Irene Sharaff Awards Announced; Richard Hudson Recognized for Sustained Excellence

Irene Sharaff Awards Announced; Richard Hudson Recognized for Sustained Excellence TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts has named costume designer Ann Hould-Ward and scenic designer Richard Hudson as it 2024 TDF/Irene Sharaff Award recipients. Hould-Ward will be honored with the TDF/Irene Sharaff Award for Sustained Excellence in Costume Design while Hudson will receive The Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Additionally, costume designer Machine Dazzle will receive the TDF/Kitty Leech Ascending Artist Award and Tricone, Inc. will receive the TDF/Irene Sharaff Artisan Award.

The awardees were selected by the TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards Voting Committee, which consists of leading members of the theatrical costume design community: Stephen Cabral (Chair), Dede Ayite, Gregg Barnes, Dean Brown, Linda Cho, Traci DiGesu, Lana Fritz, Jess Goldstein, Rodney Gordon, Brian Hemesath, Allen Lee Hughes, Holly Hynes, Dan Lawson, Anna Louizos, Katherine Marshall, Mimi Maxmen, David Murin, Sally Ann Parsons, Scott Pask, Robert Perdziola, Carrie Robbins, Alejo Vietti, Court Watson and David Zinn.

Hudson was born in Zimbabwe and trained at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed operas for Glyndebourne in Covent Garden, The Metropolitan Opera in New York, Teatro alla Scala, Maggio Musicale Florence, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Kent Opera, Opera North, Wiener Staatsoper, Munich, Chicago, Copenhagen, Athens, Bregenz, Amsterdam, Zurich, Barcelona, Madrid, Brussels, Houston, Washington, Venice, Pesaro and Rome. He has also designed for the Aldeburgh Festival, The Royal Ballet, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Royal Court, Almeida and the Young Vic. In 1988, He won an Olivier Award for the Jonathan Miller season at the Old Vic. His set designs for Disney's The Lion King have won him numerous awards including a Tony in 1998.

Hudson is also a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI). In 2003, he won The Gold Medal for Set Design at the Prague Quadrennial and in 2005 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Surrey.

Recent work includes Leopoldstadt (West End and Broadway), La Bohème, Gianni Schicchi (Greek National Opera), The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty (American Ballet Theatre), and Romeo and Juliet (Bolshoi Ballet).

Hould-Ward's credits include the original productions of Sunday in the Park with George (with Patricia Zipprodt) and Into the Woods, as well as the 2015 revival of The Color Purple. Machine Dazzle is known for working with the performer Taylor Mac. Tricorne has created costumes for hundreds of productions.

The awards ceremony will be presented through the TDF Costume Collection on Friday, April 5 at 6:30pm at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street). A pre-awards cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. For ticket information call 212-989-5855 ext. 219 or email tdfsharaffawards@gmail.com .