Kathryn Hunter Receives Samuel H. Scripps Award at Theatre for a New Audience's Spring Gala

Acclaimed classical actor Kathryn Hunter received the Samuel H. Scripps Award for Extraordinary Commitment to Promoting the Power of Language in Classical and Contemporary Theatre at Theatre for a New Audience's Spring Gala Celebrating Shakespeare's 452nd Birthday, last night at Capitale on the Lower East Side.

The Samuel H. Scripps Award was presented by Tony and Oscar Award-winning director Julie Taymor to internationally renowned, award-winning actor Kathryn Hunter.

Arts patrons Elayne P. Bernstein (1924-2011) and Sol Schwartz (1931-2015) were posthumously awarded the Theatre's Life in Art Award, which honors an individual, foundation or corporation for their impact on the arts as a philanthropic leader. Acclaimed classical actor John Douglas Thompson, who begins previews April 30 of two Theatre for a New Audience plays presented in rotating repertory, A Doll's House and The Father, presented the award.

Notable guests included actors Christian Camargo, Maggie Lacey, Michael Shannon, Sigourney Weaver, Raphael Nash Thompson, Zach Infante, Tina Benko, and Jeremy Shamos and director Arin Arbus.
The evening's Master of Ceremonies was Jonathan Cake, an award-winning actor, most recently seen at Theatre for a New Audience in the role of Benedick in the 2013 production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Arin Arbus and featuring Maggie Siff, for which he received the 2013 Joe A. Callaway Award for Best Performance in a Classical Play by an Actor from Actors' Equity.

Established in 2005, the Samuel H. Scripps Award is a sculpture of Shakespeare designed by world-renowned artist and graphic designer Milton Glaser. Prior recipients include John Douglas Thompson, F. Murray Abraham, John Turturro, Julie Taymor and Elliot Goldenthal, Mark Rylance, Cicely Berry, C.B.E., Michael Boyd, Tony Kushner, Wallace Shawn, RoBert Woodruff and Robert Neff Williams.

Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director of Theatre for a New Audience, explained, "Samuel H. Scripps, a member of our Board, enabled this Theatre to bring Shakespeare to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. It is an honor to present this award to Kathryn Hunter, one of the finest theatre artists I've ever known."

Theatre for a New Audience's Life in Art Award honors an individual, company or foundation whose support for theatre has set the standard for leadership and generosity, and whose example has inspired others to ensure that theatre remains a vibrant part of our cultural life. The award, a signed giclée print by Milton Glaser, is named after the autobiography of the great theatre artist, Constantin Stanislavski.

"Elayne and Sol's shared love of theatre and their passionate belief in our productions, as well as in their support of the Theatre's education programs that make Shakespeare accessible to people of all backgrounds, has been an example at all of the institutions from Florida to the Berkshires that they have so generously supported," said Mr. Horowitz. "We couldn't be more honored that after Elayne's passing, Sol and her family endowed an education fund at the Theatre in her memory."

The Gala Chairs for the evening were Theatre for a New Audience Board Members Kathleen Walsh and Philip Rotner and his wife, Janet Rotner. The Gala corporate Lead Sponsor was Deloitte LLP. The Hearst Corporation and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP were Co-Sponsors.

Kathryn Hunter was born in New York, grew up in England, read French and Drama at Bristol University then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Winner of the Olivier Award for her performance in Dürrenmatt's The Visit, Ms. Hunter's tour de force performances in The Valley of Astonishment, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kafka's Monkey and Fragments have made her a Theatre for a New Audience favorite. Other leading and award-winning appearances include title roles in Richard III, King Lear, Antony & Cleopatra, Spoonface Steinberg and The Skriker.

As an actor, Ms. Hunter has worked with leading companies in the UK, USA, Paris and worldwide, including the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe, and Peter Brook's renowned CICT Centre International in Paris. She is also an associate member of the internationally acclaimed Complicite. Her many film and television credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, All or Nothing, Orlando, and The Tale of Tales. Ms. Hunter's directing credits include standout productions with leading companies including Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Young Vic, Royal Court and Shakespeare's Globe.

Elayne Bernstein (1924-2011) and Sol Schwartz (1931-2015) were united by their joyous love for art and artists, and generously supported Theatre for a New Audience and many other performing arts institutions in New York, Sarasota and the Berkshires, including Shakespeare and Company, Jacob's Pillow, Barrington Stage, Berkshire Theatre Group, Tanglewood, and the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn, Ms. Bernstein was a talented performer. In her 20s she sang at the Zebra Club and the Onyx Club (on the same bill with Lenny Bruce). While raising five children, she studied Shakespeare and earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees at Queens College. At age 80 she married Sol Schwartz, whom she met through the cultural and artistic life of the Berkshires. They both served on the Board of Shakespeare and Company where in 2009 the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre was named in her honor.

A respected visual artist and musician, Mr. Schwartz began drawing at the age of five in his father's hand laundry on the Lower East Side. He attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan and then studied at Brooklyn College, where Mark Rothko was among his classmates. He gave up his art for 35 years supporting his family as a music teacher and as the founding director of Options, a nonprofit educational and career counseling service for youth. He returned to his passion when he retired. His drawings of artists in performance on stage and in concert have been exhibited at the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Massachusetts College of Art, and numerous galleries, and will soon be featured at Wigmore Hall in London.

Together they shared their joy for the arts, and enthusiasm for programs that helped introduce theatre, music, and dance to young people. Upon Ms. Bernstein's passing, Mr. Schwartz and her family made a $1 million gift in her memory to Theatre for a New Audience, establishing the Elayne P. Bernstein Education Fund to ensure that public school students will be inspired by the performance and study of Shakespeare for generations to come.

Samuel H. Scripps (1927-2007) was a visionary philanthropist who played a pivotal role in supporting theatre and dance. He made a leadership gift and named Theatre for a New Audience's Mainstage in its new home. Samuel Scripps also championed Shakespeare's Globe in London and provided leadership support to the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the American Dance Festival and the American Society for Eastern Arts.

The Gala
The evening began at 6:30 pm with a cocktail reception and silent auction and continued at 7:30 pm with a seated dinner and the presentations of the Samuel H. Scripps Award and the Life in Art Award.

The evening included a live auction of unique donated items conducted by Nicholas D. Lowry, President and Principal Auctioneer, Swann Auction Galleries. As one of the world's foremost authorities on vintage posters, Nicholas has spent nearly 20 years serving as poster appraiser on the PBS television show "Antiques Roadshow," and regularly appears on the program.

Live music will be provided by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars, led by Bryan Carter, a graduate of The Juilliard School who has played and recorded with many notable artists including Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Jon Faddis, Ted Nash, Terell Stafford, Bobby Watson, Lew Tabackin, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut, Michael Feinstein and Kurt Elling.

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