CANDIDATE AWARDS

Information on the Candidate Awards for the 2025 URTA Auditions & Interviews will be available on this webpage in September 2024. 

The Candidate Award information below is from the 2024 URTAs and is meant to serve as a reference point only.

URTA Candidate Awards provide free registration for the URTA Auditions and Interviews, including free admission to continuing education sessions and other programming. The Candidate Award is currently offered in several ways:

SOUND DESIGN

Recognizing the important growth in the field of sound design and the goal of introducing graduate study to students with backgrounds outside traditional theater, URTA offers a Candidate Award to all candidates in Sound Design.

ARTS LEADERSHIP

URTA is committed to increasing diversity among leadership in the American theater. To support those seeking training in areas including arts administration, theatre management, producing and arts entrepreneurship, URTA offers a Candidate Award to all candidates in Arts Leadership.

KENNEDY CENTER AMERICAN COLLEGE THEATER FESTIVAL

For 50 years, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival has served as a catalyst in improving the quality of college theater in the United States. KCACTF is a natural partner with URTA and to underscore our overlapping missions, URTA provides Candidate Awards to the following qualified KCACTF participants:

• National Finalists for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship
• SDC Directing Initiative Fellows
• National Finalists for Design Excellence (Scenic, Costume, Lighting, Sound, Projection Design)
• National Stage Management Fellows
• ASPIRE Arts Leadership Fellows
• National Finalists for Allied Design and Technology

URTA also supports the Kingsley Colton Award for Outstanding Partner with a $500 scholarship. The recipient is selected each year at the KCACTF national festival in Washington, D.C.

More information on the KCACTF Candidate Awards and eligibility can be found HERE.

SARAH NASH GATES AWARD

Sarah Nash Gates was a costume designer, educator, and President of URTA from 2007 to 2010. A founder of Theater Puget Sound in Seattle, Sarah Nash Gates was an early pioneer in promoting the professionalism of the costume design industry, helping to elevate the respect costume designers received in the workplace. In celebration of her lasting impact on the costume design profession and in continuation of her mentorship of early career professionals, the Sarah Nash Gates award will be granted annually to up to two costume design candidates returning to graduate school after working in the industry. The award recipient(s) will receive free registration for the upcoming year’s URTA Auditions and Interviews.

Prior to applying for the Sarah Nash Gates Award, candidates should review all URTA requirements and should have begun, but not submitted, their URTA application. To apply for the award candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Pursuing a graduate degree in costume design after working in the industry for a minimum of 3 years
• Planning to attend the upcoming year’s URTA Auditions and Interviews
• Have started, but not submitted, their URTA application

Applicants will need to submit the following to be considered for the award:

• The Sarah Nash Gates award application form
• A professional resume
• A brief essay on why they are pursuing graduate school at this time, what their professional goals are in the costume design industry, and how they hope an MFA will help them achieve these goals.

Applications should be submitted HERE by November 14, 2023 (11:59 pm, Eastern). The selected recipient(s) will be notified by November 21, 2023 and will be sent instructions on how to redeem their free URTA registration.

This award is generously funded by Holly Poe Durbin in memory of Sarah Nash Gates.

PAY-IT-FORWARD CANDIDATE AWARDS

Each year, candidates for the URTA Auditions and Interviews may opt to donate as little as $1 to the Pay-it-Forward fund, which supports awards to candidates based on personal hardship and other considerations. Donations to the Pay-It-Forward fund will be matched by Acceptd.

Candidates interested in applying to receive a Pay-It-Forward award for the current URTA application cycle should review the application requirements and apply below. A limited number of awards are open to eligible candidates who demonstrate need for a registration fee waiver. Candidates should first fully complete their URTA application up to the point of payment, then stop and save. They should then complete the award application below, in which they will submit a short personal essay outlining their need for the support, and why they are seeking a graduate degree at this time, as well as provide a letter of recommendation from a colleague, mentor, employer, or teacher, speaking to the candidate’s need and deservedness of the award.

Completed award applications and accompanying materials should be received via the online submission form by November 5, 2023 (11:59 pm, Eastern). We are unable to accept applications after the November 5 deadline. Award recipients will be notified by URTA via email by November 21, 2023, at which point they will have 3 days to redeem their award and submit their URTA application on Acceptd. Those that do not complete their registration in this time will forfeit their award.

EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The URTA Excellence Awards in Undergraduate Training were established to recognize undergraduate instructors, coaches, mentors and their respective institutions for excellence in the training and preparation of undergraduate theatre artists, URTA recognizes one coach/mentor in each discipline annually, as well as two institutions – one in acting and one in design and technology. Recipients are selected by teams of adjudicators, based on a review of candidates’ materials and preparedness at the URTAs. The two institutions each receive a Candidate Award for a student attending the following year’s URTA Auditions and Interviews.

2023 Award Recipients

Individuals
Acting – Assistant Professor Amelia McClain, University of Evansville
Costume Design & Technology – Assistant Professor Whitney Locher, Oakland University
Projection/Media Design – Associate Professor Peggy Mead-Finizio, Saginaw Valley State University
Scenic Design & Technology – Professor Linda Roethke, Northwestern University
Technical Direction – Associate Professor Nolan O’Dell & Professor Reid Parker,  East Carolina University

Institutions
Acting – Temple University
Design & Technology – University of Texas at El Paso

2022 Award Recipients

Individuals
Acting – Dr. Baron Kelly, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Costume Design & Technology – Assistant Professor Larissa McConnell, Gustavus Adolphus College
Lighting Design & Technology – Assistant Professor Marissa Diaz, University of Texas at El Paso
Projection/Media Design – Associate Professor Price Johnston, Colorado State University
Properties Design – Professor John Saari, Greensboro College
Scenic Design & Technology – Associate Professor Milagros Ponce de León, Penn State
Technical Direction – Associate Professor Jonathan Shimon, University at Buffalo

Institutions
Acting – Idaho State University
Design & Technology – Arizona State University

2021 Award Recipients

Individuals
Acting – Assistant Professor Amelia McClain, University of Evansville
Costume Design & Technology – Professor Alessia Carpoca, University of Montana
Lighting Design & Technology – Professor Miguel Vando, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Projection/Media Design – Associate Professor Jessica Mueller, Belmont University
Properties Design – Assistant Professor Matthew Georgeson, Frostburg State University
Scenic Design & Technology – Professor Jason Foreman, Oklahoma City University
Sound Design & Technology – Professor Hideaki Tsutsui, University of Texas, El Paso
Technical Direction – Professor Daniel Volonte, Citrus College

Institutions
Acting – Norfolk State University
Design & Technology – University at Buffalo

2020 Award Recipients

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 – Associate Professor David Pierce, Northern Michigan University

Institutions
Acting – Clark Atlanta University
Design & Technology – Western Michigan University

2019 Award Recipients

Individuals
Acting – Associate Professor Jacqueline Duprey, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Costume Design & Technology – Professor Chrisi Karvonides, UCLA
Lighting Design & Technology – Professor Stanley Kaye, University of Florida
Projection/Media Design – Associate Professor Price Johnston, Colorado State University
Props Design – Assistant Professor Dyan Burlingame, University at Buffalo
Scenic Design & Technology – Professor Myung Hee Cho, UCLA
Sound Design & Technology – Assistant Professor Brian Redfern, California State University, Chico
Technical Direction – Associate Professor Ed Baker, Wichita State University

Institutions
Acting – Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Design & Technology – UCLA