Crystal Quill

On the evening of Thursday, November 20, we presented filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, producer Mark Gordon and Director of Harvard's Project Zero Steve Seidel with a Crystal Quill Award to honor their enduring contribution to arts education.

Interspersed with the award presentations, our youth program alumni acted in scenes from Romeo & Juliet with some of today's most popular film and tv actors. Tom Hanks, a long-time supporter of Shakespeare Festival/LA, served as the host for the evening.

Though the crowd was 200 people strong, the reception, held at the historic Commissary on the Fox Studio Lot, was an intimate one.

Said one teacher in attendance: "It was a real treat to see several actors up close and personal — all in support of arts in education!"

Read Press Coverage of the Event!

2008 Recipients

Baz Luhrmann, Director

Mr. Luhrmann exploded onto the scene in 1996 with his interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, a critical and financial success, that brought Shakespeare back to popular culture.

By couching the story in modern times, but not altering its language, Luhrmann’s version paved the way for this film to enter the mainstream as well as the classroom. It is estimated that teachers in more than 40,000 classrooms in the United States use the film to teach Shakespeare annually.

Luhrmann will be in Los Angeles to accept this award and promote his highly-anticipated film Australia starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, which will be released by 20th Century Fox on November 26, 2008.

Mark Gordon, Producer

Mr. Gordon is an award-winning producer of numerous film and television shows including Saving Private Ryan, The Day After Tomorrow, Gray’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds.

Gordon will be honored with a Crystal Quill Award for his deep and personal commitment to education through his long-time service as Chairman and Board Member of Teach for America and his charitable support of Shakespeare Festival/LA’s arts and education programs.

Steve Seidel, Director of Project Zero

Since 2000, Mr. Seidel has been the Director of Harvard University’s Project Zero, the forty-year-old institute that examines the role quality arts education plays in the American education system.

Seidel’s forthcoming report commissioned by The Wallace Foundation —“The Qualities of Quality: Understanding Excellence in Arts Education” — will be published by the Arts Education Partnership (download the Executive Summary).

The study selected ten arts programs (one of them being Shakespeare Festival/LA) from over 450 organizations and looked at the arts curriculum they put forward to communities nationwide. The findings will illuminate how the programs these institutions offer instruct, edify and entertain today’s youth.