KCACTF Design & Technologies
National Chair, Design and Technologies – Karen Anselm, Bloomsburg University
National Vice-Chair, Design and Technologies – Gweneth West, University of Virginia
National KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence and Allied Design and Technologies Award
Purpose:
The purpose of the KCACTF response and presentation of awards is to provide student designers and technicians with feedback from professionals working in the field; to give outstanding student designers and technicians national recognition; and to provide the opportunity for outstanding student designers to exhibit their work at the Kennedy Center and/or USITT. Designs and other allied crafts will be appraised on the basis of quality, effectiveness, originality, and visual presentation techniques.
Students who have designed any aspect (scenery, costumes, lighting, sound, and allied crafts) of a production from a school who has entered that production as an associate or participating entry are eligible to participate in the awards process. At the time of registration with the Kennedy Center and Regional Chair, entering schools will inform the Regional Chair of any student designers in one or more of the categories. Please be sure to provide contact information, including email, for all student designers.
At the regional festival guest designers from outside of the region will respond to the projects of regional nominees who are present; they will select one winner in each area (scenery, costumes, lighting, sound, and allied crafts) from the regional design entries; such regional winners are therefore national finalists. Designs of the national finalists (scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound) will be on display during the KCACTF national festival in Washington, D.C., and will be returned to the designers immediately following it. A single national winner in scenery, costumes, lighting and sound will be selected from the national finalists by the national design respondents during the national festival. Designs of the national finalist for allied crafts will be exhibited at the annual USITT conference, and will be returned to the designers immediately following the conference.
National KCACTF awards finalists are eligible for several awards that will be given during the national festival. Examples of some are as follows:
1.Awards for National awards recipients: one student in each area (scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound) have included invitations to attend the Ming Cho Lee “Clambake” and the Prague Quadrennial International Design Festival held once every four years.
2.National awards recipients in scenery and costume design may be invited to attend the Kennedy Center 's Summer Intensives in Design Collaboration (normally the first two weeks in July). This fellowship awards participation in the Summer Intensives and includes a full tuition grant, per diem, shared lodging, all materials, and travel.
3.National award recipients in Lighting and Sound have been be awarded a full scholarships to participate in the O'Neill National Playwrights' Conference.
4.NAPAT Design Award: One designer, regardless of area, may be selected by representatives of the National Partners of the American Theatre. The recipient shall receive a week-long fellowship with the Korean based KANUA, fully funded by NAPAT.
5.USITT's publication, Theatre Design And Technology, will publish information on the winners of the national KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence.
6.National award recipients will be invited to exhibit their design display at the annual USITT Conference.
Design Entries:
A student will present those materials which most clearly tell the story of the process and evolution of the design.
Supporting materials that have proven most useful include combinations of the following: a design statement in outline form, research images, preliminary sketches, white models, color models, color sketches, drafting including sections, recording of sound cues and manipulations that lead to those compositions, design bibles, story boards, costume plates, fabric and trim swatches, costume plot, cue synopsis, production photographs, tracking sheets, and the like. This is in no way meant to be a definitive list. Choose elements that best articulate and document the conceptual approach and process.
General Information on the KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence Design and Allied Design and Technologies Awards.
Any student designer may take part in the KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence and Allied Design and Technologies as long as their school has entered the production as an associate or participating entry. Designs must have been realized and produced at their home institution. Designers must attend their regional festival, and display their designs and documentation.
The designer is responsible for developing a suitable method of shipping or delivering their design to and from the regional festival, including providing the appropriate mailing and insurance charges. Should they become a national KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence finalist, the designer is also responsible for shipping their design to and from the national festival, including providing the appropriate mailing and insurance charges.
A guest designer, or designers, from outside of the region will respond to the work of all regional nominees who are present at their regional festival, in a public forum. One regional winner (National KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence and Allied Design and Technologies finalists) will be selected in each area (scenery, costumes, lighting, sound, and allied crafts). The selection of national finalists shall include the guest design respondent/s; the selection process may include other guest respondents as determined by the regional Design, Technologies, and Management chair.
