Renowned Charleston artist Jonathan Green and lifelong supporters of The Footlight Players Sam and Nancy Stafford will be honored on Thursday, May 11 at the second annual Anthony Aston Honors Gala.

The Footlight Players handed out the first Anthony Aston Honors award last year to former Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley and Charleston theater veterans Patricia and Emmett Robinson (posthumously). In 2015, The Footlight Players’ board of directors established the Anthony Aston Honors to annual recognize individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the arts or the cultural life of Charleston.

The award is named for Anthony Aston, a British actor, playwright and poet, who landed in Charles Towne in 1702 after being shipwrecked on the Carolina coast near Port Royal. In 1703, Aston wrote and performed “The Country,” thought to be the first play ever produced in America.

This year’s honorees will be recognized at a black-tie optional gala and dinner at 7 p.m. May 11 at Hibernian Hall, 105 Meeting St. in Charleston.

Tickets are on sale for The Aston Honors Gala at www.footlightplayers.net or by calling the box office at 843-722-7521. Individual tickets are $150 each.

Individual benefactor tickets are $275 each and include a pre-event VIP reception with sponsors, honorees and other distinguished guests.