Goodman Theater Hosts MICHAEL MERRITT DESIGN AWARDS 5/3

The 17th Annual Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration program, posthumously honoring and celebrating the work of lighting and set designer Michael Philippi (Desire Under the Elms, Death of a Salesman), "an esteemed longtime collaborator and friend", will take place on Monday, May 3, at the Goodman Theatre. Scenic designer Collette Pollard (The Illusion, Stoop Stories) will receive The Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award.

There will also be a presentation of three student scholarship recipients representing The Theatre School of DePaul University (scenic designer Williams G. Wever), Northwestern University (costume designer Jeremy Floyd) and from Columbia College Chicago for The John Murbach Scholarship for Collaborative Design (lighting designer Wade Holliday). The doors open at 5 p.m., with a viewing of the fourth annual ‘Theater Design Expo', showcasing the works of over 50 Chicago-area emerging theatrical designers and a portfolio review of graduating design students from some of the finest programs in the country. Goodman Theatre's Artistic Director Robert Falls, a founding member of the Michael Merritt Endowment Fund Steering Committee, will lead a panel discussion from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. about the Goodman's experiences working with Michael Philippi in recent times and during his past tenure as fledgling artistic director of Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theatre Company.

Nathan Allen, Artistic Director of The House Theatre of Chicago, along with House Designer and this year's Emerging Designer Award Recipient, Collette Pollard, will join him to bring a more contemporary perspective of creating and sustaining a New Theatre Company in Chicago. The awards presentation will begin at 8 p.m. Attendees will enjoy a Chicago style supper buffet by Conn's Catering complete with beer, wine and soda from start to finish until 10 p.m. Tickets/Exhibitor Fees are $20 per person and $5 for students. For ticket reservations, phone (312) 369-6105 (credit card orders are accepted) AND email robmilburn@ameritech.net to reserve an exhibit space. The Goodman Theatre is centrally located in Chicago's Loop at 170 North Dearborn Street, in close proximity to I-55, I-90/94, I-290 and Lake Shore Drive, as well as all major CTA rail lines and many bus routes. Discounted parking is available for $19 at the Government Center Self Park, located directly adjacent to the theatre at the southeast corner of Clark and Lake Streets, and parking coupons will be available at the registration table in the Goodman Theatre lobby.

According to Rob Milburn, Composer/Sound Designer and Michael Merritt Endowment Fund Steering Committee Chair, "There is so much going on this year and we are very grateful for the involvement of all our committee members, who are among the top national theatrical designers, theatre professionals, and educators living and working in Chicago. Although many of them, like Michael Merritt and Michael Philippi, have worked all over the country, they consider Chicago their artistic home. Todd Rosenthal, Tony® Award and Lawrence Olivier Award-winning Scenic Designer and the 2009 Merritt Award Recipient and Committee member, has been reaching out to many of the best theatrical design programs nationwide. The response has been wonderfully overwhelming, compelling the committee to move the event to a larger venue this year. Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Artistic Director Martha Lavey, also a Committee member, have been generous hosts for the past several seasons. Committee members Phil Eickhoff, General Manager of the Briar Street Theatre, and Roche Schulfer, Executive Director of the Goodman Theatre, have helped ensure a smooth transition. For the first time this year, the Theater Design Expo will offer a Best of Show Prize, affording the winner an opportunity to exhibit with Chicago's best established professional theatrical designers at the new Merritt Awards Exhibit which will be featured as part of the Theatre Communications Group's Convention at The Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago this June. Committee members Robert Shook, Partner at Schuler Shook, Inc. Theatre Planners/Lighting Designers, Al Franklin, Production Manager of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and, Ana Kuzmanic, Costume Designer for August: Osage County, are leading the way to facilitating this important national exposure for our Chicago area designers. The Theater Design Expo attracts members of the Chicago theater community, including Directors, Production Managers and Artistic Directors, who are looking to staff their productions with new talent."

BIO BRIEFS:

Michael Philippi Lighting and Set Designer (1951-2009)
Michael Philippi passed away suddenly on his way to a technical rehearsal for High Holidays at the Goodman Theatre on October 27, 2009. He had most recently designed lighting at the Goodman Theatre for Desire Under the Elms as well as King Lear, Finishing the Picture, A Life in the Theatre, Heartbreak House, Blue Surge, Boy Gets Girl, Somebody Else's House, On the Open Road and Pal Joey. He also designed scenery and lighting for the Goodman's productions of Moonlight and Magnolias and The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?

