URTA Announces Recipients of 2020 Excellence Awards

URTA announces the recipients of the 2020 Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Training. The awards recognize outstanding work of undergraduate instructors, coaches, mentors, as well as institutions, for excellence in the training and preparation of undergraduate theatre artists.

This year's award recipients are:

Individuals:

Acting - Dr. Eve Graves, Clark Atlanta University
Costume Design & Technology - adjunct instructor Katie Curry, Concordia College
Lighting Design & Technology - professor Lonnie Alcaraz, UC, Irvine
Projection/Media Design - professor Bill Wallace, Hamline University
Scenic Design & Technology - Cathia Pagotto, Concordia University
Technical Direction - assistant professor David Pierce, Northern Michigan University

Institutions:

Acting - Clark Atlanta University
Design & Technology - Western Michigan University

URTA acknowledges the important contributions of these instructors and institutions in providing undergraduates with the essential skills needed to prepare for advanced theatre training, and ultimately to take their place in the profession. The two institutions, Clark-Atlanta University and Western Michigan University, will receive Candidate Awards, providing free registration for the URTAs to a student of their choice.

Awardees will be honored during the live-virtual URTAs in January 2021.

"Thank you for this honor," says Western Michigan Theatre chair Joan Herrington, "and for your recognition of the work of my amazing faculty and staff."

"I sincerely thank URTA for bestowing this great honor on the Department of Theatre and Communication Studies at Clark Atlanta University. Despite the size of our department, we are extremely committed to arts training in higher education," wrote dept. chair Dr. Eve Graves, "Clark Atlanta University was the first HBCU to recognize the importance of academic theatre training by offering biannual theatre classes in the late 1800s. Since those first classes in the 1800s we have been determined to elevate African American artistic culture through training and programming."

More than 1,200 candidates pursuing graduate training in theatre take part in the URTA Auditions & Interviews ("the URTAs") each year. The event also includes classes, workshops, and panel discussions on theatre topics of interest to both candidates and recruiters. In 2021, the URTAs will move online for a live-virtual event.