Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2021 - 45

Fellows of the Institute
USITT Fellows have achieved fellow rank through many years of exceptional participation in various aspects of
USITT and the entertainment business.
Rafael Jaen, costume designer and USITT's
VP of Communications
Rafael Jaen currently serves the
Institute as the vice-president for
communications as well as recently
serving as the interim national vice
co-chair for the Kennedy Center
American College Theatre Festival
(KCATCF). As a national leader in
both USITT and the KCACTF, Jaen
consistently promotes opportunities
for the next generation of theatre
artists with a significant passion for
mentoring future artists and leaders.
Ever conscious of recognizing
and giving voice to other perspectives,
he successfully builds effective
teams of collaborators. He does this
equally well with peers and students,
advocating for individuals to improve
everyone's overall experience. He approaches
his service commitments
to USITT with great skill, an affable
personality, and a consistent desire
to push our organization to become
even better at meeting the needs of
our members.
" Professor Rafael
is
willing
to
help you achieve your goal and help
you succeed in class, " said one of
Jaen's students, " No matter where
you came from, he will always find a
way to teach you better and encourage
you to embrace your potential. "
Jaen has more than 30 years of experience
and his design work for film,
TV, and theatre has received multiple
accolades, including the prestigious
Elliot Norton and the Independent
Reviewers of New England (IRNE)
awards. His design and construction
skills have been seen at the
Boston Midsummer Opera, the
Lyric Stage Company of Boston,
Company One (with the Huntington
Theatre Company), Beau Jest Moving
Theatre, Bowdoin College, Emerson
College, the Charlestown Working
Theatre, the Tennessee Williams
Provincetown Festival, WGBH, and
Disney and Broadway productions.
He is the author of SHOWCASE by
Focal Press (nominated for a Golden
Pen award) and Digital Costume
Design and Collaboration also published
by Focal Press. As an author,
he contributed two chapters in the
book Fashioning Horror: Dressing to
Kill on Screen and in Literature by
Bloomsbury and has also contributed
articles for Sightlines and Theatre
Design & Technology (TD&T). He
was the driving force at negotiating
the USITT/Focal Press Routledge
partnership that is planned to publish
three volumes known as the
Backstage Series. He served as the
main editor for that series' first published
work, Theater Artisans and
Their Craft, and is shepherding the
second publication in that series focusing
on stage managers for release
in 2021. He is an associate professor
and Department of Performing
Arts Chair at the University of
Massachusetts Boston and is a proud
member of USA 829.
In addition to his current vice-presidential
role for the Institute, Jaen has
served as chair of portfolio reviews,
vice-commissioner for student initiatives,
and vice-commissioner for
diversity, inclusivity, and community
for the costume commission. He has
also served on the USITT board of
directors and as an active member of
the publications committee, prior to
being elected vice-president for communications
2019-21. He has also
served at the KCACTF as the Region
1 and national design, technology,
and management (dtm) chair and the
USITT-KCACTF communications
liaison.
Before joining the faculty of the
UMass, Jaen taught at Emerson
College, MA, from 1990 to 2013.
In addition to teaching numerous
workshops at prestigious colleges
and conferences in the USA, he has
taught Professional
Development
Workshops and a Summer Costume
Symposium on costume rendering
with Photoshop for USITT.
-Written by Mark Shanda,
USITT past President and USITT
Fellow
SUMMER 2021 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | 45
Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2021

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