USITT 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award Winners
The USITT Distinguished Achievement Awards honor individuals who have established meritorious career records in specific fields of expertise in any area of design or technology in the performing arts or entertainment industry.
Costume Design: Terri Purcell
Purcell graduated with a BFA in costume design from The University of Texas at Austin in 1986, where she was a student of Dr. Paul Reinhardt. After moving to New York, she started doing wardrobe jobs, and worked at Manhattan Theatre Club for two years before working on Broadway wardrobe crews. She has supervised many shows including: Side Show, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Drowsy Chaperone, Billy Elliot, Matilda, Something Rotten, and most recently, Mean Girls. She’s been a proud member for 31 years of the Theatrical Wardrobe Union, Local 764. Purcell also spent many years with Jacques d’Amboise’ National Dance Institute and recently was a Design Mentor with Vanguard Theatre Company, whose goal can be described with the acronym DREAM-Diversity, Reciprocity, Education, Activism and Mentorship.
Scene Design: Donyale Werle
Werle (she/they) is a Tony, Obie & Lortel winner designing sets for shows and live experiences in NYC & regionally for 20+ years. She is a proud member of USA Local 829, Design Action and sits on various committees regarding activist causes in the industry, most notably sustainability practices and fair wage and working conditions for designers. Werle teaches sustainability-based theater design skills classes in the graduate department of Brooklyn College. She has her MFA from NYU, a Horticultural Certificate from Brooklyn Botanic Garden and is working on a Landscape Design certificate from New York Botanical Garden. Werle and her husband own a small landscape design firm called Theater.Gardens.NYC.
Education: Dick Block
Block began his career as an educator over four decades ago after receiving his degree at Northwestern University. His association with USITT began in 1975 and he has been a member or chair on numerous panels, was instrumental in developing the student portfolio reviews at the annual Conference, organized the Young Designers’ Forum, as well as serving as a vice-Commissioner and then the Scene Design Co-Commissioner for six years. As an active member of KC/ACTF he was a Region II Design Chair and was the first National Design Chair. Block is an Associate Head of the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University where he has been on the design faculty and is the author of Scene Design and Stage Lighting, now in its 10th edition. His design work has been seen at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Human Race, The Warehouse Theatre, The Virginia Stage Company, The Pittsburgh Public Theatre as well as at James Madison University and University of South Carolina.
Lighting Design: John McKernon
McKernon graduated from NCSA in 1975 and immediately moved to New York, assisting A. Christina Giannini with costumes for many projects and scenery for Robert Wilson’s Einstein on the Beach. From 1979 to 1984, he was a partner in Triangle Scenic Artists, a scene painting studio that did work for clients including the Michigan Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Kennedy Center. During this time he was also designing lighting for Pauline Koner, Santa Barbara Ballet, and other dance companies. In New York, he lit Othello at the Roundabout Theatre and a variety of Off-Broadway productions. He also began teaching himself computer programming and writing the application that is now Lightwright®. McKernon began working with Ken Billington in 1984 as his associate in charge of architectural lighting, including restaurants and clubs in NYC and Japan and the renovation of Sea World Orlando in 2002. Since then, he has worked with Billington on 12 Broadway shows, including Chicago, The Red Shoes, Inherit the Wind, and An Evening With Jerry Herman. McKernon kept his own lighting design career going, including Vernel Bagneris’ Jelly Roll and One Mo’ Time, the Signature Theatre production of The Trip to Bountiful, the Actor’s Fund performance, starring Chita Rivera, of The Visit and the Roundabout Theatre production of Othello. Today, Lightwright takes center stage in McKernon’s career.
Sound Design: Michael K. Hooker
Hooker is currently Professor of Sound Design and Composition for Theatre at the University of California, Irvine where he heads their sound design MFA program. Prior to UCI, he was Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where he created their MFA and BFA programs in sound design. Prior to CCM he developed and headed the sound design program at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Hooker has designed sound and/or composed music for more than 125 productions including Looped for its Broadway run and subsequent national tour. His work has been heard at numerous regional theaters as well as internationally. He also works themed entertainment productions globally and spent six years as Senior Media Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering.
USITT 2022 YDMT Award Winners
The USITT 2022 Young Designers, Managers, & Technicians (YDMT) Awards bring recognition and support to young designers, managers, and technicians at the beginning of their careers.
- KM Fabrics Technical Production Award – Cam Camden, pursuing a MFA in the Technical Design & Production Program at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Holds a BA in Theatre Arts with a focus in Technical Direction from the University of Miami.
- The Barbara Matera Award for Costume Making – Emma Craig, pursuing a MFA in costume technology from the University of Texas at Austin. Holds a BA degree from Western Washington University in Theater (Costume Design).
- Richard Hay Undergraduate Scene Design Award – Maggie Nelson, pursuing a BFA in scenic design with a second emphasis in Scenic Art at The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.
- Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award – Zhang Yu, pursuing a MFA in costume design at the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. He is an Elizabeth Schrader Kimberly Fellow.
- Bernhard R. Works, Frederick A. Buerki Scenic Technology Award – Hyejin Son, pursuing a MFA in the Technical Design and Production program at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. Holds a MA in Performing Arts from Sangmyung University.
- Barbizon Lighting Company Jonathan Resnick Lighting Design Award – Denisse Chavez, pursuing a graduate degree in Lighting Design at Purdue University. Holds a BA in Theatre Arts from The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.
- USITT Stage Management Award – Sarah Bauch, pursuing a MFA in Stage and Production Management at Carnegie Mellon University. Holds a BA in Technical Theatre from East Stroudsburg University.
- Bernhard R. Works Master Crafts Award – Riley Lathrom, pursuing a BFA in Design Technology and Stage Management with an emphasis on Scenic Design at Missouri State University.
- USITT Scene Design Award Sponsored by Rose Brand – Kevin Lee McBee, holds a MFA in Scenic Design from UNCSA’s School of Design and Production.
