Prizes
The ASCAP Cole Porter Prize is awarded to students of Yale School of Drama for excellence in writing. The 2011–2012 recipient was John Jeppson.
The Edward C. Cole Memorial Award is sponsored by the Technical Design and Production Class of 1983 to commemorate the contributions of Edward C. Cole to the profession of technical theater. The recipients of this award, selected by their classmates in the graduating class of the Technical Design and Production department, best exemplify the ingenuity, creativity, craftsmanship, and dedication to the art of theater that are the hallmarks of the theater technician. The 2011–2012 recipient was Eric Chi-Yeh Lin.
The John W. Gassner Memorial Prize is awarded for the best critical essay, article, or review by a student published in, or submitted to, Theater magazine. The 2011–2012 recipient was Alexandra Kanach Ripp.
The Bert Gruver Memorial Prize is awarded to a student of Yale School of Drama for excellence in stage management. The 2011–2012 recipients were Catherine Marie Costanzo and Gina Noele Odierno.
The Allen M. and Hildred L. Harvey Prize, established by Jean L. Harvey to recognize superior work and writing by Technical Design and Production students, is awarded to the student author of the best article in Technical Brief and/or the best Technical Design and Production research thesis. The 2011–2012 recipient was Karen Marie Walcott.
The Morris J. Kaplan Prize is given to the third-year theater management student who most exhibits the integrity, commitment, and selfless dedication to high standards in the profession of nonprofit theater management that characterized Morris Kaplan’s twenty-year career as founding counsel to the League of Resident Theaters. The 2011–2012 recipient was Jaeeun Joo.
The Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize, established by Lily P. Kaufman in memory of her husband, Julian Kaufman, a 1954 alumnus of the Directing department who, through teaching at the secondary and university levels, touched the lives of countless young people, is awarded to a graduating directing student who has demonstrated talent in his or her chosen field of endeavor. The 2011–2012 recipient was Lileana Blain-Cruz.
The Jay and Rhonda Keene Prize is awarded to a student of Yale School of Drama who is studying costume design. The 2011–2012 recipient was Rebecca Lynn Welles.
The Leo Lerman Graduate Fellowship in Design, given by friends of the late Mr. Lerman and the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc., is awarded to students of costume design for the purpose of enabling them to study internationally upon their graduation from Yale School of Drama. The 2011–2012 recipient was Mark Edward Nagle.
The Dexter Wood Luke Memorial Prize, established by Jane Kaczmarek ’82, is awarded to a third-year student whose sense of curiosity and sense of joy have enriched the lives of his/her colleagues at Yale School of Drama. The 2011–2012 recipient was Shaminda Rohana Wijewardena Amarakoon.
The Mentorship Award, established by the Class of 2000, honors graduating Technical Design and Production students who, through action, attitude, or inspiration, have motivated their fellow classmates. The honorees are selected by the first- and second-year Technical Design and Production students. The 2011–2012 recipients were Shaminda Rohana Wijewardena Amarakoon and Michael Thomas Rohrer.
The Donald and Zorka Oenslager Travel Fellowship, established in 1996 through an estate gift from Zorka Oenslager, is awarded to design students who wish to study internationally upon graduation. The 2011–2012 recipients were Julia Chichieh Lee and Yi Zhao.
The Pierre-André Salim Prize is awarded to a third-year student whose artistry, professionalism, collaborative energy, and commitment to the community have inspired his or her colleagues, and who shows distinct promise of raising the standard of practice in the field. The 2011–2012 recipient was Lileana Blain-Cruz.
The Frieda Shaw, Dr. Diana Mason OBE, and Denise Suttor Prize for Sound Design is awarded to graduating students in Sound Design to recognize distinctive breadth of achievement, artistry, and leadership. The 2011–2012 recipient was Kenneth Chamberlain Goodwin.
The Oliver Thorndike Acting Award, established by Mrs. Nathaniel S. Simpkins, Jr., and supplemented by gifts from her son, Nathaniel Simpkins III, in memory of Oliver Thorndike Simpkins, whose stage name was Oliver Thorndike, is awarded annually to actors at Yale School of Drama who best exemplify the spirit of fellowship, cooperation, and devotion to the theater that characterized Mr. Thorndike. The 2011–2012 recipient was Michael Jean Jacques Place.
The George C. White Prize is awarded annually to a graduating student at Yale School of Drama whose work at YSD most closely demonstrates the distinctive qualities of George C. White, including appreciation for the value of arts throughout the world, curiosity about the people and events shaping our cultural heritage, respect for creative production management, and congeniality toward colleagues. The 2011–2012 recipient was Matthew Gutschick.
The Herschel Williams Prize, established by Mr. Williams, who was a member of the first class accepted in Drama at Yale, is awarded to acting students with outstanding ability. The 2011–2012 recipients were Lupita Amondi Nyong’o and Lucas Grant Dixon.
