[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 90 (Thursday, May 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE WORK OF MICHAEL KAHN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Michael Kahn, who is 
stepping down from the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) after 33 years 
as Artistic Director, having revolutionized the performance of 
Shakespeare and classical theater in Washington, D.C. Kahn helped to 
transform D.C. theater from a small scene to the fastest growing 
professional theater community in the nation, renowned for its variety 
of theatrical productions.
  Kahn believes that theater should be accessible and affordable to 
all, so he instituted programs such as Free For All, offering free 
performances of a Shakespearean classic to the general public each 
summer, the Happenings Happy Hour, offers free performances of local 
artists, musicians, and performers of a wide variety of disciplines, 
and the FREE WILL program, offering free tickets for every STC 
mainstage production in the season. Over 700,000 people have attended a 
free Shakespeare play, and over 90,000 young people have seen student 
matinee productions of classic works.
  Kahn has built connections between classical theater and the 
political life of Washington, D.C. with contemporary and urgent 
productions of Shakespeare and beloved events such as the annual Mock 
Trial, presided over by Justices of the Supreme Court. I have had the 
opportunity to perform several times in Will on the Hill, a comedy 
performance based on Shakespeare's works featuring Members of Congress, 
fostering bipartisan support for arts education. STC serves students in 
every traditional D.C. public and public charter high school, providing 
in-school workshops, free supplemental materials and free or deeply 
subsidized tickets and transportation to theatrical performances.
  Kahn's dedication to theater education can be seen through his 
various roles over the years, such as his tenure as Richard Rodgers 
Director of the Drama Division at the Juilliard School and his time as 
faculty at New York University Graduate School of the Arts, the Circle 
in the Square Theater School and Princeton University. He brought that 
expertise to Washington, D.C., where he launched the Academy for 
Classical Acting, a one-year master's program at The George Washington 
University, which has been preparing the next generation of classically 
trained actors for 20 years.
  Kahn's visionary work has brought national and international 
recognition, including a Regional Theater Tony Award in 2012 for STC, 
and personal honors such as an induction as Honorary Commander of the 
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and a Lifetime Achievement 
Award from the Hall of Fame. During his Artistic Directorship, STC has 
garnered 104 Helen Hayes Awards and 442 nominations, with Kahn 
receiving nine wins for Outstanding Direction and an additional 12 
nominations.
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Michael 
Kahn for his leadership, his theatrical innovations and farsighted 
initiatives, and a life devoted to the theater.

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