David Johnson, editorial director/associate publisher of Entertainment Design/Lighting Dimensions/SRO, has announced The 13th Annual Entertainment Design EDDY Awards, the annual celebration of the best in design and technology for live events. This year’s theme is "Bridging the Gap," as each honoree represents a link, be it between disciplines, artists, technology, or generations.

The winners are:

Lighting Design Firm Artfag (Justin Collie, Spike Brandt): Taking Concert Lighting and Projection to the Next Level (Beastie Boys, Destiny's Child)

Sound Designer Andrew Bruce (Les Miserables, Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang): Lifetime Achievement in Theatre Sound Design

Set Designer David Rockwell (Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, All Shook Up): Blurring the Line of Environmental Design

Technical Director Steve Ryan (Opera Theatre of St. Louis): Sustained Achievement in Technical Direction

Lighting Designer Jennifer Tipton (American Ballet Theatre, Jerome Robbins Broadway): Lifetime Achievement in Dance and Theatre Lighting

Dance Troupe Troika Ranch: Bridging the Gap Between The Artist and the Technology

Projection Programmer Paul Vershbow: Bridging The Gap Between The Designer and The Technology

"We didn’t intend to create a theme for this year’s awards," explains Johnson. "But as we looked over the final list of honorees, we realized that each of them served as a link to something else. The design team of Artfag represent the next step in the integration of lighting and video for concerts; lifetime achievement honorees Andrew Bruce and Jennifer Tipton serve as a bridge between an earlier generation of designers and today’s artisans; noted restaurant designer David Rockwell has carved out a niche designing sets for Broadway; Steve Ryan serves the age-old role of liaison between artist and technology, while Paul Vershbow takes that role to a step further in projection design; and lastly the dance troupe Troika Ranch, which incorporates interactive video technology with live dancers, takes the relationship of man and machine to an entirely new level. We’re thrilled to be able to honor this incredibly diverse and eclectic mix of artisans and we hope you’ll help us celebrate their achievements at the EDDY Awards ceremony on June 22 in New York."

You can read more about these artisans in the June issue of Entertainment Design. The EDDY Awards will be held on Wednesday, June 22, 2004, at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, in downtown New York City. This year’s ceremony will begin with a cocktail reception at 7:30pm, followed by the awards presentation beginning at 8:30pm. The 2005 EDDY Awards are presented in conjunction with the 11th annual Broadway Lighting Master Classes, the third annual Broadway Sound Master Classes , and the inaugural Projection Master Classes a three-part professional training program that runs from June 20 through June 24, 2005.

Celebrating their lucky 13th anniversary this year, the prestigious EDDYs pay tribute to those whose work has made an impact in our industry. The editors of Entertainment Design select the winners with an eye toward true excellence in technical and design-related fields. Since 1991, a wide variety of design and technical professionals, design or production teams, an association, a union, a rental shop, and other deserving groups have been so honored. In recent years, the EDDY Awards have celebrated both the spirit of collaboration, and remarkable individual achievement, as well as technical advancement with a series of product awards in professional audio, lighting, staging, and projection categories.