The 1/52 Project, the financial grant program founded by Tony Award-winning set designer Beowulf Boritt, has selected seven early-career designers as its first group of grant recipients. Each of the inaugural recipients will receive grants up to $15,000. The 1/52 Project launched in January 2022 with the goal of providing financial support to rising designers from historically excluded groups with the aim of diversifying and strengthening the Broadway design community.
“I know I am extraordinarily lucky to be able to make a living as a theatre designer, much less to have the opportunity to do it on Broadway. Part of that luck was being born a middle-class white boy. The goal of The 1/52 Project is to give a little encouragement to a talented group of early-career designers for whom doors may open less easily,” said Beowulf Boritt. “In supporting them, we hope to strengthen and diversify the profession. I’m immensely grateful for the generosity of the Broadway community for funding the idea and the hard work of the 1/52 Grant Committee for the impossible task of choosing from a large group of very talented applicants.”
The grant criteria were created and adjudicated by The 1/52 Project Steering Committee, a world-class committee of BIPOC professional designers volunteering their time: Tony-nominated Costume Designer Dede Ayite, Projection Designer David Bengali, Set Designer Wilson Chin, Lighting Designer Alan C. Edwards, Tony-winning Sound Designer Kai Harada, Set Designer Kimie Nishikawa, Tony-winning Costume Designer Paul Tazewell, Costume Designer Alejo Vietti, and Costume Designer Anita Yavich.
The 2022-23 Grantees
Projection Designer Brittany Bland is a storyteller who has dedicated her life to the proliferation of empathy. Bland’s work explores emerging media and technology’s role in performance. Originally from Atlanta, GA, she holds a BA from Catawba College & MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama. Her recent design credits include Goddess (Berkeley Repertory Theater), Twelfth Night (Classical Theater of Harlem), A Dozen Dreams (En Garde Arts), and Seize the King (Classical Theater of Harlem).
Sound Designer Everett Elton Bradman’s 2021-2022 composer/sound designer credits include West Coast premieres (Trayf at the Geffen Playhouse), audio dramas (Aurora Theatre’s The Bluest Eye), student productions (UC Riverside’s Red Oleanders), Zoom theater (Actors Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet: Louisville 2020), podcasts (Z Space/Word for Word’s Retablos trilogy), filmed theater (San Francisco Playhouse’s Hieroglyph), hybrid visual/audio (New Conservatory Theater Company’s Interlude), and outdoor performances (Oakland Theater Project’s The Waste Land).
Projection Designer Stefania Bulbarella is a Video and Projections Designer from Buenos Aires, Argentina based in Brooklyn, NY. Off Broadway credits include: Space Dogs (MCC), Semblance (New York Theatre Workshop), The Watering Hole (Signature Theatre), Will You Come With Me? (The Play Company), Turtle on a Fence Post (Theatre 555), Eva Luna (Repertorio Español). Opera: Letters You Will Not Get (American Opera Project). Regional: House of Joy (St Louis Rep), The Mountaintop (Weston Playhouse). Nominations: Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Video/Projection Design for Space Dogs.
Set Designer Jessica Alexandra Cancino Gonzalez is a multidisciplinary Venezuelan artist, with a background in scenic design, scenic art, sculpture, and art installation. She explores how space sculpts our experiences and reframes stories to invite access to other’s perspectives. She was nominated for the Helen Hayes for outstanding Set Design in 2020 and was the Scenic Design Kenan Trust Fellow at the Kennedy Center in 2016. She is a USA829 Scenic Designer and Scenic Artist member based in NYC.
Costume Designer Frank Cazares is a costume designer known for his imaginative use of unconventional materials and a fine eye for detail. Cazares has been a finalist in the national Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest for several years (including this year) and was a featured contestant on the Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Challenge on TLC in 2019. Work experience includes Walt Disney Entertainment, Royal Caribbean Entertainment, independent feature films, and regional theatre companies.
Sound Designer Jordan McCree (he/him) is a percussionist, producer, composer, sound designer, and teaching artist based in Philadelphia. His recent collaborations include: Cherdonna Shinatra, Bearded Ladies Cabaret, Arden Theatre Company, Ninth Planet, Wilma Theater, Theater Horizon, and Care Not Control Campaign. He is also a member of Philly-based hip hop collective, ILL DOOTS. ILL DOOTS’ latest album, The Message, is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and more.
Costume Designer Jingyi Johanna Pan is a Costume and Scenic designer for Theatre, Film, Dance and Opera, a textile and visual artist, host and co-producer of the podcast Dirty Laundry: Unpacking the Costume Closet. Born and raised in Singapore, Pan’s artistic practice is centered around decolonizing the imagination, breaking down the notions of feminized labor, and anti-racism. They continue to harbor hope for a more sustainable humankind in the face of adversity and dreams of a future of a better world.
The 1/52 project is funded by designers with shows running on Broadway who are asked to donate one week of their weekly royalties (AWC) to this fund. However, anyone is welcome to make a tax-deductible contribution at: www.oneeveryfiftytwo.org/contribute. The 1/52 Project is partnered with TheFrontOffice Foundation and its fiscal sponsor, the Players Philanthropy Fund.