One regional KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence and Allied Design and Technologies award recipient – a national finalist – in each area (scenery, costumes, lighting, sound, and allied crafts) will be announced at the regional festival. National finalists in scenery, costumes, lighting and sound will be invited to exhibit their design display, and will attend, the national festival in Washington, D.C in April. Each Allied Design and Technologies regional award recipient will be invited to exhibit their design display and attend the annual USITT Conference.
KCACTF will provide national KCACTF awards finalists with travel, shared hotel accommodations and per diem for the period of national festival. Attendance at the national festival is not mandatory; however, many of the awards mentioned above are determined by a student's work and participation in workshops and master classes while at the national festival. Faculty mentors will be allowed to observe the national design response session on a space available basis; they are not able to observe other workshops or master classes held during the national festival week. Please see the “What Next?” page for further information on the national festival.
KCACTF will provide national KCACTF Allied Design and Technologies awards recipients with travel, conference fees, shared hotel accommodations and per diem for the period of the annual USITT conference.
National KCACTF award winners will be selected at the national festival, by national design respondent/s, solely on the basis of the response session for the submitted design and documentation of the relevant production.
National KCACTF awards finalists are welcome to bring their portfolio to the national festival at the Kennedy Center. Time permitting, national design respondents may be available to examine portfolios. However, portfolio material may not be presented until after the national KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence winners have been selected; the contents of the portfolio shall have no bearing on the selection of the national winners.
Please see Suggested Format for All Design Exhibits and What Next? Documents for further information
Regulations and Procedures for the KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence and Allied Design and Technologies Award:
1.Any student designer may take part in the KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence as long as their school has entered the production as an associate or participating entry. Designs must have been realized and produced at their home institution.
2.Only bona fide students are eligible for this award. A bona fide student is: a) an undergraduate student who is registered for a minimum of six semester hours or nine quarter hours at the time of production; b) a graduate student who is enrolled for three semester or four quarter hours at the time of production; c) a continuing part-time student who is enrolled in a regular degree program at the time of production.
3.Regional nominees must attend their regional festival, and display their realized designs and documentation, in order to be eligible for KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence and Allied Design And Technologies Awards.
4.The designer is responsible for developing a suitable method of shipping or delivering their design to and from the regional festival, including providing the appropriate mailing and insurance charges.
5.The timely delivery of such materials will be determined by the host of the regional festival. Alternatively, most regions may require that students bring their materials in person to the design exhibit space at a specifically scheduled time.
6.The complete design presentation normally is presented on a vertical surface. When size limitations require xerographic reduction of materials presented in scale, such out-of-scale reduction should be noted. Each region shall determine its own specific requirements as to space and presentation at their regional festival. Please check with individual regions for specifications and restrictions.
7.Should a regional KCACTF Awards for Theatrical Design Excellence nominee move on to the national festival in Washington, D.C. as a national finalist, an approximate space of 24 sq. feet, including a table surface, is normally provided to each regional winner.
8. Production photographs are very effective in documenting your design. At least three 8” x 10” color are recommended. Please note, inkjet prints on quality photo glossy paper are more effective than photos printed on regular stock paper
The KCACTF Allied Design and Technologies Award
The Award will be open to students who have completed major design or technology projects in areas including (but not limited to) makeup, projection, properties, millinery, masks, tech, wigs, scenic art, draping & tailoring, technical direction, puppets, special effects, costume craft, audio engineering, etc. on associate or participating productions.
Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas Awards For Excellence in Technology and Design
The Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas has partnered with KCACTF to award students from each region a one-week master class in the area of their choice. SILV classes may include Computer Drafting, Computer Modeling, Rigging, Automation, Props & SFX, Sound, Makeup & Masks, Wigs, Lighting Technology, Patterning, Projections & Video, and Moving Lights.
Each award includes a full tuition grant, housing, daily breakfast and lunch. Transportation is not included.
At each regional festival, a team of theatre design and technology respondents will select a student exhibiting outstanding achievement in their area of allied theatre technology, crafts or design as the award recipient.
