Congratulations to all of our award winners! Our USITT Fellows will be honored on Thursday, 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!

USITT Fellows

Fellows achieve this recognition through many years of exceptional participation in various aspects of USITT and the entertainment industry. To USITT, the Fellows are members who are leaders in their craft or field and are an indispensable resource in continuing the work of the Institute, working together as peers to support the Institute in its advancement, fundraising, and outreach efforts. 

 

Holly Monsos

Holly Monsos is currently a faculty member at the University of Toledo. She has served as department chair there from 2005 - 2011 and spent 9 years as Associate Dean of the college before returning to the department in 2020. Prior to coming to UToledo, she spent several years as a cutter/draper in professional theatre including extensive work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and the San Francisco Opera. Since moving to Toledo, she has designed for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Opera, Toledo Repertoire Theatre, Montana Rep, Glacity Theatre Collective, and Ms. Unseen Productions in New Zealand, among others. Holly is active regionally and nationally with USITT, having served two terms as the Vice President for Members, Sections & Chapters in addition to holding several regional positions including Chair of the regional section, USITT/Ohio Valley.

"My first USITT conference in 1986 (Oakland) also led directly to my first professional job as a stitcher with San Francisco Opera. USITT has brought me a wealth of experiences, opportunities, training, and friendships ever since, both nationally and in my regional chapter, Ohio Valley. I am so honored to have been elected to the Fellows - and to have that happen in the same year as my long-suffering “little” brother makes it even more amazing. I am both surprised and grateful, and looking forward to continuing to contribute to the Institute through this new role.”

 

Michael Monsos

Mike Monsos is a professor of Scenic Design/Technology in Theatre & Dance at The University of Montana.  Mike has a BFA and an MFA in scenery and lighting design from UM as well as an MS in Architectural Studies from The University of Utah.  He has worked and designed for many regional theatres including the Idaho Repertory Theatre, Montana Repertory Theatre, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Missoula Children’s Theatre, and the Bigfork Summer Playhouse.  In addition, Mike has been a contributing author for the book, Late & Great: American Designers 1960-2010, published by Broadway Press and USITT and for the upcoming book, World Scenography 1990-2005 Vol 2 published by OISTAT.  Mike has also had several articles published in Theatre Design & Technology (TD&T).  Beyond writing, designing and teaching, Mike Chaired the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission for 8 years and is active in USITT, where he has served on our Board of Directors and on the Publications, International and Conference committees for many years.  Mike also served as the Project Manager, in charge of the construction of the exhibits from the United States in the 2011 Prague Quadrennial.  Mike and his wife Darci have two boys; Trevor and Nick.

“My first USITT conference was in Minneapolis in 1987. Obviously, at that time, I had no idea how meaningful my relationship with this organization would be. But as I look back on my career, I realize that many of the most profound experiences, opportunities, and friendships I have gained in this profession are because of USITT. To be named a Fellow in an organization that benefits, educates, and supports theatre technology at such an astoundingly high level is an honor that humbles me.”
 

Tony Hardin

Tony Hardin serves as the director of the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. Passionate about theatre education since his very first undergraduate theatre class, Hardin holds a B.F.A. in design and technology from the University of Kentucky and an M.F.A. in scenic design from the University of Virginia. As a faculty member at the University of Kentucky, Hardin taught courses in scenic design, lighting design, scenic painting, introduction to theatre, and stage management. Additionally, Hardin designed the scenery and lighting for many of UK's productions and supervised the work of student designers. Before the University of Kentucky, Hardin was an assistant professor at Longwood University in Virginia.

As a freelance scenic and lighting designer, Hardin's work has appeared in a variety of venues nationally and internationally such as Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in Ohio, Heritage Repertory Theatre in Virginia, Mount Washington Valley Theatre in New Hampshire, Greenbrier Valley Theatre in West Virginia, The Lexington Children’s Theatre in Kentucky, and Operafest Internacionale in Italy. Some of his favorite designs include Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Cabaret, Treasure Island, The Snow Queen, and The Neverending Story. 

Hardin received the Marvin Simms Design Fellowship sponsored by the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF) in 2006 and as a result, spent time with Broadway designers Ming Cho Lee and Constance Hoffman at the Kennedy Center for the Arts. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for USITT.