Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1999 - 74

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William J. Byrnes

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AWARDS

FOR A FUTURE

In the last five years USIIT has developed a paI1nership
with our corporate and individual members that has produced a unique set of awards for tomorrow's designers
and technicians. Acenterpiece event at our Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Toronto this yeaI' was the presentation of the 1999 Awards for Young Designers &
Technicians in the Performing Arts during the Fellows
Address & Reception. In fact, the evening was something
of a milestone. What made it a milestone? For the first
time in the history of USIIT, seven awards were conferred
to a group of outstanding designers and technicians.

A MISSION GOAL REALIZED
In support of our mission, we recognize "excellence and

significant contributions in the performing arts and entertainment industry." In establishing the Awards for
Young Designers & Technicians in the Performing Arts we
specifically wanted to recognize future potential and,
with the help of the leadership donations by some of our
Fellows, we established the lew Century Fund as a place
to promote giving to the Institute. Uttle did we know this
idea would turn into a reality in such a short time.

.. ,SEVEN AWARDS were conferred to a group
of outstanding designers and technicians.

The founding award was established by Richard K.
Heusel, President and CEO of KM Fabrics, Inc. His major
donation to the New Century Fund helped to get the
awards started at the 1995 Conference in Las Vegas. Dick
desired to establish an award that would single out a
member of the production team often overlooked when it
came to public acclaim - the Technical Director. Aconversation in Las Vegas with Bob Cohen, then President of
Clear-Com Intercom Systems, led to beginning the Sound
Achievement Award in Fort Worth in 1996. Bob felt a
sound award would help bring attention to the impOI~
tance of sound in our productions.
The 1997 Pittsburgh Conference became the source
for three new aWaI'ds from our members. Rose Brand
Theatrical Fabrics, BaI'bizon Electric Co. Inc., and USITT
Fellow and long-time costume designer Zelma Weisfeld
came forward with support to establish awards in scene
design, lighting design, and cosntme design and technology. Each of these awards has a story that starts with the
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USITT

interests of the donor/member to help promote talented
young artists. During the 1998 Conference in Long
Beach, Fellow Bernie Works contacted me about a
Golden Hammer Scenic Technology Award. Bernie and
Nancy Works, with additional support by David W. Weiss,
funded the Frederick A. Buerki AWaI'd to honor a theatre
practitioner who helped inspire a generation of designers and teclmicians. A lead from former USIIT Board
member Richard Barulich led to a conversation last summer with Claudia Longo at Kryolan Corporation. Kryolan
Corporation stepped forward to help create the new
Makeup Design Award. We are all eX1remely pleased \\~th
this support from our corporate and individual members
in the last five years.

THE PROCESS
In order for these aWaI'ds to be presented a tremendous amount of background work must be done. Nomination forms are distributed to you, our members, in the
eaI'ly fall \vith the expectation that you \vill seek out the
best of the best to nominate each year. 1 ominations are
screened in early December, and the work of the eligible
candidates is distributed to a group of USIIT volunteers
in the area of specialization represented by the award.
Representatives from the award sponsor also screen the
works. Once the winners are finalized in late January, we
begin the process of contacting the award recipients and
we begin preparing the aWaI'd checks and certificates.
This Yeal' we couldn't have completed tillS process \vithout
tile help of the follmving commission representatives: Buddy
Combs, Dan Culhane, Michael Eddy, MaI1in G\vinup, Roy
Harline, Debra Krajec, Howard Kurtz, Kathy Perkins, and Jeff
Siegle. Many thanks to our volunteer judges who took time
out of their busy production schedules to help us.

THIS YEAR'S WINNERS
The first award made on March 25th at the Fellows Address & Reception was the Kryolan Makeup Design
Award. The first-ever winner of tillS award was Ms. Kim
Morris. Kim will be completing her MFA in Costume Design at the University of Virginia tllis May. Kim has done
makeup for, among others, the Utall Shakespeare Festival
and she includes on her resume that she did TV makeup
work for the Orange County Corrections Division. Her
nonlinators had the highest praise for her work as a designer and teacher of makeup. She is credited with revamping the makeup progranl at the niversity of
Virginia, as well as for her extraordinary work with

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1999