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USITT Awards: Well Deserved Honors

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Every year the USITT Awards, meant to bring honor to those who rarely receive it, honor the best entering our industry, support creative work, recognize lifetime achievement, and celebrate research. Following are the 2023 Distinguished Achievement Awards and the Young Designers, Managers and Technicians (YDMT) award winners. All will be honored during the 63rd USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo in St. Louis, MO March 15-18, 2023.

 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

The Distinguished Achievement Awards honor individuals who have established meritorious career records in specific fields of expertise in the performing arts or entertainment industry.

David Budries

Sound Design & Technology

David Budries has been working with sound and music since 1969 when he built his first sound system for a high school concert by Peter, Paul and Mary. Budries played guitar and sang in coffee houses from 1969-1972. In 1973 he started his first professional sound company, Mantra Sound that specialized in sound reinforcement for acoustic ensembles which included jazz, country, bluegrass, folk, chorale ensembles, light rock, pop and symphony orchestras. In 1975 Budries began recording and producing, then he started building recording studios as Sound Situation. In 1979 Budries took the position of Director of the Hartt Recording Studio at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford and continued in that role until 1999. During that time, he built and directed Hartt’s Music Production and Technology Program. In 1980 Budries designed his first show for the Hartford Stage Company and that show went to Broadway. Budries continued to design for HSC until 2001. In 1983, Budries was asked to teach a sound class at the Yale School of Drama. That resulted in his building Yale’s first sound design program which he chaired until 2021. He is now Professor Emeritus of Design at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Budries is an Associate Artist at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. In “retirement” he is half of the music duo, Home Tonight playing music in California’s Central Valley. He’s also the Sound Engineer for The Grove House, a music and food establishment in Mariposa, CA, just outside of Yosemite National Park.

As a Professional Sound Designer Budries, with almost 50 years of experience, has created numerous soundscapes for Broadway, Off-Broadway, and leading American regional theatres. His Broadway credits include sound design for the original Broadway production of Our Country’s Good, nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Play; the Tony Award-nominated production Souvenir; the Drama Desk Award-nominated production Search and Destroy; the 1988 Broadway production of Long Day’s Journey into Night, nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival; and the 1988 production of Ah, Wilderness!, Tony Award nominee for Best Revival. Budries’ Off-Broadway credits include And a Nightingale Sang…, nominated for three Drama Desk Awards; Other People’s Money, winner of two Outer Critics Circle Awards; The End of the Day, winner of an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award; From the Mississippi Delta, nominated for a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award; Obie Award-winning play Marisol; Tiny Alice, winner of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play; and The Glass Menagerie, winner of the Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival. In addition to his Broadway and Off-Broadway credits, Budries has worked on productions for well-known regional theaters, including Hartford Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Center Stage Baltimore, Ford’s Theatre, South Coast Repertory, McCarter Theatre, ACT, Huntington Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Portland Stage, and others. Budries is one of the early members of TSDCA.

Judith Dolan

Education

Judith Dolan is currently a Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Dance at UC San Diego. She has also been recognized nationally and internationally for her costume designs. A longtime collaborator with director Harold Prince, she began her association with the original production of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, as well as several other Broadway productions including Alfred Uhry’s Parade and Candide for which she received a 1997 Tony Award for Best Costume Design. Another collaboration with Mr. Prince, the musical The Petrified Prince at the Public Theater in NYC, earned her the Lucille Lortel Award for Excellence in Costume Design and a 1995 Drama Desk nomination. Dolan studied directing with Carl Weber, who was affiliated with Bertolt Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble. As a director-designer she has mounted productions of Brecht’s adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi; a compilation of Tennessee Williams’ plays, paintings, art songs, poetry and short stories entitled His Manner of Returning; and August Strindberg’s Motherly Love. She has developed a number of new plays and musicals, including composer Mary Lee Kortes’ The Songs of Beulah Rowley and Stoker (music by British composer Joe Jackson) for the Directors Company in New York with actors Tom Hewitt (Bram Stoker) and Jim Dale (Sir Henry Irving), among others. Dolan is currently collaborating with Joe Jackson developing staging and design for his concept album of Victorian music halls entitled Max Champion: What a Racket. Professor Dolan holds an MFA and a PhD from Stanford University.

