Congratulations to all of our award winners! Our winners will be honored on March 21, at our Awards Awards Awards ceremony in Seattle as part of our USITT24 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!

The Golden Pen Award

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 is the author of an outstanding, major, recent publication in the field of design and production for the performing arts.

This year’s winner is Christin Essin with her book Working Backstage

"I am thrilled for Working Backstage to be recognized by USITT with a Golden Pen Award. I held my first interview for the project at the Milwaukee conference in 2013, and my relationship with this organization shaped my perspective in many important ways. This is the readership I always imagined for the book. Thank you."

Working Backstage illuminates the work of New York City’s theater technicians, shining a light on the essential contributions of unionized stagehands, carpenters, electricians, sound engineers, properties artisans, wardrobe crews, makeup artists, and child guardians. Too often dismissed or misunderstood as mere functionaries, these technicians are deeply engaged in creative problem-solving and perform collaborative, intricate choreographed work that parallels the performances of actors, singers, and dancers onstage. Although their contributions have fueled the Broadway machine, their contributions have been left out of most theater histories.

Theater historian Christin Essin offers clear and evocative descriptions of this invaluable labor, based on her archival research and interviews with more than 100 backstage technicians, and members of the New York locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. A former theater technician herself, Essin provides readers with an insider’s view of the Broadway stage, from the suspended lighting bridge of electricians operating followspots for A Chorus Line; the automation deck where carpenters move the massive scenic towers for Newsies; the makeup process in the dressing room for The Lion King; the offstage wings of Matilda the Musical, where guardians guide child actors to entrances and exits. Working Backstage makes an significant contribution to theater studies and also to labor studies, exploring the politics of the unions that serve backstage professionals, protecting their rights, and insuring safe working conditions. Illuminating the history of this typically hidden workforce, the book provides uncommon insights into the business of Broadway and its backstage working relationships among cast and crew members.
 

Herbert D. Gregg’s Awards

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

Merit

Winter 2023 Naoko Skala

Publication: "Introducing Joruri Puppetry"

"It is a great honor for me to receive this special award. I cannot thank the TD&T editorial team enough, especially the chief editor, Eileen Curley. Her patience and continuous encouragement are phenomenal. I would also like to thank Awaji Ningyo Joruri Museum, Awaji Puppet Theatre, and National Bunraku Theatre for kindly allowing me to use their resources. I truly appreciate The College of Wooster for giving me this excellent opportunity to research and all my students for making me a better researcher and educator. Without my husband, Joseph Skala, I could not write this article. His endless support and love moved me forward. Last but not least, my mother, Junko Ishizuka. I cannot thank her enough for letting me come to the United States and study theatre. Without her, I would not be here today."

Merit

Fall 2022 Mark Reaney

Publication: "Teaching Lighting Design with Computer Modeling"

"I am thankful to the Institute for this wonderful award. I am delighted as much as I am surprised. I am also so very proud that the USITT has the insight and stature to encourage, support, and recognize research going on in our field, both academic and commercial."

Honor

Fall 2022 Anastasia Goodwin

Publication: "The Costume History Classroom as Laboratory"

"I am genuinely grateful and deeply honored by this recognition. From the bottom of my heart, I wish to thank my students, who inspire me and teach me every day. And my humblest thanks go to my colleagues who contributed their knowledge and insights to this piece, and all the incredible costume educators whose tireless work continues to make theatre a place to dream better futures into life!”

Honor

Winter 2023 Brant Thomas Murray and Dr. K. Camille Murray

Publication: "Placing Emotional Intelligence Center Stage"

“We are so honored to receive the Herbert D. Greggs Honor Award. Having the opportunity to write together to promote innovation in the theatre using Emotional Intelligence was a gift. Our thanks to Eileen Curley, Angela Hickman, and Janelle Welch for their editorial and graphic contributions to the final version of the article. Receiving this award is unexpected and we could not be more excited! Thank you!”