Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2018 - 52

Response session for the eight regional winners who present their Allied Crafts works at the USITT conference. Photo by Rafael Jaen.

ners in Washington waiting for awards
to be announced, I was so nervous and
distracted by the crowds that I didn't
hear my name being called as the costume winner that year," says Jeffrey Scott
Burrows, the national winner in 1981
for costume design. "My fellow designers started to poke and push me. They
were shouting 'You've won! Get up on
stage!' Well, I didn't know how to get
up on stage or to find the stage stairs. I
was confused about where to go. I was
so overwhelmed. I focused on the center
podium and headed straight for it and
just climbed up dead center, to the roar
of laughter from the crowd!"
Burrows has gone on to great success at the American Repertory Theatre
and Harvard University and recalls his
regional response as an instrumental
learning experience that he continues to
use in his own work.

'Mind Blowing'

The regional respondents are the workhorses of the organization, providing
evaluative feedback to production teams.
Some go to college productions and critique works being considered for invitations to perform at the regional festivals.
Others go to the regions to give feedback

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THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

WINTER 2018

directly to student designers' work on
display in the "Design Expo." Much like
USITT's biennial "Design Expo" and
"Cover the Walls" events, young designers bring their realized and non-realized
design work to the festival, have a set
amount of space to use, display their designs, and then later do a presentation of
their work. Each region has its own individual process for the presentations and
responses, but they all have one thing in
common-to encourage, recognize, and
celebrate every students' work.
Until recently, the incredible Ming
Cho Lee was the lead designer at the National Festival, and most of the past winners who were interviewed for this piece
recall his invaluable lessons. "All the scenic and costume designer students were
team taught by the great Ming Cho Lee
and Patricia Zipprodt for the week and it
was amazing," remembers Gregory Pulver of University of Portland and Artist's
Repertory Theatre, who won the 1993
costume design national award. "The
personal attention that we all got was
brilliant and the entire student group
bonded so well during that week. By the
end of the week, each one of us was rooting for the other to win. We all went out
to celebrate after the award ceremony.

Working with Ming Cho Lee was mind
blowing and many of his techniques I
still use in the classroom today."
Ingrid Proos, 2008 costume design
national winner, adds, "[Lee] changed my
approach to the design process and play
analysis quite significantly. After his workshop, I often come back to his questions
that stuck with me: 'Who are these people in this world that we are creating on
stage?' and 'Does it [design choice] serve
the play?'" Proos now works for the Hong
Kong Academy for Performing Arts as a
senior lecturer in costume technology. As
a young designer, she felt intimidated and
overwhelmed by the national festival, but
she relished the inspiration and countless
stimulating conversations with her fellow
design winners.

'Pure Joy'

Faculty, as well as students, are able to
benefit from KCACTF programming. As
a recipient of a faculty program through
KCACTF, I spent two weeks at the Kennedy Center alongside other faculty designers from around the country. This
"Artist in Residency" program was an intense workshop with Ming Cho Lee and
Linda Cho. It is no hyperbole to say that
those two weeks changed the way I de-

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