Award winners will receive:

• A complimentary full conference registration for the 2025 Annual Conference & Stage Expo
• $1000 Cash Award
• Commemorative Certificate
• Invitation to an award luncheon, which includes a chance to meet other award winners as well as the award sponsor.

Nominees must be an undergraduates in their junior or senior year, or a recent graduate (within the past two years).

Nominees must have a current student, early career, or individual membership at the time of submission.

An individual may self-nominate OR be nominated by faculty or another non-student professional who is a current USITT member.

Awards are open to all ages and recognize promising newcomers in each award area.

Award will be presented at the Annual Conference.

The 2025 Annual Conference will take place from March 5-8 in Columbus. Award Presentations are scheduled for Thursday, March 6 at 9 AM.

Nominations Open: September 3, 2024

Nominations Close: October 31, 2024 (11:59 PM EDT)

Review Period: November - December 2024

Award Notifications: January 2025

Award Presentation: March 6, 2025

The entry fee for each nomination is $25 (US Currency).

This fee must be paid by credit card by the nominee at the time of form submission.

All entry fees are non-refundable.

Read all guidelines carefully before submitting your application.

All applications must be submitted via the USITT Awards Portal to be considered.

Nominators must begin the nomination by filling out a brief nomination form. Nominees may self-nominate or be nominated by a faculty or professional. Nominator must be a current USITT member.

Upon receipt of a complete nomination form, USITT will email the nominee a link to complete their submission.

Required information:

• Nominee Contact Information: Name, email address, mailing address
• Nominee’s school attended or currently attending
• Graduation date (or anticipated graduation date)

Submission Materials:

• Resume (PDF Format)
• Letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
• The faculty member may an instructor, shop supervisor, theatre professor, department chairs, or other faculty mentors able to speak on behalf of nominee’s ability and competency as a designer.
• Nominee will provide recommender’s name and email address. The recommender will receive instructions via email to upload their letter directly into the submission portal. Nominee will not be able to upload or view the letter.
• Letter of Support
• Letter of Support may come from fellow collaborators, directors, choreographers, production team members, faculty members, or other working professionals.
• Personal Artistic Statement (Max. 300 words)
• The personal artistic statement articulates who nominee is as a collaborative artist. What is their creative working philosophy? What is their personal approach to scenic design?
• Five (5) digital image plates.
• A Plate refers to a single image or a collage of images, much like one page in a portfolio.
• Maximum size and resolution is 18 x 24 inches, 300dpi, 20MB.
• All plates must be in PDF format.
• Event/play/piece title, scene and character clearly labeled with an appropriately sized and colored, easy-to-read, well-placed font.
• It is recommended that the applicant submit materials for at least one (1) and a maximum of three (3) realized scenic designs.
• Submissions including multiple productions should be clearly organized displaying one show per plate.
• Multiple plates can be used for each show provided the total number of plates submitted do not exceed a total of five (5) plates.
• Organize the plates so that the development of the design is shown in a clear, concise, and thoughtful manner. Quality is better than quantity.
• On each plate, there must be one (1) full-stage production photograph including actors in costume under stage lighting. (minimum size of 5x7, 300 dpi)
• Supporting documentation should be legible (consider font size), labeled, and a reflection of the designer’s process
• The plates should be organized to show the designers process and implementation of the design choices as part of the production process. It is recommended that the applicant submit materials for at least one (1) and a maximum of three (3) scenic designs. Materials submitted should demonstrate aptitude in the following (but are not limited to):
• Composition (both in the actual work and presentation)
• Rendering and sketches (hand or digital)
• Model construction (photographs of white models, color models, and/or images of digital models)
• Graphics ability (hand or digital)
• Scene painting (analog or digital renderings, paint elevations, etc. Specify if you were the charge scenic artist)
• Craft work (scenic, properties construction, set dressing, etc. specify additional responsibilities.)
• Research (photographs, drawings, sketches, etc.)
• Computer applications (software, projection, new uses of technology, old discoveries of previously used technology, etc.)
• Personnel management (collaboration, communication, supervision of construction, painting, dressing, etc.)
• Resources (effective use of time, money, and people)

• For each production featured on the five (5) required plates, the applicant must submit a statement of conceptualization articulating the collaborative process within the costume designer, production team, and shop, research and development, communication with the run crew and others in the team and the ability to work within the parameters of the production as whole.
• May include but is not limited to:
• A statement reflecting your visual understanding of the performance and your use of the design to articulate these ideas.
• An observation of the overriding themes or motifs in support of a design idea.
• An application of visual research or period style(s) in support of the text.
• A collaboration with fellow designers, director, and choreographers that supports the potential of the design and process.

• An additional three (3) plates of material may be submitted for a maximum of eight (8) plates total.
• May include projects from other areas of scenic technology, entertainment technology, and/or further demonstrate additional artistic ability.
• This work may include classroom projects or realized work.

All USITT award nominees are required to submit a Professional Conduct Disclosure Form. This form will not be visible to the award jury and will only be reviewed by the USITT Ethics Officer.

This form is part of the submission and your submission will not be considered complete if it has not been submitted.

For more information, please review the USITT Honors and Awards Policy.

All nominations for the Young Designers’, Managers’, and Technicians’ Award will be reviewed by selected members of the USITT Commissions.

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:

• Quality, execution and appropriateness of design choices
• Demonstration of the artistic ability to communicate the design idea.
• Organization and presentation of the design idea (image size & quantity, labeling, legibility, and clarity, etc.)
• Communication of the design process: analysis to research, research to design, design to execution, and execution to production
• Adherence to the submission guidelines: plate size, format, and parameters. Submissions not adhering to the format listed will be considered ineligible.
• Written materials: clarity, articulation, and thoughtfulness

Judging process is overseen by the USITT Awards Committee and results are approved by the Board of Directors.

Nominees will be notified of the outcome of their requests via email after the Board of Directors has approved the results.

Award winners will be required to submit additional information via the submissions portal, including a W9 form and RSVP to any Conference events. Failure to submit this information promptly may delay award processing.

USITT will publicize award winners utilizing official channels including (but not limited to): website, social media, weekly newsletter, Technically Speaking podcast. Winners may be contacted for additional information for publicity .