Elynmarie Kazle
VP-Membership & Development

They're out there, and USITT wants them! The Institute is looking for young, talented members of the performing arts industry for its annual Young Designers & Technicians Awards.

The deadline for nominating someone for the awards is November 1. Awards will be presented at USITT's 2006 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Louisville. Photographs (CDs preferred) are required for submission along with appropriate paperwork, drawings, renderings, and entry fee. For more information, check the USITT web site in mid-September for entry forms.

Recognizing and encouraging emerging talent is a way to keep the performing arts industry healthy and bursting with new energy. That is why, in 1994 the USITT Young Designers & Technicians Awards were established. Visionary leaders and corporations such as Richard Heusel and KM Fabrics, Bob Cohen from Clear-Com, and Jonathan Resnick from Barbizon were the first to invest in the performing artists of the future.

They were soon joined by George Jacobstein from Rose Brand, Zelma H. Weisfeld, Claudia Longo from Kryolan, Bernhard R. Works, Charles E. Williams, and Stage Decoration and Supplies.

By establishing the YD&T awards, Grants and Fellowships, and other new programs such as the USITT Rising Star Award sponsored by The Entertainment Technology Week, LDI, Entertainment Design and Lighting Dimensions, the Institute brings together students, their teachers and mentors, and pioneers of the industry to celebrate excellence.

It is through this interaction that emerging professionals are challenged to better their art and our lives through their work in the performing arts.

Think of all the talented young people you know. Surely one deserves some financial encouragement and national recognition. Take a few minutes to gather information in order to nominate them when the process begins in mid-September.

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