News & Notices
Announcements
H&H Provides Six Student Scholarships to Conference
USITT Contributing Member H & H Specialties has again provided six scholarships to the Annual Conference & Stage Expo for students who have been members of the Institute for at least a year.
The winners are John Hobson of James Madison University in Virginia, Kiah Kayler of University of Arkansas, Alexandra Mauch of High Point University in North Carolina, Mike Millul of Northern Illinois University, Tim Strickland of James Madison University, and Courtney Michelle Winkelman of Auburn University in Alabama. The names were drawn randomly from all student members who registered for the Conference by the Very Early Registration deadline of December 5.
H&H Specialties also helps sponsor USITT’s Rigging Safety Initiative for student stages. The company can be found at www.hhspecialties.com.
Announce YD&T Zelma Weisfeld Award Winner
Maureen Freedman, a graduate student at the University of Connecticut, is the winner of the 2015 Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award.
Ms. Freedman is one of 11 young artists who will be honored at USITT’s Young Designers & Technicians in the Performing Arts awards at the 2015 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Cincinnati on March 19.
She is about to earn her MFA in dramatic arts design from UConn and has already served an apprenticeship with designer Rodney Gordon in New York. Costume Designer Laura Crow, who had Ms. Freedman in three classes and nominated her for the award, described her as “the perfect combination of excellent costume designer and very skilled craftsperson.”
“When Maureen designed Hairspray for Connecticut Repertory Theatre with a guest director and guest choreographer from New York City, she was able to work as an equal,” Ms. Crow wrote. “She created a design that took Hairspray out of the glitzy standard from the Broadway show and put it in a more political place. The characters had substantial weight and texture as a result.”
Got Projects? Scenic Design Compendium Deadline March 1
The deadline to submit ideas for Projects for Teaching Scene Design: A Compendium is quickly drawing near.
New projects and updated old favorites will be included in the new edition. Now is the chance to submit an idea. Final submissions will be accepted through March 1. Projects can be submitted online, and a panel of editors will select those to be included based on clear outcomes or learning objectives, uniqueness, and creativity.
The final product will be available both as a hardcopy in a three-ring binder at the USITT Bookstore at the Conference as well as a print on demand/downloadable option throughout the year.
Additional questions can be directed to the panel of editors (Tammy Honesty, Gion DeFrancesco, and Brian Ruggaber) at usittscenicdesigncompendium@gmail.com.
Offer Six-Day Lighting Intensive for Teachers
Twenty-one scholarship grants are available to help people attend the special Teachers of Lighting Workshop June 14 to 19 at the GE Lighting Institute in Nela Park, Cleveland, Ohio.
Applications for the event are due March 9. The Illuminating Engineering Society and GE Lighting Institute are the sponsors. For complete details, visit www.ies.org/tolw.
This is a six-day immersion in lighting with experts providing the content in studio or lecture format. Twenty-one scholarship grants will cover the tuition, lodging, and most meals. For more information, contact RebeccaHadleyCatter@eaton.com or dginthner@umn.edu.
Approves Fall Arrest Standard for Portable Structures
ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved and published ANSI E1.39 – 2015, Entertainment Technology – Selection and Use of Personal Fall Arrest Systems on Portable Structures Used in the Entertainment Industry on January 28. It is now available for free download at tsp.plasa.org/freestandards, made possible by the sponsorship of Prosight Specialty Insurance.
The standard establishes minimum requirements for the selection and use of personal fall arrest systems on portable structures in the entertainment industry. Other methods of fall protection, such as safety nets and guard rails, are not within the scope of this standard.
TCG Launches New Grant Program, Announces Winners
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has launched ON the STAGE, a new grant program focusing on international touring and announced the recipients for the latest round of Global Connections.
The deadline to apply for the next round of Global Connections grants is March 11. Guidelines and applications can be found here.
Supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this grant program encourages reciprocity and cultural exchange through ON the ROAD grants, to foster new relationships with international colleagues, and IN the LAB grants, to further pre-existing international collaborations. Now in its fourth year, this round of the Global Connections program awarded a total of $33,045 to seven projects through ON the ROAD and a total of $30,000 to three projects through IN the LAB, with over $400,000 awarded to date.
Thanks to additional support from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, TCG is excited to announce ON the STAGE grants. This new initiative is designed to share U.S. culture with global audiences through sustained international tours and/or co-productions. Up to five grants between $10,000 and $15,000 will be awarded to theatres located in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to tour a work internationally or to present international work on their stages. The application process for ON the STAGE will launch along with the next cycle of IN the LAB and ON the ROAD grants, with a shared application deadline of March 11.
For a list of the latest ON the ROAD and IN the LAB recipients, visit TCG’s page.
