Theatre Development Fund (TDF) honors its TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients at the Edison Ballroom at 6:30 PM October 7. Presented through the TDF Costume Collection, this year's honorees were originally selected for the awards in 2020.
Costume designer Fred Voelpel receives the TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. The Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design goes to scenic designer Eugene Lee, while costume designer Dede Ayite receives the TDF/Kitty Leech Young Master Award. Visual artist Michael Curry takes home the TDF/Irene Sharaff Artisan Award.
“These wonderful awardees were originally chosen by the committee for the 2020 awards ceremony. Sadly, the pandemic put that and last year’s ceremony on hold, but we’re thrilled to finally celebrate these incredible artists,” said Stephen Cabral, Director of the TDF Costume Collection in an earlier statement. “We were very upset to lose Fred Voelpel this past June. I had been in contact with Fred, and he was happy to have been chosen for the award and had been looking forward to attending. He will be sorely missed.”
The ceremony also features a special filmed memorial tribute to costume designer Caroline F. Seidle created by designer Suzy Benzinger. The pre-awards cocktail reception begins at 5:30 PM.
Recipients were selected by the voting committee, comprised of chairman Stephen Cabral, Gregg Barnes, Suzy Benzinger, Dean Brown, Traci DiGesu, Linda Fisher, Lana Fritz, Jess Goldstein, Rodney Gordon, Allen Lee Hughes, Holly Hynes, Daniel Lawson, Anna Louizos, Katherine Marshall, Mimi Maxmen, David Murin, Sally Ann Parsons, Scott D. Pask, Robert Perdziola, Gregory Poplyk, Carrie Robbins, Alejo Vietti, Patrick Wiley, and David Zinn.
