Professor Eli Simon to Receive Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award at 26th Arts Orange County Awards

Founding Artistic Director of New Swan Shakespeare Festival to be honored in Orange County

Eli Simon, Chancellor’s Professor of Drama at the UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts, will receive the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award from Arts Orange County at its 26th Annual Arts OC Awards in September. The award is the organization’s highest honor for lifetime achievement, recognizing Simon’s enduring impact as a director, educator and visionary arts leader, and his role in creating one of the region’s most distinctive cultural institutions: New Swan Shakespeare Festival.

"I’m truly honored to have been selected for this award,” shared Simon. “Orange County is a mecca of cultural activity, and with the support of UC Irvine, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, colleagues and students across our campus, and community members throughout Southern California, I’ve enjoyed building bridges that connect people to Shakespeare inside the New Swan Theater and at the New Swan Center for Shakespearean Research and Outreach. What more can I say but thanks, thanks and ever thanks!"

Founded by Simon in 2012, New Swan Shakespeare Festival has grown into a beloved summer tradition and one of Orange County’s premier theater experiences. Created as an intimate outdoor Elizabethan-style theater on the UC Irvine campus, New Swan presents two Shakespeare plays each summer in rotating repertory, performed by a company of professional actors alongside UC Irvine students and alumni. The festival’s innovative model integrates professional theater production with university training and scholarship, offering students a rare opportunity to work alongside accomplished artists while engaging the wider community in accessible, high-quality classical theater. In 2025, the Los Angeles Times/Daily Pilot named New Swan one of the premier theater companies to visit in Southern California.

Simon’s vision extends beyond performance. In collaboration with colleagues in the UC Irvine School of Humanities and the Office of Research, he co-founded the New Swan Shakespeare Center. This research initiative supports scholarly study, public programming and community engagement with Shakespeare. Through lectures, seminars, educational outreach and collaborative research projects, the center combines the worlds of artistic practice and academic inquiry, further establishing UC Irvine as a leading center for Shakespearean study and performance.

“Through his visionary leadership, commitment to education and lasting artistic achievements, Eli Simon has profoundly shaped the cultural landscape of Orange County,” said Tiffany López, Claire Trevor Dean of the Arts. “Through New Swan Shakespeare Festival and the New Swan Shakespeare Center, Simon has created a vibrant gathering place where professional artists, students, scholars and audiences come together to experience the enduring power of theater. His work continues to inspire artists, engage audiences and strengthen the region’s reputation as a thriving center for theatrical excellence.”

As a director, Simon has staged productions across the Shakespeare canon, from Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to King Lear and The Tempest, along with original theatrical works with his clown and commedia ensembles, including Clownzilla and the California Commedia Troupe. His broader directing career includes more than 100 productions at Shakespeare festivals, regional theaters and international venues across the United States and in Italy, South Korea and Romania.

Simon is also a respected scholar and author. His books The Art of Clowning, Masking Unmasked: Four Basic Approaches to Acting and Power Speech, are widely used by actors and educators exploring physical performance and mask traditions. During his 38 years at UCI, Simon served as chair and head of acting in the Department of Drama, and has mentored hundreds of students who have gone on to careers in theater, film and television. This recognition from Arts Orange County underscores Simon’s enduring legacy with the arts at UC Irvine, Orange County and beyond.

The 26th Arts Orange County Awards will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, in the Samueli Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. To learn more about the event, visit artsoc.org. To learn more about Eli Simon, visit his Department of Drama bio page here. To learn more about the New Swan Shakespeare Festival, visit newswanshakespeare.com.