ASTC & USITT congratulate the first place winning team from Emerson College and the second place winning team from Florida State University in the 5th ASTC-USITT Renovation Challenge. A record seven college/university teams participated in this years challenge that was held March 22nd at the 59th USITT Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Undergraduate and graduate students worked under the guidance of a faculty advisor(s) and a mentor from the American Society of Theatre Consultants to create a theatre renovation project. Each team selected an existing venue, developed a scope of work for improvements and presented their ideas to a live audience and Jury of ASTC members at a USITT Conference Session.

The $2,000 Edgar L. Lustig Honor Award sponsored by ASTC was given to Tyler Ericson, Jonah Free, Ryan Healey, Jackson Lasseter, and Dan Karlin from Emerson College for their project of the adaptive reuse of the Union Bank Building on Tremont St. in Boston. Their Theatre Consultant mentor was Joshua Grossman, ASTC and their Faculty Advisors were Keith Cornelius and Scott Pinkney.

The 2nd Place Director’s Award with a prize amount of $1,000 sponsored by USITT, went to the Florida State University graduate student team of Zachary Briscoe, John Davis, Clifford Glowacki, Austen Whipple, Jackson Golden, and Braeden Ingersoll. Their project was The Richard G. Fallon Theatre Renovation on the FSU campus. The Theatre Consultant mentor was Christopher Sprague, ASTC and their Faculty Advisor was Jim Lile.

Van Phillips, ASTC, served as the Chairman of the Renovation Challenge. The jurors were Paul Sanow, ASTC, Rose Steele, ASTC, Howard Glickman, ASTC, Kevin MacPhearson, ASTC, and Robert Long, FASTC.

For 2019, there were a record seven University and College Teams with 34 student participants. The teams were from Bradley University, Emerson College, Florida State University, Ohio State University, University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, and the Yale Drama School. (see end of article for a complete list of all 2019 Renovation Challenge Team Member Participants.)

The judges commented that it was difficult choosing the 1st and 2nd Place teams because all the teams did an excellent job and the choices had to be made on razor thin differences. Not only was this the largest number of teams for the Renovation Challenge, but 2019 marked the first time that a team made up of all undergraduate students won 1st Place. That was an epic achievement for the undergraduates from Emerson College.

Students and educators who would like to benefit from the next Challenge should consider incorporating this opportunity in their academic schedules. The next Renovation Challenge will take place in 2021 with presentations in Columbus, Ohio at the 61st USITT Conference. To learn more about the 2021 Renovation Challenge, CLICK HERE.

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Emerson College – 2019 First Place Award

Emerson College’s First Place award winning project can be viewed HERE. (The size of the file has been reduced from the original presentation for internet use.)

Florida State University – 2019 Second Place Award

Florida State University’s Second Place award winning project can be viewed HERE.