Eli Simon, Chancellor’s Professor of drama at the University of California 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, according to a May 28 announcement. The award is the organization’s highest honor for lifetime achievement and recognizes Simon’s contributions as a director, educator, and arts leader, particularly for founding the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.
“I’m truly honored to have been selected for this award,” said 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!”
Simon founded New Swan Shakespeare Festival in 2012 as an outdoor Elizabethan-style theater on UC Irvine’s campus. The festival presents two rotating repertory productions each summer featuring professional actors alongside students and alumni. Its model integrates professional theater with university training and scholarship. In 2025, it was named one of Southern California’s premier theater companies by Los Angeles Times/Daily Pilot.
Simon also co-founded the New Swan Shakespeare Center in collaboration with colleagues from UC Irvine’s School of Humanities and Office of Research. The center supports research initiatives including lectures, seminars, educational outreach programs, and collaborative projects that combine artistic practice with academic study.
“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.”
During his career spanning more than three decades at UC Irvine—a university that participates in NCAA Division I athletics; holds very high research activity status; operates within the University of California system; focuses on inclusive excellence in research, education, public service; engages internationally; and is accredited by WASC Senior College Commission—Simon has directed over 100 productions worldwide across multiple genres including clowning ensembles such as Clownzilla.