CINCINNATI, OH — Team Autumn, pictured here, was voted this year’s winner of the Rose Brand/USITT Action Design Competition at the USITT Expo March 18-21. Votes were tabulated via the Rose Brand Instagram and Facebook pages.
More details from Rose Brand (www.rosebrand.com):
Team Autumn included the following student designers:
- Sarah Schwartz, Southern Oregon University, Costume Designer
- Mitch Weisbrod, Southern Oregon University, Lighting Designer
- Batul Rizvi, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Scenic Designer
- Gatlin Douglas, University of Texas at Arlington, Technical Director
A second portion of the contest includes winner for best designer in each category, which is selected by a panel of industry experts. This year’s expert panel of judges was comprised of Tony Award winning costume designer Jane Greenwood, Douglas Schmidt, Terrence Spivey, and Norman Russell. Winners in each individual category were:
- Anne Suchyta, Wayne State University, Costume Designer
- Brian Sechrist, University of Alaska, Anchorage, Lighting Designer
- Batul Rizvi, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Scenic Designer
- Pamela Meadows, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Technical Director
Action Design is an annual student design competition sponsored by Rose Brand and USITT and takes place at the USITT Conference & Stage Expo. Student designers from around the country apply for a chance at one of the 16 coveted team spots. Once teams are selected, students work together to create the best scenic environment possible given limited supplies, limited time to design, and limited time to get to know their teammates.
To view photos of the completed booth designs visit http://bit.ly/actiondesignrecap2015.
A list of all Student Participants in the 2015 Action Design Competition:
Costume Designers:
- Bryant Villasana –Florida State University
- Mary Gietzen –Wayne State University
- Sarah Schwartz –Southern Oregon University
- Anne Suchyta –Wayne State University
Lighting Designers:
- Brian Sechrist –University of Alaska, Anchorage
- Kate Landon –Southern Oregon University
- Mitch Weisbrod –Southern Oregon University
- Katie Tanaka –Southern Oregon University
Scenic Designers:
- Alana Pichot –Southern Utah University
- Samantha Snow –Western Michigan University
- Batul Rizvi –University of North Carolina School of the Arts
- Douglas Puskas –University of Cincinnati Collage – Conservatory of Music
Technical Directors:
- Matt Levine –Southern Oregon University
- Dashiell Menard –San Francisco State University
- Gatlin Douglas –University of Texas at Arlington
- Pamela Meadows –University of Missouri-Kansas City
Special thanks to Emily Smith from Southern Utah University, Nicholas Rieker from Santa Rosa Junior College, and Haley Miller from University of Southern California for their technical and video assistance during the competition.
