History
The Cappies began in 1999, in response to the Columbine tragedy, as an effort to bring more positive attention to teenagers engaged in creative pursuits. Capitol Steps founder Bill Strauss approached Fairfax County, Virginia public school administrator Judy Bowns, and together they developed the plan for the program. The program began in Fairfax and immediately became popular among high school drama departments in the area, growing from 14 schools in the fall of 1999 to 23 schools by that spring. The Cappies quickly spread to encompass the entire metro Washington, D.C., area. The Washington Post, as well as several other local papers, published student-written reviews often with photographs (They have since ceased this activity, but instead now post these reviews online in a section entitled "Tomorrow's Critics"). As a result, the Cappies became a showcase for local theater and journalism talent, with over 50 schools around Washington, the largest Cappies region. Since 2002, it has operated nationwide, with new regional groups appearing yearly.
Read more about this topic: Critics And Awards Program For High School Students
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of any nation follows an undulatory course. In the trough of the wave we find more or less complete anarchy; but the crest is not more or less complete Utopia, but only, at best, a tolerably humane, partially free and fairly just society that invariably carries within itself the seeds of its own decadence.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“The greatest horrors in the history of mankind are not due to the ambition of the Napoleons or the vengeance of the Agamemnons, but to the doctrinaire philosophers. The theories of the sentimentalist Rousseau inspired the integrity of the passionless Robespierre. The cold-blooded calculations of Karl Marx led to the judicial and business-like operations of the Cheka.”
—Aleister Crowley (1875–1947)
“In every election in American history both parties have their clichés. The party that has the clichés that ring true wins.”
—Newt Gingrich (b. 1943)