2025 ASTC – USITT Student Venue Renovation Challenge
ASTC and USITT are pleased to announce the eighth competition between college students and ASTC theatre consultants. Student projects will be presented at the USITT 2025 Conference and Stage Expo in Columbus, Ohio on March 5-8, 2025. (Download/Share Announcement Flier)
Background
A career in theatrical design or technical work isn’t the only choice for students with an interest in theatre. In an effort to expose students to other available career paths, ASTC and The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) teamed up in 2014 to create the ASTC-USITT Venue Renovation Challenge. By working together with a professional ASTC theatre consultant as a mentor, students learn about how venues are designed, older venues are renovated modernized and improved, or spaces are transformed into performance venues.
2025 will mark the eighth Renovation Challenge. The Challenge is held in odd-numbered years and presented to the public as part of the USITT Conference.
In the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, most American theatre and performance spaces had an ASTC member involved in their creation. ASTC and USITT each advocate for the support of the arts and the future of live performance. The primary goal of the Challenge is to introduce students to the profession of theatre consulting. They will learn about the elements that go into a building for the arts, beyond what they might consider in the course of designing and mounting productions.
The Challenge
Working together with a professional theatre consultant as a mentor, students will discover and explore how performance venues are designed or renovated and the challenges theatre consultants solve in creating the unique facilities theatre professionals work in every day. Students will learn to see performance spaces differently and will be exposed to career paths within the entertainment industry that they might not otherwise be aware of.
Two cash prizes are available for the winners of the competition. One team will be presented the ASTC – Edgar L. Lustig Award, a $3,000 cash prize. A second prize, the USITT – Director’s Award of $1,000 will be presented to a team that shows special merit. The Awards will be presented at the end of the team presentations and will be announced nationally by ASTC and USITT and noted on both organizations’ websites and other social media platforms.
Teams may consist of undergraduate and/or graduate students and will be under the supervision of a Faculty Advisor. Teams will select a theoretical project for a building that is on or near the team’s campus. They will survey and study the current conditions and develop a plan to transform the subject space to meet the team’s stated concept goals.
Potential projects might include:
- Substantial improvements to an existing theatre.
- Conversion of non-performance space into a new performance space.
- Changing the form and/or function of an existing theatre.
Faculty Advisors are encouraged to consider including this project in their curriculum for academic credit as an independent study or seminar class.
The Awards
- The Edgar L. Lustig Honor Award is named after a founding member of ASTC who served over 25 years as its secretary-treasurer – $3000.
- The USITT Director’s Award – $1000.
The Challenge Team’s final submittal and public presentation given at the USITT Annual Conference is judged by a jury of ASTC members who are not serving as current Mentors.
Student Travel Assistance Stipends
To help students defray the cost of attending the conference, $600 travel stipends are available. Five stipends are available for the teams to request financial travel assistance. Travel assistance can be requested by the Faculty Advisors beginning October 28, 2024. The stipends will be awarded on a first come basis until all five are awarded. The stipends are limited to one per team.
Read/Download the Announcement of the 2025 ASTC-USITT Venue Renovation Challenge.
Project Participant Submittal Instructions
Application Form
Project submittals must be provided in the form of PDF files or Power Point presentation. Submittal data, source information, and images may be of physical models, renderings, hand sketches or drafting, photographs, modeling software or AutoCAD, REVIT or other digital design platforms. Video may be included but must be incorporated into the presentation. Submissions must show a minimum of the following:
- Location of subject space
- Year constructed
- Project size in square footage
- Current use
- Existing plan and section
- Photos of the existing venue, including the exterior
- Review of external factors such as; access for audiences and production materials
- Building improvements in plan
- Building improvements in section
- Sightlines to the performance area
- Auditorium/stage relationship including performer access to the audience.
- Improvements to the technical and performance support capabilities
- Improvements for the audience such as parking, building access including any
ADA issues that will need to be addressed, ticketing, and audience spaces such
as lobby and restrooms - Pertinent detail or supporting data
- A written statement of the intended goals for renovation including:
- The goals of the renovation. Examples might be Greater audience capacity, Improving intimacy, Expanding scenic capability, Full ADA compliant access, etc.
