Theatre For A New Audience's Gala Honors Two Remarkable Women In Theatre: Ayanna Thompson And Audrey Hefferna

The organization will present leading Shakespeare scholar, author of Blackface and Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America, and member of TFANA's Council of Scholars Ayanna Thompson with the 19th Samuel H. Scripps Award for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement. TFANA will recognize actress, singer, leading New York philanthropist, and longtime TFANA Board Member Audrey Heffernan Meyer with the 12th Life in Art Award. The Gala celebrating Shakespeare's birthday takes place May 15 at Capitale (130 Bowery, New York, NY 10013).

Each year, TFANA honors a great artist with the Samuel H. Scripps Award, named after the visionary philanthropist who made a leadership gift to enable Theatre for a New Audience to expand its body of work and impact as a leading producer of Shakespeare and classic drama. At the 2023 Gala, last year's Scripps awardee, acclaimed actor Harry Lennix, will present Ayanna Thompson with the award, celebrating her groundbreaking dramaturgy and scholarship in the field of race and performance. Lennix has a long, rich history with TFANA, having played Aaron in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus directed by Julie Taymor and Iachimo in TFANA's Cymbeline, directed by Bartlett Sher; Cymbeline was the very first American production of Shakespeare performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. He currently serves on the Artistic Council of Theatre for a New Audience.

The Life in Art Award-which honors the achievements of individuals whose support for the arts has set the standard for leadership and generosity-will be presented to Audrey Heffernan Meyer, honoring her tireless advocacy for theatre and the arts, by former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Kate D. Levin (she currently is a principal at Bloomberg Associates in Cultural Assets Management, and oversees Bloomberg Philanthropies' Arts program). The award, a signed giclée print by Paul Davis, is named for the autobiography of the great theatre artist Constantin Stanislavski, My Life in Art. Both Audrey Meyer and Kate D. Levin were instrumental figures in TFANA's recent history, with Meyer having raised millions for TFANA's productions and programs as well as playing a leading role in helping to build and open Polonsky Shakespeare Center, and Levin having been instrumental in championing the project with the Bloomberg Administration.

The elegant and lively Gala will be emceed by Maurice Jones-who last season appeared in TFANA's Arin Arbus-directed production of The Merchant of Venice-and will feature live music from the Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars. The evening begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction (supported by the GiveSmart platform, and open to the general public) at 6:30pm, followed by a seated dinner (7:30pm), music, and the awards presentation.

Co-chaired by Kathleen C. Walsh and Stephanie Ingrassia, the Gala raises significant support for TFANA's acclaimed productions, as well as for its in-depth education programs serving public school students in every borough of New York City. The Gala is attended by many of New York's leading arts patrons and has been hosted by eminent theatre artists such as Jessica Hecht, Alfred Molina, Kristine Nielsen, and Maggie Siff. Confirmed notable guests, and members of TFANA's artistic community include John Douglas Thompson and Arin Arbus.

The Gala's sponsors include Deloitte (lead sponsor), Hearst (co-sponsor), Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, and Latham & Watkins (partner sponsors).

Ayanna Thompson is a current member of TFANA's Council of Scholars and a former chair. She is a Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, and the Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies (ACMRS). She is the author of numerous books including, Blackface (Bloomsbury, 2021), Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose: A Student-Centered Approach, co-authored with Laura Turchi (Arden Bloomsbury, 2016), and Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Contemporary America (Oxford University Press, 2011). Her dramaturgical stage work includes Consulting Scholar for TFANA's 2022 production of The Merchant of Venice, featuring John Douglas Thompson as Shylock, directed by Arin Arbus; and Dramaturgy and Text Consultant for the 2022 Broadway production of Macbeth starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga, directed by Sam Gold. In 2020 Thompson became a Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at The Public Theater in New York. In 2021, she joined the boards of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the National Parks Arts Foundation, and Play On Shakespeare. Previously, she served as the President of the Shakespeare Association of America.

Audrey Heffernan Meyer has been a beloved Board Member of Theatre for A New Audience for nearly 30 years. She served as Vice Chair of the successful $69 million Capital Campaign for Polonsky Shakespeare Center, TFANA's permanent home in Brooklyn, and has held a leadership role in the Theatre's current Capital Campaign.

Audrey has been involved in the arts in New York since 1980 when she moved here with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Pennsylvania State University. As a professional actor in the 1980s, she appeared in musicals and dramas in NYC and regional theaters, and in commercials, films, and soap operas.

Audrey also pursued a business career in advertising at Manhattan, Inc. Magazine, and at Condé Nast Publications, as a Sales Development Manager for Gourmet Magazine. She parlayed her marketing and sales expertise into becoming a fundraiser and supporter for not-for-profit arts organizations throughout New York City.

In addition to her commitment to TFANA, Audrey is a patron of the Whitney Museum of American Art's Conservation program and of the Museum of Modern Art's Education program. She supports the Park Avenue Armory, the Brooklyn Museum, BAM, the Brooklyn Public Library, Vineyard Theatre, The Public Theater, Bronx Opera Company, and Astoria Performing Arts Center. In addition, she is a supporter of NYU Langone Hospital's Vulnerable Brain Project and Madison Square Park Conservancy. In Washington, CT, she serves as a trustee of Steep Rock Land Preserve, and is a supporter of Pilobolus Dance Company. Audrey has served on the Parents' Leadership Councils at Yale University and Washington University in St. Louis, and on the Advisory board of the Fine Arts Center of Colorado College.

