Conference & Stage Expo
Brandt Receives SILV Award in Cincinnati
After presenting fantastical puppets created for the University of Idaho’s production of A Christmas Carol, Michael Brandt was selected to receive the 2015 Don Childs Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (SILV) Award at the 55th Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mr. Brandt will attend the full, eight-week SILV program this summer. His tuition, housing, and some meals will be provided. The award includes one show with a backstage tour or talk-back each week, and local SILV-related transportation.
A 2010 a collaboration between SILV and KCACTF prompted an effort to offer an additional experience to students with potential. The initial program brought one student to SILV for one week of class of his or her choice. In 2011, SILV founder Don Childs proposed an additional provision in conjunction with KCACTF's move to bring all eight regional awardees of the Allied Crafts and Technology concentration to the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo. The SILV Annual Award, to include a full eight-week scholarship and housing at SILV valued at over $10,000, was established. It has since been renamed in honor of Mr. Childs.
The award recipient is selected at the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo by a panel of practicing professionals representing a wide range of fields in the live entertainment industry and its allied crafts and technology. While at the conference, panel members visit with the students and become familiar with their projects prior to their presentations. Then, in the same manner as KCACTF regional festivals, the students present their projects expanding on their process and results.