Hana Sharif

Management

Hana Sharif (Augustin Family Artistic Director) has enjoyed a multi-faceted theater career, including roles as an artistic leader, director, playwright and producer with a specialty in strategic and cross-functional leadership. Sharif served as the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Nasir Productions, a theater dedicated to underrepresented voices challenging traditional structure. Sharif joined the Tony Award-winning regional theater, Hartford Stage in 2003 where she served as the Associate Artistic Director, Director of New Play Development, and Artistic Producer. Sharif launched the new play development program, expanded the community engagement and civic discourse initiatives, and developed and produced Tony, Grammy, Pulitzer, and Obie Award-winning shows. During her tenure as Associate Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage, Sharif was the architect of the innovative CS Digital program: a platform that explores the nexus point between art and technology, piloted the Mobile Unit focused on historically underserved audiences, and helping to guide the theater through a multi-million dollar building renovation and rebranding effort. In 2018 Sharif was named the Augustin Family Artistic Director of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. During her tenure at The Rep, Sharif has guided the organization through a strategic alignment, diversified programming, and expanded access to underserved communities. Sharif holds a BA from Spelman College and an MFA from the University of Houston. Sharif is the recipient of Spelman’s 2022 National Community Service Award, the 2009-10 Aetna New Voices Fellowship, EMC Arts Working Open Fellowship, and Theatre Communications Group (TCG) New Generations Fellowship. Sharif is a founding member of The Black Theatre Commons (BTC). She serves on the board of directors for the TCG, BTC, and the Sprott Family Foundation.

Mike Wood

Engineering

Mike Wood has over 45 years’ experience working in entertainment lighting equipment design and development for companies varying in size from 10 to 25,000 employees. After failing to be a successful theatrical lighting designer he started his career with the BBC in the late 1970’s before moving into the commercial world in the mid 1980’s. Since then, he has worked for both start-up and well-known companies developing both static and automated luminaires and their control systems for theater, television, concerts, and film production. Since forming Mike Wood Consulting LLC in 2004 he has provided professional support and assistance to over 50 clients with many of them returning for multiple projects and long-term relationships. He has worked in both the USA and Europe and has been elected the leader of trade associations in both places, helping him develop a unique mix of engineering skills coupled with a deep understanding of sales and marketing critical to bringing successful new products to the marketplace. In particular he feels fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time to help the recent industry transition from conventional light sources to LEDs. Wood has published over 200 articles and papers on entertainment lighting and its applications and holds a number of patents in lighting systems and control. He holds an MA in electrical engineering from Trinity College, Cambridge. In 2006 Wood was presented with ESTA’s highest honor—the prestigious Eva Swan Award.

 

YOUNG DESIGNERS, MANAGERS AND TECHNICIANS (YDMT)

Known throughout USITT as the YDMT Awards, they bring recognition and support to young designers, managers, and technicians at the beginning of their careers. They are made possible by generous gifts to USITT from their sponsors.

Emma Dickerson

The Barbara Matera Award in Costume Making

Emma Dickerson is a third year MFA candidate for Live Design and Production with a concentration in Costume Technology at The University of Texas at Austin. While there she studied under James Glavan and David Arevelo. Originally from the Philadelphia, PA area, she completed her BFA in Theater Costume Design from Pennsylvania State University in 2018 studying under Richard St. Clair and Laura Robinson. Emma has worked professionally all over the country. Most recently she has worked at Bethany Joy Costumes in New York City on projects for television, film and Broadway. Some of these projects include making dresses for Dickinson on Apple TV and several suits for Camilla in Diana: the Musical. She has also worked at The Huntington Theatre in Boston, The Utah Shakespeare Festival, and The Santa Fe Opera. In her time at UT, Emma has worked on many projects and has been a draper for several main stage productions. Her thesis is focused on digital pattern making software and its future in the costume making industry. It will include a project comparing traditional pattern making methods with digital pattern making. She is excited to keep working hard and learning as her time at UT comes to a close and she takes the next steps into her career as a technician and artisan.

Mia Sara Haiman

KM Fabrics, Inc. Technical Production Award

Mia Sara Haiman is a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate in the Technical Design and Production department at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. At Yale Repertory Theatre, she has worked in various roles including Technical Director and Associate Production Manager. As a project and production manager, Mia has worked in live entertainment on Broadway, regionally, and abroad. Prior to Yale, Mia worked as Production Manager at Boston Center for the Arts and in international relations at the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv. Other credits include Vermont Shakespeare Festival, BAMAH, Theatre NOW New York, CMJ Music Marathon, Vermont Stage Company, and St. Michael’s Playhouse. Most recently, Mia worked on multiple Broadway and regional productions at ShowMotion, Inc.

M.J. Hromek

Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award

M.J. Hromek is from Baltimore, Maryland and received a BA in Theatre Design and Production from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. They are currently pursuing an MFA in Costume Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where they are exploring various methods of communicating design, including the use of digital rendering. Works include Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka as well as She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen and Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted by Ken Ludwig.

Mia Irwin

USITT Scene Design Award sponsored by Rose Brand

Mia Irwin is a third-year M.F.A. candidate in Scenic Design attending The Pennsylvania State University from Durango, CO. Mia received her B.A. in Theatre Arts and a minor in Art and Design from the University of Northern Colorado in 2020. She is an experienced scenic artist, having worked for several companies, including The Rev Theatre Company, The Little Theatre of the Rockies, Acomb, Ostendorf and Associates, LLC, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, and continues to work as a scenic artist at Penn State. Her previous credits include the scenic designs for Nostalgia Night (2022, Penn State Centre Stage), The Wild Party (2021, Penn State Centre Stage), Dry Land (2021, Penn State School of Theatre), and Eurydice (2019, UNC). Upcoming projects include the scenic design for Into the Woods (2023, Penn State Centre Stage).

