathon festival of one-act plays, which runs through June 28. Zaks, a member of E.S.T., will be honored with the Distinguished Member Award, while Saviola will receive the Corporate Citizen Award for his work as director of casting services at Grey/NYC.
Speaking in honor of Zaks and Saviola will be Barbara Andres, Andre Bishop, Walter Bobbie, Ray DeMattis, Jack Viertel, Christopher Durang, Jill Eikenberry, Jules Feiffer, John Christopher Jones, Kendrick Jones, Ilene Kristen, Grant Shaud and Michael Tucker.
Zaks' Tony Award-winning productions include Guys and Dolls, Six Degrees of Separation, Lend Me a Tenor and House of Blue Leaves. He has also staged A Bronx Tale, La Cage aux Folles, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Smokey Joe's Café and Anything Goes.
Saviola has provided casting for the Ensemble Studio Theatre for 19 years. The senior vice president of Grey/NYC previously worked under Vince Gugleotti in the casting department of the Public Theater.
All proceeds from the E.S.T. gala benefit upcoming seasonal programming for the theatre company. The gala will be held at the Players Club in Gramercy Park at 6:30 PM. For gala tickets visit www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org or phone (212) 247-4982.