Name in English: Ming Cho Lee Name in Chinese: 李名觉 [李名覺] Name in Pinyin: Lĭ Míngjué Gender: Male Birth Year: 1930 Birth Place: Shanghai, China Current location: New York, New York Philanthropy: Yes Profession(s): Theatrical Set Designer, Professor Education: Bachelor of Arts, Theater, Occidental College, 1953; University of California, Los Angeles Awards: National Endowment for the Arts Distinguished Artists Fellowship; Mayor's Award for Arts and Culture, New York City; 2002, National Medal of Arts, National Endowment for the Arts; 1999, Immigrant Achievement Award, American Immigration Lawyers Foundation; 1995, Obie Award for Sustained Achievement, Village Voice; 1983, Tony Award- Scenic Designer, American Theatre Wing; 1983, Drama Desk Award- Outstanding Set Design; 1983, Outer Critics Circle Award; 1969, Drama Desk Award- Outstanding Set Design, two awards Contributions: Ming Cho Lee was born in Shanghai to parents who were both Yale graduates. They divorced when he was six. Lee went to live with his father but on weekend visits his mother would take him to the theater, movies, and Chinese opera. Lee came to the US in 1949 to attend college where he started as an art major but became a theater graduate. Lee's first professional design was for a revival of Guys and Dolls in 1955. in 1961, he was named the art director and designer of the San Francisco Opera. He was the principal designer for the New York Shakespeare Festival from 1962 to 1973. At one point he simultaneously held the positions of principal designer for the Juilliard Opera Theatre and the American Opera Center of the Juilliard School of Music. He was a Professor of Design at the Yale University School of Drama from 1969 to 2006 when he retired. Many students in his Yale classes achieved great feats in theaters around the world. He has been described by Playbill, the theatre industry newspaper as, "perhaps the most respected and revered of living American set designers.” Known for minimalism, daring textures, and the use of non-traditional materials, Lee's work has been featured in theatrical, opera and ballet productions throughout the world. Playbill called his set design for the 1983 production of “K2,” “one of the most famous pieces of set work in theatre history.” The 50 foot mountain design earned him the Tony Award that year. In 2002 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence by President George W. Bush in a White House ceremony. To mentor and support theater artists, Lee provided money from his National Endowment for the Arts award and founded what was soon nicknamed "Ming's Clambake" at Lincoln Center. The National Stage Design Portfolio Review, its formal 1 name, is a weekend event that enables graduating students from theater design programs to show off their creations and be introduced to major theater designers and directors, many of them former students of Professor Lee. External Links: http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=280&Itemid=157 http://www.yale.edu/opa/arc-ybc/v31.n22/story1.html http://www.playbill.com/news/article/57396.html http://www.ntcp.org/compendium/artists/MING.html http://www.answers.com/topic/ming-cho-lee 2 .