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In Memoriam: Jim Read, FASTC Theater Consultant

James “Jim” Read, FASTC 1933 – 2022

The American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) mourns the loss of longtime member and Fellow, James “Jim” Read, FASTC, who passed away on November 2, 2022. Read served as a President of the ASTC and was a constant presence at organization events. Even as he retired from consulting and moved to emeritus status, Read was often present online or in person, always contributing observations and information.Read More »In Memoriam: Jim Read, FASTC Theater Consultant

Fisher and Tipton the Ming Cho Lee Lifetime Achievement in Design Honorees

Legendary lighting designers Jules Fisher and Jennifer Tipton were each honored with the Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design, bestowed by the Henry Hewes Design Awards during the 58th annual awards ceremony on Oct. 24. “In honoring Jules Fisher and Jennifer Tipton,” said Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair of the awards committee, “we celebrate two pioneers who have given us so many important dramatic memories—and have lit the way for those who follow.”

The Callboard: The 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees

TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, proudly announced recently the 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees: Fred Voelpel, Eugene Lee, Dede Ayite, Michael Curry, and Caroline F. Siedle.

Early Career: The 1/52 Project Grantees

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.

2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees Announced

TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, is proud to announce that celebrated costume designer Fred Voelpel and legendary scenic designer Eugene Lee are among the 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Award recipients. Although Voelpel passed away in June, he will be honored posthumously with the TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design while Lee will receive The Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Additionally, costume designer Dede Ayite will receive the TDF/Kitty Leech Young Master Award and visual artist Michael Curry will receive the TDF/Irene Sharaff Artisan Award.

The awards ceremony will be presented through the TDF Costume Collection on Friday, October 7 at 6:30 p.m. at The Edison Ballroom. A pre-awards cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. This year’s TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards ceremony is being generously underwritten by The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.Read More »2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees Announced

Yale’s Drama School Goes Tuition-Free and is renamed David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University

A scene from Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Carl Cofield, Yale Repertory Theatre. Photo by Joan Marcus, 2019.

June 30, 2021—Present and future students at Yale University’s drama school will no longer pay tuition, thanks to a landmark $150 million gift from entertainment executive and philanthropist David Geffen, the university announced today. The donation—the largest on record in the history of American theater—makes the school the only institution of its kind to eliminate tuition for all degree and certificate students, removing financial barriers to access. In recognition of the gift, Yale School of Drama is now the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University.Read More »Yale’s Drama School Goes Tuition-Free and is renamed David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University