News & Notices
2013 YD&T Award Winners Announced!
Cole W. Muth was technical director for UW-Madison's 2010 production of The Yum-Yum Room, whose set used over 3,500 feet of yarn.
Photo by Brent NiCastro.
Nine young designers will receive USITT Awards for Young Designers & Technicians in the Performing Arts at the 2013 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Milwaukee.
The YD&T awards annually honor young theatre designers and technicians in the areas of production, sound, scenic technology, costumes, lighting, make-up, stage management, and scene design. The awards are sponsored by leading companies and individuals, and each winner is chosen from a national slate of nominees by a jury of professionals and academics in their field.
- Cole W. Muth, technical director, lighting designer and 2012 MFA graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will receive the KM Fabrics Inc. Technical Production Award. He was nominated by Daniel Lisowski , faculty technical director at UW-M. The award, established by KM Fabrics founder Richard K. Heusel in 1994, recognizes excellence in technical direction or production.
- Erik T. Lawson, sound designer and 2012 MFA graduate of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, will receive the Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award. He was nominated by Joe Pino, professor of sound design at Carnegie Mellon. The award was established by Clear-Com founder Robert Cohen in 2005 and honors creative application of sound in the performing arts.
- Daniel Perez, technical designer and 2013 MFA candidate at Yale University School of Drama, will receive the Frederick A. Buerki Golden Hammer Award. The award was established in 1998 by USITT Fellow Bernhard R. Works in memory of UW-M theatre design professor Fred Buerki. It recognizes creative application of scene design and technical direction. Perez was nominated by Ben Sammler, professor of technical design and production at Yale.
Albulena Borovci's costumes for the 2012 Carnegie Mellon production of The Rivals were described by one reviewer as "drop-dead gorgeous."
Photo courtesy of Louis Stein.
Purdue University senior Ethan Vail designed the lighting for Purdue's 2012 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Photo by Michael Banks.
- Albulena Borovci, a costume designer and 2013 MFA candidate at Carnegie Mellon, will receive the Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award. She was nominated by Susan Tsu, professor of costume design at CMU. Ms. Borovci was among 16 nominees for this award, established in 1997 by costume designer and USITT Fellow Zelma Weisfeld to recognize creativity and skill in costume design.
- Ethan Vail, a senior at Purdue University, will receive the USITT Lighting Design Award sponsored by Barbizon Lighting Company. Mr. Vail, already an accomplished lighting designer, was nominated by Michael McNamara, head of lighting at Purdue. The award was established by Barbizon in 1997 to honor company co-founders Sid Bloom and Sam Resnick. It recognizes outstanding potential in the field of lighting design.
- Courtney O’Neill, a set designer who received her MFA from Northwestern University in 2012, is winner of the USITT Scene Design Award sponsored by Rose Brand. She was nominated by Todd Rosenthal, a Tony-award winning scenic designer and professor at Northwestern. She was chosen from among 13 nominees for the award, which was established by Rose Brand president George Jacobstein in 1997 to reward excellence in scenic design.
A scale model of Courtney O'Neill's set for The Tempest is among the portfolio pieces the Northwestern University grad submitted for her YD&T award.
Makeup artist Lauren Wilde designed this facial prosthetic for a satyr in The Death of Eurydice.
- Lauren Wilde, a make-up artist and MFA candidate at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, will receive the USITT Make-up Design Award sponsored by Kryolan Professional Make-up of Germany. She was nominated by Michael Meyer, wig and make-up director at UNCSA. The award, established in 1998, recognizes creative application of make-up design in the performing arts.
- Peyton Taylor Becker, a stage manager and BFA candidate at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, will receive the USITT Stage Management Award sponsored by Clear-Com. She was nominated by Jamie Call Blankinship, professor of stage management at UNCSA. The award honors work displaying excellent stage management skills.
- Jared LeClaire, a scenic and projection designer who will graduate from the University of West Georgia in May, will receive the USITT W. Oren Parker Undergraduate Scene Design Award sponsored by Stage Decoration & Supplies. He was nominated by Brad Darvas, theatrical design professor at UWG. The award, established in 2002 in memory of designer W. Oren Parker, drew 10 nominations this year for excellence in scenic design by a young artist.
A total of 60 students were nominated for the 2013 YD&T awards. They were asked to submit resumes, letters of recommendation, and a portfolio of their work. Each award was adjudicated by a panel of experts in the specific area of the award, along with representatives of the award sponsors.
Each winner will receive a cash prize and free registration for the 2013 USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo March 20 to 23, where their awards will be presented on Opening Night. During the Conference, they will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their work with award sponsors and adjudicators.
Jared LeClaire made this model of his set design for the 2012 University of West Georgia production of Broke-ology.
Sketch by Jared LeClaire.
