USITT Adds New Award for Young Designers and Technicians

A new award for undergraduate scene designers has been added to the United States Institute For Theatre Technology’s lineup of cash prizes for young people completing their professional training. The new W. Oren Parker Award for Scene Design has been created to honor the author of Scene Design and Stage Lighting, first published in 1963. The text is now in its seventh edition.

In announcing the award, Elynmarie Kazle, USITT’s vice-president for membership and development, thanked Charles E. Williams, whose generosity to the Institute made the award possible. All awards are funded by support from sponsors, including the KM Fabrics Inc. Technical Production Award, Clear-Com Intercom Systems Sound Achievement Award, Barbizon Award for Lighting Design, Rose Brand Award for Scene Design, Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design and Technology Awards, Frederick A. Buerki Golden Hammer Scenic Technology Award, Kryolan Makeup Design Award, and the Stage Management Award, which is supported by Robert Scales and the USITT Stage Management Mentor Project.

More than $20,000 has been distributed to YD&T winners in the past seven years. Students who are completing or have recently completed either undergraduate or graduate programs can be nominated for awards, depending on the criteria.

The deadline for this year’s awards nominations is November 1, an earlier date than usual, since this year’s USITT Conference and Stage Expo is scheduled to begin February 13—the day after Mardi Gras—in New Orleans. Information of each of the awards, plus nominations forms, are available from the USITT website, at www.usitt.org, or by calling the Institute office at 800-93-USITT.