News & Notices
Fellowships Applications Deadline November 15
The deadline to apply for the 2015 Fellowship Awards is November 15. The Grants& Fellowships Committee recently changed the deadline to an earlier date so as many award winners as possible can be recognized at the Annual Conference & Stage Expo in March.
Each year approximately $20,000 to $30,000 is awarded to members of the Institute allowing them to complete research in a variety of areas related to the industry. Fellowships help individuals with advanced study in any given area of theatrical research rather than through the development of a project. Fellowship applications must have a coherent theme and should generate important scholarly or creative activity that will produce a significant result. Fellowships are for up to $15,000 each and require recipients to submit a written report within 18 months of receiving funding.
For more information on the Fellowship process, visit the Fellowships website.
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been provided to USITT members through the Edward F. Kook Fund (the primary source of money for these awards) and the annual budget. This funding has primarily assisted in bringing an individual's research into reality, while also benefitting the membership and industry. Recipients share their research with the community through articles in TD&T or presentations at the annual conference.
The range of projects and fellowship study that USITT Grants & Fellowship awards have supported is extraordinarily diverse. Just in the last several years, awards have funded activities like Howard Kurt's costume research of the American Federal Theatre Project, Paul Brunner, and Michael Mehler's research on sustainability, Anita Easterling's work on Indian scenic designer Choudhury, Del Unruh's research for several USITT monographs, and Helene Siebrit's research of performance groups in Cambodia. Other notable awards have advanced study in the ancient art of mask making and historical research relating to scenic painting, period costume design, and virtual designing. A grant provided research assistance that led to the development of the seven-LED color engine that has become the basis of LED lighting products (Novella Smith and Robert Gerlach's grant, Development and Study of LED-Based Theatrical Lighting).
Research currently being funded by grants includes: Rich Dionne's "Izzy" Intelligent Scenery Simulation Platform, Daniel Lisowski's Demystifying Dynamic Braking Resistor Calculations, and Catherine Bradley's Creation of Educational Materials for the Virtual Textile Project.
At times, past recipients like Mr. Gerlach and Ms. Smith have made donations to the program. Mr. Gerlach and Ms. Smith surprised the Committee last spring by generously donating $20,000 to the Kook Fund. Individuals and corporate members interested in contributing to the Kook can contact the National Office at 800-938-7488, ext. 102 or make an online contribution.
