Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1999 - 75

Recipients and
presenters of the
1999 Awards for
Young Designers &
Technicians in the
Performing Arts:

Kim Morris with Kryolan's

David Stellhorn with

Todd Proffitt with

Tim Santry

Bernie Works

Barbizon'5 Jonathan Resnick

Dominic Kramer with

Zelma Weisfeld with

KM Fabric's Dick Heusel

Clear-Cam's Milt McNally

photo of Erin Slattery

with Frederick Ramage

makeup effects including broken arms, facial wounds,
and other cheery sounding injuries. Her work on Into
the Woods was also singled out as being very inventive.
Tim Santry from Kryolan presented the award to Kim.
Our new Frederick A. Buerki Golden Hammer Scenic Technology Award was designated to recognize those
wonderfully talented and creative technicians and artisans who labor away in our theatres. David Stellhorn
from the University of Illinois at Chanlpaign- rbana was
nominated for his work on a production of Once Upon a
Mattress, which made extensive use of moving turntables, a bed/elevator, and many other tricks and illusions that helped make the show work well. Working
\vith a very tight show budget he was able to engineer several motion control systems for scenelY that were both safe
and cost effective. Bernie Works took the stage to present the
first actual golden hanilller to David. Bernie also took a
moment to speak of the lasting impression Fred Buerki
made on a generation of technicians and designers.
The 1999 Rose Brand Award for Scene Design was
presented to Kathleen Widomski, a 199 CarnegieMellon graduate with a very impressive resume. Kathleen
is the recipient of the 1998-2000 NEAlfCG Career Development Award in Scene Design and she has designed numerous productions for the stage. Her credits include,
among others, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, GEVA
Theatre, Willianlstown Festival and many productions for
the Denver Civic Theatre. She is described as a gifted artist, capable of working effectively in collaborative sinlations that demand she be able to rework her designs
within very tight timetables. The sanlples of her work
submitted for the nomination were extremely impressive.
Production commitments prevented Kathleen (rom at-

Rose Brand's Roger C1aman

tending the conference, but Roger Claman of Rose Brand
offered insightful comments about Kathleen's work and
the impressive aesthetic talent she possesses.
The 1999 Barbizon Award for Lighting Design was
presented to Todd Proffitt, who graduated this May from
Texas Tech niversity with an MFA. In addition to his
lighting designs for Texas Tech, Todd has worked (or
Central Missouri Rep and Des Moines Opera. He is described as a designer who is not afraid to experiment
with color, is an excellent collaborator, and he was characterized as someone who made effective use of the technology that is available to help the whole design teanl
visualize what the show will look like under light. As a
design assistant, he was praised for being a trusted second pair of eyes. Jonathan Resnick from Barbizon made
a short, but elegant, speech about the award's origin and
he echoed Zelma Weisfeld's inlpassioned speech about
the importance of mentoring our future designers.
Our next award, the Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award was presented to Erin Slattery.
Erin completed her MFA from the niversity of Texas in
1998. She is currently working for Jim Henson Productions in ew York. Erin is described as being an intelligent, conceptual designer, a talented illustrator and an
accomplished costume technician. Her skills in draping,
tailoring, patterning, and costume crafts were noted to be
exceptional. One of Erin's nominators made a point of
saying she thought Erin was one of tllOse up-and-coming
designers we should all look to for great work. Erin is
working on a major project for the Henson Studios and
was unable to personally accept the award, but she sent a
snapshot of herself and a charming note to Zelma thanking her for the support.
TZ>&T

I 999

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