- Identification of parties who benefit from the improvements and describe how they benefit. (i.e., technicians, operations staff, performers, directors, designers, and/or audience etc.)
Download Full Project Participant Submittal Instructions
Contact Email for all submittals and questions: RenoChallenge@theatreconsultants.org
Schedule Overview:
- September 30, 2024 5:00 PM EDT: Applications and Preliminary Concept Statements Due
- October 28, 2024 by 5:00 PM EST: Final Concept Statement and Participants List Due
- February 3, 2025 5:00 PM EST: Project Submissions Due
- March 5-8, 2025 Day/time TBD: Conference Presentation: 2025 USITT Conference and Stage Expo in Columbus, Ohio.
Applications and Preliminary Concept Statements Due: September 30, 2024 5:00 PM EDT to RenoChallenge@theatreconsultants.org
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE 2025 APPLICATION FORM
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL INSTRUCTIONS TO PARTICIPANTS
Project Submissions Due: February 3, 2025 5:00 PM EST: An electronic submission (.pdf, or PowerPoint) will be due for review and comment by the Judges in advance of the USITT Conference. Teams will then have the opportunity to revise and update their presentation prior to the live presentation.
Conference Presentation: The final presentation will be during a public session at the USITT 2025 USITT Conference and Stage Expo in Columbus, Ohio – March 5-8, 2025. The exact day and time to be determined by the Conference schedule. At least one student member of the team is required to present the team’s work at the conference session in person.
The ASTC member judges will make their final selection for Awards based on both the submitted design and the live presentation and the awards will be presented.
The Awards presented will also be announced nationally by ASTC and USITT.
Previous Renovation Challenges
March 2023
Participant Teams:
- ASTC Edgar L. Lustig Award: Ohio State University Team: Allison Summers, Daqi Bao, Erin Shaw, Jessica Hightower, Yun Yen. Faculty sponsor: Brad Steinmetz. ASTC mentor: Patrick Barrett. Ohio State University’s First Place award winning project can be viewed HERE.
- USITT Director’s Award: The Oberlin College Team: Nelson Gutsch, Ansel Mills, Nova Gomez, Leanne O’Donnell, Andrew McCracken, Charley Davis. Faculty sponsor: Eric Steggall. ASTC mentor: Howard Glickman. Oberlin College’s Second Place award winning project can be viewed HERE.
- The Ohio State University Team (Ohio State University had 2 teams): Michael Murphy, Lyndsay R. Holmes, Qiannan Wang, Elise Aultman, Braden Graves. Faculty sponsor: Brad Steinmetz. ASTC mentor: Jerad Schomer
- The Yale University Team: Miguel Angel Lopez, Ro Burnette, David DeCarolis, Cameron Waitkun. Faculty sponsor: Kirk Keen. ASTC mentor: Tom Neville
April 9, 2021
Location: VIRTUAL Presentations can be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TBlEbwzq_0
Participant Teams:
- ASTC Edgar L. Lustig Award: The University of Virginia Team: Oliver Church, Catherine Henebery, Jackson Key, Caitlin Kreinheder, Tim Victorio. Faculty sponsor: Steven Warner. ASTC mentor: Kimberly Corbett Oates. University of Virginia’s First Place award winning project can be viewed HERE.
- USITT Director’s Award: The Florida State University Team: Elliot Mahoney, Mike Delaney, Emily Chancellor, Wesley Seiderman, Raistlin Yovan, Hannah Smith, Nathaniel Feit. Faculty sponsor: Jim Lile. ASTC mentor: Christopher Sprague. Florida State University’s Second Place award winning project can be viewed HERE.