Other Chicago credits include designs for Northlight Theatre, St. Nicholas Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Remains Theater Ensemble, Wisdom Bridge Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier, where he last designed sets for Cymbeline and Troilus and Cressida. Philippi's Broadway designs include the Goodman productions of Desire Under the Elms, Death of a Salesman and The Speed of Darkness. Philippi's regional credits include the new Guthrie Theater's inaugural production of The Great Gatsby and designs for ALLIANCE THEATRE, Arizona Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Mark Taper Forum and Arena Stage. His New York credits include Boy Gets Girl at Manhattan Theatre Club, Blue Surge at The Public Theater and Frank's Home and Breath, Boom at
Playwrights Horizons. His international credits include The Iceman Cometh at Dublin's Abbey Theatre. He has received Jeff Awards for Terra Nova and In the Belly of the Beast, both at Wisdom Bridge Theatre, and Hollywood Drama-Logue Awards for Kabuki Medea at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Changes of Heart at Mark Taper Forum. "The magic of Michael's light touched your life," said Bob Falls. "He was a gifted artist who responded with an extraordinary, innate understanding of and appreciation for every play he was designing." The Goodman Theatre hosted a Memorial Service in tribute and honor of his memory on December 14, 2009.

Collette Pollard Scenic Designer
Collette Pollard is a scenic designer based out of Chicago. Her recent design credits include The Illusion at Court Theatre, The House on Mango Street at Steppenwolf Theatre, Stoop Stories at Goodman Theatre, Arsenic and Old Lace at Northwestern University, Girls vs. Boys at Northwestern University's American Music Theatre Project and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at the Writers' Theater. Collette is currently working on A Streetcar Named Desire at Writers' Theatre. Her work has also been seen at Timeline Theatre Company, Next Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre, About Face Theatre, and many more. Regionally her credits include Kansas City Repertory Theatre's The Glass Menagerie, Stoneham Theatre's production of The Sparrow and The Wiz at Milwaukee's First Stage Theatre. Collette is a company member at The House Theatre of Chicago where she has been a scenic designer in residence since 2004. She recently designEd Wilson Wants It All and Girl vs. Boys. Other House Theatre Credits include Dave Davinci Saves The Universe, Curse of a Crying Heart, The Sparrow, The Nutcracker, The Magnificents and Rose And The Rime. Collette also designed Joan Dark and Maria Stuart for Linz09 in Linz, Austria. Originally from San Jose, CA, Collette was drawn to Chicago for school where she received her BFA with honors in scenic design from the Theatre School at DePaul University. She earned her MFA from Northwestern University and is teaches at Columbia College Chicago.

The Michael Merritt Endowment Fund honors the memory of a brilliant designer, inspirational teacher, and good friend who died in 1992 at the age of 47. Established in 1993, the Endowment honors Michael Merritt's vision, energy, and passionate devotion to collaboration between theater artists. By acknowledging established theatrical designers, and encouraging the endeavors of students and emerging professionals, the Endowment preserves the legacy of a great and nurturing designer. Previous Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration honorees include Loy Arcenas, John Arnone, Christopher Akerlind, John Lee Beatty, Gabriel Berry, John Boesche, Robert Brill, Linda Buchanan, David Budries, Pat Collins, John Conklin, Deborah M. Dryden, Ralph Funicello, Jane Greenwood, Wendall K. Harrington, Susan Hilferty, Donald Holder, Allen Lee Hughes, James F. Ingalls, Nan Cibula-Jenkins, Virgil C. Johnson, Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, Santo Loquasto, Tom Lynch, Rob Milburn, Derek McLane, Martin Pakledinaz, Kenneth Posner, Todd Rosenthal, Paul Tazewell, Jennifer Tipton, Michael Yeargan and Cathy Zuber. Past Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award recipients include Thomas Burch, Kevin Depinet, Michelle M. Habeck, Lindsay Jones, Ana Kuzmanic, Shannon McKinney, Keith Parham, Elizabeth Shaffer and Jaymi Lee Smith.

Members of the Michael Merritt Endowment Fund Steering Committee include: Rob Milburn, Chairperson; Mary McDonald Badger, Past Chairperson; Robert Shook, Past Chairperson, Joseph Appelt, Gary Baugh, Christine Binder, Michael Bodeen, John Boesche, Linda Buchanan, Kate Buckley, Phil Eickhoff, Robert Falls, Al Franklin, Sydney Smith Gordon, Julie Jackson, Nan Cibula-Jenkins, B.J. Jones, Nick Keenan, Irma Krasnopolskaya, Martha Lavey, Frances Maggio, John Mahoney, David Mamet, Joan Mazzonelli, Dean Merritt, Charles Newell, Sheldon Patinkin, Jacqueline Penrod, Kevin Rigdon, Todd Rosenthal, Jane Nicholl Sahlins, Roche Schulfer, Anna Shapiro, Joyce Sloane, Chuck Smith, Jennifer Smith, Joseph Tilford, Dixie Uffelman, Kathrene Wales, Dennis Zacek and Michael Maggio, Founding Chairperson.

The 2010 awards program and fundraising event is co-hosted by the Michael Merritt Endowment Fund Steering Committee at Columbia College Chicago and the Goodman Theatre. Sponsors include Dick Blick Art Materials, Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc., J.R. Clancy Inc., Schuler Shook and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.