Media Contact: Priscilla Hunter, 312-344-7805, phunter@colum.edu or Micki Leventhal, 312-344-7383, mleventhal@colum.edu
Chicago, March 2003 -- The Chicago theater community will join together on Monday, April 28 to celebrate the contributions of two internationally renowned designers at the tenth annual presentation of the Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration. This year's awards will be presented to set designer Derek McLane and lighting and set designer Christopher Akerlind.
The Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award will go to Chicago-based lighting designer Jaymi Lee Smith.
Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand. Chicago Sun-Times arts Critic Hedy Weiss will begin the evening moderating a dialogue with the designers at 6:00 p.m., followed by the awards presentation. The evening will conclude with an 8:00 p.m. reception of hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer. Tickets, priced at $35 general admission and $5 for students, may be purchased by calling (312) 663-1124, Ext. 2.
Derek McLane has designed sets for numerous shows on Broadway and off-Broadway, regional and international productions, as well as television. In 2002, he designed six full productions for the highly acclaimed "Sondheim Celebration" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His work in Chicago has included several productions at the Goodman Theatre, most recently The Rose Tattoo, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. In 1997 he received an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Scenic Design.
Christopher Akerlind is an award winning lighting and set designer whose work has been seen in more than 300 productions at theater and opera companies across the country and internationally. He is the recipient of numerous awards including an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Lighting and Design. He is currently Director of the Design and Production program at the California Institute of the Arts.
Jaymi Lee Smith has worked as a freelance designer throughout Chicago for the past seven years. Her work has been seen in 34 cities nationwide as well as in Ireland, Scotland and Spain.
The Michael Merritt Endowment Fund was established in 1993 in memory of a brilliant designer and inspiring teacher who died in 1992 after a yearlong battle with cancer. In addition to sponsoring professional design awards, the fund provides annual scholarship awards to outstanding theatrical design students.
This year's recipients of the Michael Merritt Student Scholarship are Christopher Ventresca, DePaul University and Tom Burch, Northwestern University. The Endowment Fund's John Murbach Scholarship for Collaborative Design this year goes to Columbia student Jason Epperson.
Columbia College Chicago is the country's premier visual, performing and media arts college.