Stella Adler Studio Honors Martin Sheen

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting will host its 4th annual Stella by Starlight gala benefit on March 17, 2008 at Cipriani 23rd Street. This event will be a memorable evening with an extraordinary line-up of honorees. Martin Sheen will accept the Marlon Brando Award for a life committed to social activism and excellence in film art, and a surprise celebrity has agreed to present Sheen's award. Pamela J. Newman will be given the Harold Clurman Spirit Award for courageous contribution to the culture of the City of New York and beyond. Liz Smith will accept the Harold Clurman Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifelong commitment to the ennoblement of humanity through culture.

The Studio will also be honoring Roy Schieder, who recently passed away, with the Group Theatre Award for prolific achievement in the theater. Dr. Christiane Northrup will present the award to Mr. Scheider's wife, Brenda Siemer. The event will also mark the inauguration of a new scholarship fund in honor of Mr. Scheider. This evening will be the only public celebration in the New York City area in memory of Mr. Scheider's life and career.

In addition to the honorees, the evening will be filled with celebrities and notable personalities from the entertainment industry. Elaine Stritch, the honorary chairwoman for the event, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, Kyra Sedgwick, Whoopi Goldberg, Holland Taylor, Ben Brantley, Tony, Tune, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Jonathan Demme, Marian Seldes, Don Cheadle, Natasha Richardson, and  Matthew Modine, are a selection of the guests invited to attend. The world-renowned composer David Amram will play during the evening.

Proceeds from Stella by Starlight will benefit the Studio's many programs including the Roy Scheider Scholarship Endowment Fund and the Stella Adler Outreach Division, which provides free training for inner-city youth. Stella by Starlight will also draw attention to the Studio's upcoming Capital Campaign to find a permanent home in New York City for the Stella Adler Studio. Funds also help sustain The Harold Clurman Lecture Series, which brings professional writers, directors, musicians, dancers and actors to the Stella Adler Studio. All of these programs help to keep the Stella Adler Studio a vital educational and cultural center for students, faculty and the entire community.