The Emerging Creatives Showcase is an annual themed and adjudicated exhibition of designers, craftspersons and managers. These themes will help us showcase emerging talent that has, for the most part, been left unfeatured in this and other exhibitions of rising talent. The cohort for this year's exhibition will feature Hispanic and Indigenous Designers and Technicians. ECS is open to anyone who wishes to apply.
Selected Participants Receive:
- A complimentary full conference registration for the 2025 Annual Conference & Stage Expo
- A certificate of participation
Applicants must be in the final year of graduate or undergraduate training program or a recent graduate (within 5 years)
If accepted into the program, applicants must be or become a USITT Member.
The 2025 Exhibit will feature Designers and Craftspersons of Middle Eastern, Southwest Asian, and North African descent, but ECS is open to anyone who wishes to apply.
We will be featuring a different cohort each year. If there is a low number of featured applicants, we will fill in with the remaining applicants. >
Applications Open: October 1, 2024
Applications Close: December 13, 2024 (11:59 PM EDT)
Review Period: December-January 2025
Selection Notifications: Late January 2025
Read all guidelines carefully before submitting your application.
All applications must be submitted via the USITT Submission Portal to be considered.
Required information:
- Applicant Contact Information: Name, email address, mailing address
Submission Materials:
- Resume (PDF Format)
- Letter of recommendation from a faculty member or a professional
- For students, two letters of recommendation from faculty members at your school or one faculty member and one professional in your field of study with whom you have worked.
- For Early Career professionals, letters of recommendation from designers, directors, or producers with whom you have worked.
- Designers are limited to three productions, one of which must have been fully realized.
- Photographs should include event/play/piece title, scene, character, and other designers clearly labeled with an appropriately sized and colored, easy-to-read, well-placed font.
- Costume Designers should include examples of their process work such as preliminary sketches, or paperwork along with sketches (swatches for built items) and realized work should include production photo(s).
- Scene Designers should include examples of their process work such as preliminary sketches, ground plans, or final renderings and/or models. Realized productions should include a production photo(s).
- Lighting Designers should include a plot, associated paperwork, and the process you used to arrive at your design choices. Realized production work should include production photos.
- Sound Designers should include clearly identifiable links or digital files with selected cues plus organizational/paperwork such as sound plot and sound system design. Please include your process at arriving at your design choices.
- Craftspersons are limited to the following submissions, of which there must be at least one realized production:
- 8 (but no more than 12) examples of your work per project
- A photo collage portfolio plate is acceptable as a single example
- Maximum size and resolution are 18 x 24 inches, 300 dpi, 20MB
- PDF Format only
- Photographs should include event/play/piece title, scene, character, and the designers clearly labeled with an appropriately sized and colored, easy-to-read, well-placed font.
- Shop Managers should include work that gives a thorough presentation of the scope and complexity of at least one realized production
- Technical directors, lighting technologists, and sound technologists should include examples of drafting and associated paperwork.
- Costume technologists, craft artisans, and hair and make-up personnel may include photos of the project worn by the performer and detailed photos of the interior and exterior of each project.
- Prop and scene painting artisans must include detailed photos of each project and production photos are strongly encouraged.
- Work for shop managers, TDs, technologists, and craft artisans can include realized productions, classwork, or personal projects. The sampling portfolio should reflect the range of technical challenges that you can solve and provide details on the process and the finished quality of each project. Projects should include process information such as research, preliminary sketches, budget, work calendars or time spent, and materials information.
All applications for the Emerging Creative Showcase will be reviewed by a committee of designers from various disciplines.
No current USITT staff member may serve as a juror. Any reviewer with a conflict of interest is required to recuse themselves.
All submissions will be scored on a scale of 1-10 using the following criteria:
- Demonstration of Ideas
- Content and Organization
- Illustration and Explanation
- Performance venue design
- Explorations in new theater and acoustic technologies
- Functional operations of front of house and back of house spaces
- Sustainable design as part of the overall building
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their requests via email.
The drawings, photographs, and digital images of each entry will be used for unrestricted publicity. All materials submitted will be retained by USITT..