Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, announces that Tsubasa Kamei from New York's Brooklyn College is the winner of the first annual Eve Adamson Excellence in Lighting Design Award. The award presentation will be at the final performance of the company's production of Jean Cocteau's Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles), on Saturday, March 14th at 8:00pm.
Eve Adamson was the founder of New York's Jean Cocteau Repertory and remained its artistic director for 18 years, during which time she presented a demanding repertory ranging from the Greeks to Shakespeare, and from modern theatre pioneers Chekhov, Pinter, and Pirandello. Seeking to reach what Cocteau referred to as “the poetry of theatre” where all the elements come together as a cohesive whole, she began experimenting with lighting design in the mid-1980s and continued to light her own shows throughout her career. She died in 2006, one week before she was to begin rehearsals for Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s production of Anouilh’s Antigone.
Kamei was singled out from outstanding lighting design graduate students nominated from metropolitan area universities. Phoenix Theatre Ensemble founder and award committee member, Craig Smith, comments, “While the competition was very tough, Mr. Kamei is an outstanding designer. The committee noted his use of key light for dramatic effect and back and side light to sculpt the human form on stage, which matched the aesthetic that Ms. Adamson attained in her work.” The Award includes a commemorative certificate, a cash award of $1,000, and an opportunity to design a main-stage Phoenix production in the 2009-10 season.
Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is an artist-directed ensemble that presents new and classical works. The 2008-09 season includes productions of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and Cocteau’s Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles) and co-productions with Grims and Giggles productions. The company also presents community outreach programs with New York City Public elementary schools.
The award committee members included Richard Garvey, retired partner of the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Ian Kinman, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble Board Member, Elise Stone, founder and co-artistic director of Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Craig Smith, founder and artistic director of Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Robert Hupp, artistic director, Arkansas Repertory, and Tony Mulanix, Freelance lighting designer.
The award will be presented on Saturday, March 14th at 8pm at the performance of Indiscretions and will be followed by a reception at the theatre in honor of Kamei. Tickets are $20 and may be obtained by calling 212-352-3101 or visiting the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble website.