Tony Kushner, Martin Scorsese and More Set for Tisch School of the Arts Gala, 4/19

The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University announced a distinguished list of alumni will attend their 2012 gala, Ordinary Miraculous: Celebrating Vision, on April 19th at the New York Marriott Marquis. Those scheduled to participate so far include Tony Kushner, Chris Columbus, Martin Scorsese and Alec Baldwin. For the past two decades, Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell has served as a pioneer in arts education. This year’s gala event will applaud her transformational leadership and celebrate Tisch as the country’s preeminent arts training institution.

 

"Mary Schmidt Campbell is probably - no, make that inarguably, incontrovertibly, absolutely the Platonic ideal of an administrator, a leader, an organizer of human energy, she's the Dean of Deans, the Dean's Dean, the Dean to end all Deans, the Deaniest,” said playwright Tony Kushner. “OK I'll stop. But really, she's an amazing, brilliant, cool and incredibly important individual to NYU, to NYC and to contemporary culture in general. This is a chance to celebrate her! I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

 

Ordinary Miraculous is a celebration of the Tisch alumni that have altered the cultural landscape and the future change-makers who will continue that legacy. The red carpet event will include a champagne reception, live performances and a star studded tribute to Tisch. The evening will be produced and directed by Bill Castellino.

 

“Without Tisch School of The Arts Film School and the guidance of teachers like Haig Manoogian and Jesse Kornbluth, I would not be working in the film industry today,” said director Chris Columbus. “Tisch School of the Arts was able to give me focus and enabled me to reach the promise of writing, directing and producing films for the rest of my life. I will be forever grateful.”

 

Past Tisch galas have included performances from Tony Award® winning Broadway shows such as Spring Awakening and participation from some of the entertainment industry’s most celebrated talent such as Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, Wyclef Jean, Bill Cosby, Debra Messing, Laura Benanti, Elaine Stritch, Raúl Esparza, Rainn Wilson, Matthew Morrison, Joel and Ethan Coen, Mariska Hargitay and George Wolfe.