Jaemin Park

The Barbizon Lighting Company Jonathan Resnick Lighting Design Award

Jaemin Park is a lighting designer and an assistant professor in the School of Theater and Dance at Southern Illinois University. Park, a native of South Korea, began his career as a lighting designer in 2005 by designing the opera La Traviata in his home country. He has designed more than 100 productions in various genres such as plays, musicals, operas, and dances. While he was in South Korea, he worked as a full-time lighting supervisor and resident designer in the national theatre with about 1,200 seats in Daegu, South Korea. His unique background in studying vocal music during his undergraduate courses has given him a keen ear for analyzing and expressing music. He has directed opera and loves musical works.

He graduated as an outstanding graduate designer from Kent State University’s MFA program in Lighting Design. When he was a student he elevated his design presence in the region by designing the musical Chaining Zero and with that opportunity, designed the play Passage produced by the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program. After graduating in 2022, he worked as a lighting designer on four shows: the musicals Little Shop of Horrors at Porthouse Theatre, The Lightning Thief and Sweeney Todd at Rubber City Theatre, and the play La Siempreviva at LatinUs Theater Company.

Cecilia Shin

The Richard Hay Undergraduate Scene Design Award

Cecilia Shin is a set and stage designer, born and raised in Hong Kong. She is a current fourth-year student at the School of Drama, Carnegie Mellon University, pursuing a BFA in Scenic Design. She is also pursuing a minor in Architecture History from the School of Architecture. Working in both film and theater, she is enraptured by stories and creating worlds for captivating and compelling individuals to exist in. She is always excited to work with collaborators to tell stories through a spatial and visual lens.

Cecilia has worked on various TV and film projects produced by major production companies in Hong Kong, including Shaw Brothers Studios and We Pictures. During the semester, she focuses on theater work. Most recently, Cecilia was awarded the 2022 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama Lloyd Weninger Award for Stage Design, an award recognizing excellence in scenic design for undergraduates within the program, selected by the faculty.

Kelsea Sibold

USITT Stage Management Award

Kelsea Sibold (she/her) is a stage manager based out of Boulder, CO, originally from Frederick, CO. Her regional credits include: Always…Patsy Cline and Native Gardens (Creede Repertory Theatre); Theatre of the Mind (DCPA); Kinky Boots (The Arvada Center); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Odyssey, and Pericles (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); It’s a Wonderful Life (Breckenridge Backstage Theatre); and Above/Below (Broken Box Mime). Her educational credits include: ShakesFear, Gallathea, Climate Cabaret, and Spring Awakening (CU Theatre & Dance). Kelsea will be graduating this spring with her BFA in stage management from the University of Colorado Boulder. She is extremely grateful for the opportunities she has had throughout her undergraduate career and cannot wait to see what post grad life has in store for her.

Ying-Syuan Zeng

USITT Makeup Design Award sponsored by Kryolan Professional Make-up

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Ying-Syuan Zeng had discovered her love for visual arts at an early age. Yet it took her quite a long route from learning painting, graphic design, editing, making costumes to then being able to realize it is building out her imagination that makes her so happy. For her, theater and film were the magic land that put everything together. So, she took a turn and hopped onto the path of costume design for theater. Now she is exploring the new world in prosthetics, props, wigs & makeup, and scenic art with the goal, and passion, of combining all those elements together to bring her imagination into reality.

Huhao Yang

Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award

Huhao Yang is a sound design graduate student in the Department of Theatre at Purdue University, who has done extensive work in the field of sound production. During his undergraduate period in China, he participated in professional audio work with various units including the China Central Television and Zhejiang TV & Radio Group. He also received the 5th Sound Academy Award from the China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers for his film sound works. After coming to the U.S., Huhao is actively involved in various theater and live productions while chasing his MFA degree. Huhao has served as sound designer and engineer for many theatrical productions staged by Purdue University, and he also actively participated in off-campus internships. He followed Chicago-based production company Centerstage and participated in many large corporate conference productions such as Toyota and Wyndham. As a young sound designer, Huhao’s motto is to embrace infinite possibilities. He has the enthusiasm to devote himself to the sound field he loves and contribute his strength to more wonderful shows. He hopes to further improve himself at Purdue Theatre and become an outstanding sound artist and sound engineer in the future.

 

Cole Zwilling

Bernhard R. Works Master Crafts Award

Cole Zwilling is a senior theatre design and tech major at DeSales University focusing in prop construction, design, and management. They have been building props for the past 11 years, having done five years on the technical crew at their local summer stock in high school. They have been the University’s props manager and primary artisan since the start of their sophomore year and were the props artisan for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival this past summer. They have worked on over 50 regional, collegiate, and professional productions since starting high school in 2015 and have designed props for three productions for a local middle school since their senior year of high school. Some of their most recent roles include props manager for Sound of Music, Silent Sky, and A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration at DeSales University with prop design work appearing in all three productions.