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For Immediate Release: Press Contact: Liza Holtmeier March 21, 2006 202.608.6302 [email protected] TO RECEIVE THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE ’S 2006 WILL AWARD Academy and Tony Award•winning Actor To Be Honored for His Work in Classical Theatre

Washington, D.C. – Artistic Director Michael Kahn and the Shakespeare Theatre Company Board of Trustees announced that Academy and Tony award•winning actor Kevin Spacey will receive the 19th Annual Award for Classical Theatre (the Will Award) in recognition of his distinguished work in classical theatre. Spacey will receive the award on Saturday, May 13, 2006, at a gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium (1301 Constitution Avenue NW). The Will Award Gala benefits the Shakespeare Theatre Company Free For All— two weeks of free Shakespeare presented by the Theatre each summer at Carter Barron Amphitheatre— as well as other artistic programs. The gala is chaired by Carolyn W. and Robert E. Falb. The gala’s honorary patrons are His Excellency the British Ambassador and Lady Manning. Since his childhood, Kevin’s Spacey’s primary allegiance has been to theatre. He made his stage debut in ’s Central Park production of Henry IV, Part 1, and his breakthrough was as ’s son in the Broadway production of Long Day’s Journey into Night. He received a Tony Award for his performance as Uncle Louie in ’s , and he won the Evening Standard and awards for his role as Hickey inThe Iceman Cometh. His film credits include , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Se7en; LA Confidential; ; and American Beauty, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He now serves as the artistic director for ’s Old Vic Theatre. The evening’s events will begin with a cocktail reception and receiving line, followed by dinner, and then the award ceremony and program. The Will Award is an annual honor given by the Shakespeare Theatre Company to a person who has made a significant contribution to classical theatre in America. Past recipients include , Dame , Fiona Shaw, , Sir , Dame , , , , Lynn Redgrave, , , , , , , the late Joseph Papp and Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Michael Kahn. Individual tickets and tables to the Will Award range from $750 to $25,000. For further information about the 19th Annual William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre, call Joanne Coutts, Special Events Manager, at 202.547.3230 ext. 2330. Limited space is available for press wishing to cover this event. Press should contact Liza Holtmeier at 202.608.6302. Kevin Spacey 2006 Will Award Recipient

Since childhood the theatre has been Kevin Spacey’s primary allegiance, with roles ranging from high school to Broadway. He trained at the of Drama and made his New York stage debut in Joseph Papp’s Central Park production of Henry IV, Part I. His breakthrough came when director cast Spacey as the ne’er•do•well son of the late Jack Lemmon in the 1986 Broadway production of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, which also played the Haymarket Theatre in London. Other favorite roles include Treplov in (Kennedy Center); Ben in National Anthems (Long Wharf); Paul in Barrie Keefe’s Barbarians (SoHo Rep); Athol Fugard’s Playland ( Theatre Club); and Uncle Louie in Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor. His close association with Mr. Lemmon continued as they shared the screen on three other projects: George Steven Jr.’s The Murder of Mary Phagan for NBC, Gary David Goldberg’s Dad for Paramount and ’s screen adaptation of , co•starring , and . years ago cinema audiences discovered Spacey in three distinct performances: as Buddy Akerman in George Huang’s Swimming with Sharks, Verbal Kint in ’s The Usual Suspects and John Doe in ’s Se7en. He has continued to build an impressive body of work with such films as LA Confidential, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, , Hurlyburley, Looking for Richard, The Big Kahuna, K•Pax, The Shipping News, The Life of David Galeand American Beauty. Many of these performances have won him nominations and awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects and an Academy Award for Best Actor for American Beauty, for which he also received the and British Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1998 he returned to following a five•year absence in Eugene O’Neill’s classic . The production originated at London’s and later transferred to Theatre and onto Broadway (with Spacey as producer), where it played a sold•out acclaimed run. For his performance as Hickey he was nominated for the Tony Award (the play received five nominations) and won the Evening Standard Award and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. His work on television has included seven episodes of and the film Darrow for PBS. He made his directorial debut with the Miramax film Albino Alligator starring , , and . Spacey formed Trigger Street Productions in 1997, which produced Iceman and Kahuna and the off•Broadway production of Lee Blessing’s Cobb at the Theatre. Trigger Street’s feature The of Leland, starring and for first•time writer/director Matthew Hoge, premiered in competition at the 2003 and was released by Paramount Classics. Trigger Street will next produce the of ’s New York Times Best Seller about six MIT students who learned the art of and took Vegas for millions inBringing down the House for MGM, under the direction of Brett Ratner. Trigger Street is also producing the feature Mini’s First Time for first•time writer/director Nick Guthe, starring Alec Baldwin, Nicky Reed, Carrie Ann Moss and Luke Wilson. In November 2002, Spacey and business partner launched TriggerStreet.com, the web•based filmmaker and screenwriter community, an interactive site for the purpose of discovering and showcasing new and unique talent. Budweiser sponsors the site with Real Networks, and, in just two years, the site has achieved more than 150,000 active members with the top ten finalists in the short film competition having been given major screenings of their films at the Tribeca, and Sundance Film Festivals. As an actor Spacey most recently played opposite Morgan Freeman and in the film Edison for writer/director David Burke, who was the head writer on the seriesWiseguy. Spacey now serves as the new artistic director of The Old Vic Theatre in London, where his first season launched with the new Dutch play Cloaca, which he directed. This was followed by Sir Ian McKellen in Aladdin. His acting debut in the company began in Dennis McIntyre’s National Anthems, under the direction of David Grindley, and then in The Story, directed by Jerry Zaks. In fall of 2005, Spacey played the title role in Richard II. Most recently, Spacey starred, directed, co•wrote and produced the bio•pic Beyond the Sea. His role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Additionally, the film has received two Critics Choice Award nominations. Spacey will next be seen reuniting with director Bryan Singer when he takes on the role of in the upcoming film .