- The Colorado State University Team: Morgan Lessman, Lili Federico, Lauren Boesch, Lorna Stephens, Lukas White. Faculty sponsor: Matt Grevan. ASTC mentor: Millie Dixon
March 22, 2019
Location: 59th USITT Conference at Louisville, Kentucky
Participant Teams:
All Undergraduate Teams:
- Bradley University (ASTC Mentor – Todd Hensley, Faculty Advisor – Johanna Miller) Team: Kendra Drew, Cierra Conrad, Sarah Coughlin, Joseph King
- Emerson College (ASTC Mentor – Joshua Grossman, Faculty Advisors – Keith Cornelius & Scott Pinkney) Team: Tyler Ericson, Jonah Free, Ryan Healey, Jackson Lasseter, Dan Karlin
- University of Oklahoma (ASTC Mentor – Andy Gibbs, Faculty Advisor – Jon Young) Team: Elise Christiansen, Brea Clemons, Caitlin Coffin, Olivia DeLuca, Maria Doutey, Nathan Hatfield, Grayson Merchant
All but one Undergraduate Student Team:
- The Ohio State University (ASTC Mentor – Jay Panzer, Faculty Advisor – Brad Steinmetz) Team: Abby Bouton, Rachel Patterson, Kyle Zufra, Cassandra Lentx
All Graduate Student Teams:
- Florida State University (ASTC Mentor – Christopher Sprague, Faculty Advisor – Jim Lile) Team: Zachary Briscoe, John Davis, Clifford Glowacki, Austen Whipple, Jackson Golden, Braeden Ingersoll
- Texas Tech University (ASTC Mentor – Jack Hagler, Faculty Advisor – Andrea Bilkey) Team: Kelly Murphy, Bill West-Davis
- Yale School of Drama (ASTC Mentor – John Runia, Faculty Advisor – Eugene Leitermann) Team: Kirk Keen, Rajvi Shah, Jon West
2nd Place, Director’s Award: Florida State University
March 10, 2017
Location: 57th USITT Conference at Saint Louis, Missouri
Participant Teams:
- Florida State University: Johanna Miller, Erin Collopy and Zachary Briscoe with Todd Hensley, ASTC and their faculty advisor was Jim Lile.
- University of Oregon: Erik Carter with Paul Luntsford, ASTC and their faculty advisor was Hajo Neis, PhD.
- San Diego State University: Jessica Gilliard, John Munoz, Christina J Martin, Victoria Vitola, Sarah Schwartz and Kurt Thormodsen with Jim Tetlow, ASTC and their faculty advisor was Anne McMills.
Merit Award: University of Oregon
Merit Award: San Diego State University
Date: March 18, 2016
Location: 56th Annual USITT Conference and Expo at Salt Lake City, Utah
Participant Teams:
- University at Buffalo: KelseyLiz Habla and Charles Canfield with Steven Friedlander, ASTC with faculty advisor Jon Shimon
- University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music: Nick Saiki, Adam Crowell, Andrew Diamond, and Jeremy Dominik with Paul G. Sanow, ASTC and their faculty advisor was Stirling S. Shelton.
- Yale School of Drama: Mitchell Cramond, Michael Hsu and Spencer Hardy with Gene Leitermann, ASTC and their faculty advisor was Matt Welander.
Merit Award: University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music
Date: March 20, 2015
Location: 55th annual USITT Conference and Expo at Cincinnati, Ohio
Participant Teams:
- Yale University: Jeong Sik Yoo and Mitchell Cramond with Gene Leitermann, ASTC and Matt Welander as faculty advisor
- DePaul University: Jamie Davis, David Millard, Jackson Walsh, Alyse Porsella, Alexa Santiago, Joe Clavell, Dana Stringer, Nathaly Garcia, Marisa Melito, Jamie Lynn Woods, Vada Branco, and Kevin Kushman with Joshua Grossman, ASTC and Shane Kelly as faculty advisor.
Merit Award: DePaul University
Date: March 29, 2014 at the
Location: 54th Annual USITT Conference and Expo at Fort Worth, Texas
Participant Teams:
- Ohio State University: Andy Baker, Evan Bunner, Shane Cinal and Josh Quinlan with Paul Sanow, ASTC
- Stephen F. Austin State University: Amanda Warren and Jason Monmaney with Jules Lauve, ASTC
- Indiana University: Sandy Everett, Meghan Potter, Jeff Lindquist, Brad Shaw & John Houtler-McCoy with Van Phillips, ASTC
Great discussion on the “USITT TECHnically Speaking” podcast with ASTC members Van Phillips and Howard Glickman on the 2021 ASTC-USITT Renovation Challenge and the theatre consulting biz!
“USITT TECHnically Speaking – Van Phillips and Howard Glickman Talk Theatre Consulting”