The Sherwood Award
Center Theatre Group’s annual Richard E. Sherwood Award for early career theatre artists is a $10,000 fund designed to nurture Los Angeles artists. The goal of the Award is to cultivate emerging artists of promise associated with performance in Los Angeles, and invite them to engage in a professional relationship with Center Theatre Group. Applicants should be dedicated to improving the future of their respective artistic fields, have demonstrated leadership, and be pushing existing boundaries. Artists are not limited by title, role or genre, but they must have a relationship to the art of performance.
Originally created in 1996 as an annual fund to support innovative, adventurous theatre artists from across the country, the Sherwood Award was established in memory of Richard E. Sherwood. Sherwood was a patron of the arts with a special appreciation for the energy and talent of emerging artists who are vanguards in theatre. He was president of LACMA and president and then chairman of the Center Theatre Group (CTG) Board of Directors from 1980 until his passing in 1993. The award is an endowed fund at CTG by the Sherwood family and honors Sherwood’s passionate commitment to theatre.
The Sherwood Award will be presented each year at the Ovation Awards ceremony produced by LA Stage Alliance.
To aid the Sherwood Artistic Programs Coordinator in the Sherwood Award recipient search, a professional internship, with stipend, is offered to an emerging and aspiring arts professional. To learn more about the internship, scroll to the bottom of this page.
The recipient must be:
- An individual (no groups or teams)
- Resident of Los Angeles for at least six months
- Someone who has produced/collaborated on at least one piece of work in Los Angeles
- Early career (which does not reflect the age of the artists, but where they are in the trajectory of their careers)
- Innovative
- Adventurous
- Pushing boundaries
- Exceptionally talented
There are three stages to the process of deciding the Sherwood Award winner.
First Stage: Applications are reviewed by the Sherwood Artistic Programs Coordinator and the Sherwood Intern. At this point we are looking to see how clearly artists can represent their innovation. We review candidates’ professional history and one work sample and make an assessment about where they are in the arc of their careers.
Second Stage: A total of 10 applicants will be asked to submit two further examples of work to be reviewed. The applicants will be invited to interview with the Sherwood Artistic Programs Coordinator and Intern, at which point they will discuss their submitted work. The interviews will be held in April.
Third Stage: Three finalists will interview with the Sherwood Panel. By this point, all members of the Panel will have reviewed the candidates’ work. The finalist interviews and final decision will be in May.
2012 Sherwood Award Timeline
December 3, 2011: Sherwood Orientation Session #2
11 am at the CTG Annex. Orientations are not mandatory, but for those interested we will be answering questions about the application process and defining further what we are looking for in a qualified applicant. Please email Sherwood@CenterTheatreGroup.org to sign up for an orientation date.
December 5, 2011: Sherwood Orientation Session #3
7:30pm at the CTG Annex. Orientations are not mandatory, but for those interested we will be answering questions about the application process and defining further what we are looking for in a qualified applicant. Please email Sherwood@CenterTheatreGroup.org to sign up for an orientation date.
December 16, 2011: Sherwood Award Application Due. Click here to secure a 2012 Sherwood Award Application. Note: The application deadline is not a postmark date. Applications must arrive to the address indicated in the application no later than December 16, 2011.
February 2012: Semi-Finalists interviews
March 2012: Sherwood Award Panel Interviews
March 2012: Notify Winner
Christopher Kuhl selected as the 2011 Sherwood Award Winner
Christopher Kuhl is a Los Angeles based lighting, scenic, installation and conceptual designer for new performance, theatre, dance and opera. Hailing from Albuquerque, NM, Chris is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts.
This year, in addition to winning the Sherwood Award, Kuhl was also the recipient of The Portland Civic Theatre Guild Drammy Award for Lighting Design and the Dance resource Center Horton Award. Kuhl’s recent credits include The Author and Eclipsed at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre. He has also worked at REDCAT, UCLA Live, Los Angeles Opera, BAM, the Walker Art Center and the Beijing International Music Festival.
|
|
.jpg "Chris Kuhl Headshot by Craig Schwartz") |
The Sherwood Internship
The Sherwood Internship is offered to emerging and aspiring arts professionals. It will be offered annually as a professional internship for the duration of six months. The terms of the internship are as follows:
- Intern will be paid a stipend of $2,000.
- Intern will receive a mentorship in contemporary theatre.
- Intern will work under the supervision of the Sherwood Artistic Programs Coordinator to administer the applications, answer communication and liaise with Press and Marketing departments regarding the award, and assist in honing the group of applicants down to three finalists to be reviewed by the panel as a whole.
- Intern will do research on the candidates, and create a database of applicants and track schedule of work being presented in Los Angeles, offering weekly updates to members of the panel.
The recipient must be:
- Intellectually / artistically curious
- Knowledgeable in the field of theatre
- Organized
- Proactive
- Computer savvy
- Personable
The application process for the 2011/2012 Sherwood Internship has ended. Please check back in the Spring to apply for the next round of the Sherwood Internship.
To request more information about the Sherwood Internship, please e-mail Sherwood@CenterTheatreGroup.org.
Lukas Kanter selected as the 2011/2012 Sherwood Intern
Luke is currently finishing up his final year at the University of Southern California, majoring in Theatre with an emphasis on directing, playwriting and screenwriting. Since arriving to Los Angeles in 2009, he has worked at some of the city’s leading non-profit arts organizations, including the LA Philharmonic, 24th Street Theatre, The Blank Theatre Company, as well as Center Theatre Group as an intern in the Executive Office. He is an award-winning playwright and director, having done productions at both USC and many other theatres around LA.
Luke recently was assistant director for What’s Wrong With Angry at the Celebration Theatre, LA’s premiere LGBT theatre group, under director Michael Matthews. He is also a counselor for After ‘Cool, an award-winning theatre arts program at 24th Street Theatre. Luke originally hails from Scottsdale, Arizona, but is extremely proud to call Los Angeles home.
|
|
 |
Please note: CTG staff members are not eligible to apply.
Photo Credits
Top Photo: (L to R) Michael Ritchie, Ameenah Kaplan, and Dorothy Sherwood. Photo by Center Theatre Group
Christopher Kuhl Photo by Craig Shwartz