Her current full-time career in the theatre includes appearing in musicals and dramas Off Broadway, and in regional theatres; she also co-produced the play From Silence at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Her TV appearances include roles in The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Billions. She studied acting with William Esper, Austin Pendleton at HB Studio, and voice with Metropolitan Opera tenor Felix Knight, as well as Andrew Byrne and Chris York.

Audrey resides in New York City with husband Danny Meyer, Founder and Executive Chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group, and their four grown children.

Harry Lennix currently stars on NBC's The Blacklist as Harold Cooper, Assistant Director of Counterterrorism for the FBI. Lennix made his Broadway debut in Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson's Tony nominated Radio Golf. In 1994 at Theatre for a New Audience, he played Aaron in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus directed by Julie Taymor and he played Aaron again in the 1999 film Titus, again directed by Julie Taymor with Jessica Lange and Anthony Hopkins. In 2001, he played Iachimo in TFANA's Cymbeline directed by Bartlett Sher which premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is also on the staff of the Goodman Theater Co. (Chicago) and is an internationally recognized Shakespeare practitioner, writing for various theatrical and literary journals dedicated to the Bard. Film roles include The Martian Manhunter in Zack Synder's Justice League, Dresser in The Five Heartbeats, General Swanwick in Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Commander Lock in The Matrix and The Matrix: Reloaded and the Oscar-winning Ray. He is regularly seen on Showtime's Billions. He serves on the Artistic Council of the Board of Theatre for a New Audience.

Kate D. Levin oversees the Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts program, supporting a range of organizations and activities in the United States and around the world. She is also a principal at Bloomberg Associates in Cultural Assets Management. From 2002-2013, Levin served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. During her tenure managing the largest single arts funder in the U.S., she increased support for cultural organizations, and expanded creative sector participation in economic development, tourism, human service, and education initiatives. The inaugural Fellow at the National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist University and a former professor of English at City College/CUNY, Levin also served in the administration of New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

Broadway: The Lifespan of a Fact, Saint Joan, The Cherry Orchard, Romeo & Juliet, and Julius Caesar. Off Broadway: Merchant of Venice (TFANA/Shakespeare DC), Judgment Day (Park Avenue Armory), Sunday (Atlantic Theater Company), Linda (MTC), Troilus & Cressida, Pretty Hunger (Public Theater), Little Children Dream of God (Roundabout) Regional: Hamlet (Chicago Shakespeare), The Model American, A Legendary Romance (Williamstown), Julius Caesar (Folger Theatre), Lives of Reason (Two River Theater), Butler (Barrington Stage), As You Like It, Ruined, The Taming of the Shrew (Denver Center), The Learned Ladies (NJ Shakespeare) Television: The Godfather of Harlem, Blue Bloods, Elementary, The Good Fight, 30 Rock. Film: Winter's Tale, Romeo & Juliet, And So It Goes.

Founded in 1979 by Jeffrey Horowitz, and led by Horowitz and Managing Director, Dorothy Ryan, Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is home for Shakespeare and other contemporary playwrights. It nurtures artists, culture, and community. Recognizing that each audience is new and different from the last one, TFANA is dedicated to forging an exchange between artist and playgoer that is immediate and direct, and to the ongoing search for a living, human theatre.

With Shakespeare as its supreme guide, TFANA explores the ever-changing forms of world theatre and builds a dialogue spanning centuries between the language and ideas of Shakespeare and diverse authors, past and present. TFANA is committed to building long-term associations with artists from around the world and supporting the development of plays, translations, and productions through residences, workshops, and commissions. TFANA performs for an audience of all ages and backgrounds; is devoted to economic access; and promotes a vibrant exchange of ideas through its humanities and education programs.

TFANA's productions have played nationally, internationally and on Broadway. In 2001, it became the first American theatre company invited to bring a production of Shakespeare to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

TFANA created and runs the largest in-depth program to introduce Shakespeare and classic drama in New York City's Public Schools. Since its inception in 1984, the program has served more than 140,000 students.

In 2013, TFANA opened its first permanent home, Polonsky Shakespeare Center (PSC), in the Brooklyn Cultural District. The heart of PSC is its performance space: the 299-seat Samuel H. Scripps Mainstage, a uniquely flexible space with extraordinary acoustics, capable of multiple configurations between stage and audience; as well as the 50-seat Theodore C. Rogers Studio.

In addition to productions, TFANA supports ongoing artistic development through the Merle Debuskey Studio Program, which provides artists with residencies and workshops to create and explore outside the pressures of full production.

TFANA honors the Lenape and Canarsie People, on whose ancestral homeland Polonsky Shakespeare Center is built. The organization is committed to rethinking the stories it tells about our history and our connection to each other.

TFANA's 2022-23 Season is dedicated to Celebrating the Memory of Peter Brook. From 2008-2019, TFANA was honored to present seven New York Premieres of works by Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Beckett and new plays by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne directed by Peter or co-directed by Peter and Marie-Hélène.

Photo Credit: ©David Sundberg/ESTO

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