RELEASE: September 9, 2007

GEORGE AND JULIANNE ARGYROS DONATE $10 MILLION TO SOUTH COAST REPERTORY LEGACY CAMPAIGN

Integrated Five-Year Campaign Announced at SCR Gala Will Bring SCR Endowment to $50 Million

COSTA MESA, Calif. (Sept. 9, 2007)—South Coast Repertory’s Board of Trustees has announced tonight a gift of $10 million from George and Julianne Argyros to the theater’s newly unveiled Legacy Campaign. The $39 million campaign will raise $24 million towards endowment funds along with $15 million towards annual funds. The announcement was made at the SCR’s 29th annual Gala held at The Ritz-Calton Laguna Niguel.

“George and I are proud to have been associated with SCR since the 1970s,” said Julianne Argyros. “We have been impressed by the fierce dedication with which Founding Artistic Directors David Emmes and Martin Benson have pursued their vision of providing Orange County with vibrant and engaging theater. SCR not only advances the art of theater in America, but also serves tens of thousands of young people with exemplary educational programs. The Legacy Campaign ensures that the SCR of future generations will be every bit as engaging and enriching as it is to all of us. That is why George and I are honored to support the creation of an artistic endowment fund with a gift of $10 million.”

In 2005, the SCR Board recognized the need to put in place the tools and resources to allow the theater to sustain its artistic achievements for future generations. A five-year campaign was launched to add $15 million to SCR’s endowment, as well as $15 million to support annual fund needs over the same period. The Legacy Campaign will strengthen the foundation of all of SCR’s programs with specific support for playwrights, theater artists, education and outreach programs, and its state-of-the-art performing arts complex.

“In only two short years we’ve met the original endowment goal of $15 million,” said Tim Weiss, Vice President, Advancement and Chair of the Legacy Campaign committee. “Based upon this success, the Board agreed to raise the endowment goal to $24 million. This, in addition to the current endowment of $26 million, will achieve SCR’s long-range goal of a $50 million endowment.”

Julianne and George Argyros have been significant supporters of South Coast Repertory and major contributors to the theater’s expansion campaigns. Their $10 million gift establishes The Julianne Argyros Stage Endowment which will support SCR through its artistic programs on, and preservation of, the Julianne Argyros Stage.

SCR’s 29th annual Gala, “Affair in Shanghai,” chaired by Betty Huang, exceeded its goal and raised over $600,000, a record-breaking amount towards the annual fund’s artistic and educational programs.

Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theaters in the United States. Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theater that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theater, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Of SCR’s more than 400 productions, 103 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world. SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations with Margaret Edson’s Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole in 2007. Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theater Center, an expanded three-theater complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio.