Congratulations to our Publication Awards winners! Our Publication Awards winners will be honored on Thursday, March 6, at our Awards Awards Awards ceremony in Columbus as part of our USITT25 Conference & Stage Expo. Join us for the ceremony, and afterward be one of the first on the Expo floor as our winners drop the rope and open it for attendees!

Herbert D. Greggs Awards

The Herbert D. Greggs Awards promote innovative, in-depth writing about theatre design and technology in TD&T. Merit awards are also given.

Herbert D. Greggs Award (highest honor) and the Herbert D. Greggs Merit Award promote innovative, in-depth writing about theatre design and technology in TD&T. Named in honor of a highly-regarded former USITT General Manager, the Herbert D. Greggs Award was first given in 1979. The "Merit Awards" began in 1998.

Honor

Tom Zhang

"Imagining a MoreArtificially Intelligent Future" Summer 2024

Tom Zhang is a stage manager and educator originally from China. He is currently a Lecturer in Stage Management in the School of Theatre & Dance at the University of Florida. His favorite stage management credits include: The Threepenny Opera (UM Department of Theatre Arts), Something Rotten (Post Playhouse), and Turn of the Screw (Lyric Theatre at Illinois). His ASM credits include: Urinetown (Illinois Theatre), and The Adventures of Little Sharp-Ears (Lyric Theatre at Illinois). His current interest of research is the application of database and generative A.I. in stage management practices. He received his MFA in stage management from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. You can keep up with Tom's work on his website. 

"I'd like to thank Eileen Curley, the Editor in Chief of TD&T. Without her kind encouragement, guidance, and feedback, this article wouldn't exist! I'd also like to thank the faculty members of the MFA Stage Management program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, including Cindy Kocher, Terri Ciofalo, Amber Schultz, and Maria Miguens, who gave me a lot of encouragement and inspiration in my journey of exploring technology and stage management.

It gives me faith that this research has unique value in itself and worths continued experiment, research, and exploration. Despite many different opinions in my field about AI, I will continue my work in exploring the application of AI in stage management, to develop more open-source, accessible, and free web applications, to hopefully bring convenience and efficiency to more stage/production managers." - Tom Zhang

Merit

Clifton Taylor

"Illuminating Lighting Education" Winter 2024

Clifton Taylor is an internationally recognized theatrical designer and lighting consultant. He is the recipient of a Knight of Illumination Award in the United Kingdom and several awards in the US. Mr. Taylor’s project history has spanned the globe from China to Europe to South America, from Broadway to many corporate and architectural clients. Mr. Taylor is the author of the authoritative book on LED, Color and Light for Lighting Designers, “Color and Light: Navigating Color Mixing in the Midst of an LED Revolution” and is a sought-after speaker and lecturer, having recently spoken at Yale University and the University of Maryland. He is a former professor of Lighting Design at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He is a co-founder and co-director of the not-for-profit Studio School of Design, which is dedicated to life-long learning and broadening career access to the design professions. 

Mr. Taylor is also a fine art painter and exhibits his work regularly at galleries in North Carolina and New York. He is deeply involved in topics of color fidelity in lighting, the transition to LED sources, and Lighting Control in non-traditional spaces. He holds a Masters Degree in Adult Education from East Carolina University and a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. More information about his work can be seen at www.designcurve.com. His artwork can be seen here.

"I'd like to thank Dr. Christie Rhodes of East Carolina University's Graduate School of Adult Education for her mentorship and guidance.

It is so great to be recognized for my educational work and writing by the USITT. I'm very grateful for the support and encouragement that this award represents. I believe that continuing development of our educational practices is essential to creating and building accessible and sustaining careers in production for everyone." -Clifton Taylor

 

 

 

Oscar G. Brockett Golden Pen Award

The Oscar G. Brockett Golden Pen Award sponsored by USITT and the Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History and Criticism at the University of Texas - Austin, honors an outstanding publication in the field of design and production for the performing arts. The recipient of this award, first given in 1986, is the author of an outstanding, major, recent publication in the field of design and production for the performing arts.

 

David Bisaha

American Scenic Design and Freelance Professionalism

David Bisaha is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Binghamton University, State University of New York, where he teaches in the BA and MA programs. His research areas include theatre and performance design history, theatre labor studies, and the more recent history of immersive and participatory performance. His book AMERICAN SCENIC DESIGN AND FREELANCE PROFESSIONALISM was published by Southern Illinois University Press in 2022, and his research has been published in Theatre Survey, Theatre History Studies, Theatre & Performance Design, and The Routledge Companion to Scenography. You can keep up with David's work on his website.

"It's wonderful to be recognized by USITT for my research into the history of scenic design and designers. Knowing and interrogating our past helps us all imagine a better future, as artists and as workers." -David Bisaha