Ezekiel Awards & Design Expo:

Link to Nomination/Entry Form

Award/ Design Exhibit Guidelines

The Awards committee has established the following guidelines regarding submissions for the Peggy Ezekiel Awards and the Design Exhibit. All submissions for both the Ezekiels and the Design Exhibit follow a standardized format. This format allows Ezekiel award winners to be automatically included in the Design Exhibit . It also eases the mounting of this touring exhibit. All qualified submissions will be publicly displayed at the USITT/ Ohio Valley Section's annual Fall Conference.

Submission deadline for nomination and entry form is September 7th.

Submission deadline for actual work is September 30th.

Ezekiel Award submissions for this year must have been produced within the past year from June 1 - May 31 .

Design Exhibit submissions must have been produced within five years of the submission deadline. You may submit only work that has not been previously submitted for the Exhibit. Ezekiel Award winners and chosen Design Exhibit submissions will tour as the USITT/ Ohio Valley Section Design Exhibit for one year following the Fall Conference. USITT/ Ohio Valley Section will take reasonable measures to ensure the careful handling of all the entries. However, neither USITT/ Ohio Valley nor any exhibiting sight will be held financially liable for loss or damage.

The Format

All USITT/ Ohio Valley Section Peggy Ezekiel Awards and all USITT/ Ohio Valley Section Design Exhibit submissions:

- must be framed in a lightweight aluminum frame with hanging attachments and picture wire at back. Framed panels must not exceed 24"x 36"x ¾". "Glass" at front of frame must be acrylic sheet. Please, no real glass.

- must include entrants name, category (see nomination form) and name of production represented. Please include name, phone number and shipping address on the back of all panels.

- will include no original/ irreplaceable art work . Please include only photographs, color reproductions, blue/black line prints and copies. Please photograph scale models if you wish to include them.

- one panel must include a typed concept statement or description (not to exceed one page) which helps put the work in context for the viewer/ adjudicators. It should clearly state the entrants objectives, describe challenges and solutions and include information on the collaborative effort of the production team (for realized productions).

- will be limited to a maximum of two panels per entry.

- will be limited to a maximum of two entries per year.

- must include suitable, self addressed means of packing and shipping for return.

It is suggested that entrants include the following materials in their panels:

Costume Design

- renderings and sketches

- fabric swatches

- production photos

Lighting Design

- reduced plot and section

- lighting sketches

- color swatches

- production photos

Scenic Design

- renderings or photo of model

- reduced ground plan(s)

- production photos

Sound Design

- audio line diagram (a single line, schematic or block diagram graphically outlining how the system is interconnected). All icons should be labeled as to their specific function, make and model number. (Currently their is no USITT graphic standard for sound)

- reduced speaker ground plan and section indicating position of all equipment on stage, in pit and in the house including rough focus position of each unit

- sound cue list (sound plot)

- production photos

- photos including specials, practicals and unique installations

Technology/ Craft

- copies of original design sketches or renderings

- working drawings or sketches

- process photos

- production photos

- scaled floor plans/ Site Plan

- section through the theatre

- renderings and/or photo of the model

- description of Technical Theatre Systems, support spaces and project program
- project budget
- process of project photographs

In addition to the standard format for all submissions Ezekiel entrants
may include other support material with their submission. These
materials will be used during the adjudication process, but will not
be included in the exhibit. This material can include:

- a (3) ring binder with support paperwork (i.e. schedules, cue sheets, budgets, etc.) , full blue/black line prints and additional research.

- CD or cassette for sound entries (in 3 ring zip sleeve) containing examples of designed cues, music choices and /or original compositions. It is recommended that this recording be "self-narrative" with the designer's voice describing the content and design choice for each cue. The recording should be a maximum of five minutes.

The Design Exhibit

The Design Exhibit is intended to be a showcase of design work by the many talented members of the USITT/ Ohio Valley Section. All entrants must be members of USITT/ O.V.S. The Design Exhibit can include project work as well as realized productions. All submissions will be previewed by the Awards/ Exhibit Committee to assure that all qualified entries are included in the exhibit. All Ezekiel Award winners will be automatically included in the Design Exhibit.

Peggy Ezekiel Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Performing Arts

Peggy S. Ezekiel was one of the four original founders of USITT/Ohio (originally the Cleveland Section and now the USITT/Ohio Valley Section). Peggy, an active member a the national level, believed that there was a need for a more localized chapter of USITT that would serve the needs of the many theater people in Ohio. With that goal in mind she was instrumental in obtaining from USITT National the charter forming the Ohio Section. The section was at first regional and grew to encompass the entire state of Ohio. The section has continued to flourish. It now includes the Ohio Valley, western Pennsylvania and boasts membership throughout the rest of the nation. USITT/Ohio Valley sponsors regional conferences, workshops on national artists and productions and very active student chapters of USITT. Peggy Ezekiel only saw the beginnings of USITT/Ohio before she died tragically during the second year of USITT/Ohio’s existence. It was not long after Peggy’s death that the Peggy Ezekiel Award was established in her honor in 1985. The Peggy Ezekiel Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding achievement in Design and Technology for any produced work by a USITT/Ohio Valley Section member or for any produced work by a non- member for a production within the USITT/Ohio Valley Section. As a privilege of Section Membership each USITT/Ohio Valley member is entitled to nominate for an award any produced work done by a USITT/Ohio Valley member, including him/herself and/or any produced work within the USITT/Ohio Valley Section done by a non-member. Each member may nominate any number of persons for any number of awards Awards are presented in ten categories. The categories include: Architecture, Costume Design, Costume Technology, Lighting Design, Makeup and Wigs, Design/Technology, Scenic Craft, Scenic Design, Sound/Sound System Design, Technical Direction/Engineering and USITT/Ohio Valley Career Service Award. Each of these categories are divided into five sections: Academic (non-student), Community, Professional, Student/Undergraduate and Student/Graduate. (Work categorized as student is only for productions in an academic setting.) Shortly after the nominating deadline , those persons nominated for an Ezekiel Award will be notified of their nominations and be invited to enter their nomination by sending documentation of their work, by submission deadline to the Peggy Ezekiel Award Committee. Only nominees who send the requested documentation will have their work evaluated by the adjudicating committee. It is important to note that the intent of the Peggy Ezekiel Award is to be a recognition of outstanding achievement for work produced at all levels and is not a competition. It is an honor to have your work nominated for a Peggy Ezekiel Award. The Awards Committee evaluates each entry on its own merit and not against other work submitted. Recognition is presented at two levels. Work adjudicated to be excellent, outstanding in every respect receives the highest recognition - an Award of Outstanding Achievement. Work adjudicated to be of very good, highly deserving of recognition receives an Award of Distinction. There is no minimum or maximum number of awards presented at each level.

Adjudication Committee

An interdisciplinary committee of qualified professionals will be assembled to adjudicate the Ezekiels and screen all entries for the Design Exhibit. The committee will then meet privately to vote on Ezekiel Awards. Award winners will be announced during the Fall Conference. USITT/ Ohio Valley plans to send the work that receives the Peggy Ezekiel Award for Outstanding Achievement to the National USITT Design Exhibit or "Cover the Walls" at the National Convention in the Spring following presentation of the award. Award winners must be members of the National USITT to have work exhibited at the convention.

For more information please contact:

Professor Matthew P. Benjamin
Department of Theatre Arts
Wright State University
3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, OH 45435-0001
937-775-4569 (Office)
937-775-3787 (Fax)

Email Link:

matthew.benjamin@wright.edu