Theatre Communications Group Launches The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship

Theatre Communications Group Launches <em>The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship</em> 1 Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the launch of The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship. Administered by TCG with support from The Estate of Willa Kim, the Scholarship will provide exceptionally talented costume designers who are enrolled in a university or professional training program with the opportunity to supplement their fine arts training in drawing and painting. The Scholarship honors costume designer Willa Kim's legacy and her life's work as a pioneer, legend, and inspiration for many of today's theatre artists.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the launch of The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship. Administered by TCG with support from The Estate of Willa Kim, the Scholarship will provide exceptionally talented costume designers who are enrolled in a university or professional training program with the opportunity to supplement their fine arts training in drawing and painting. The Scholarship honors costume designer Willa Kim’s legacy and her life’s work as a pioneer, legend, and inspiration for many of today’s theatre artists.

“Willa was passionate about making it possible for early career costume designers to hone their skills outside of the traditional curriculum,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. “Thanks to support from The Estate of Willa Kim, this scholarship program will empower them to strengthen their craft and deepen the range of their artistry.”

Scholarship recipients will receive up to $7,500 to be used towards tuition, registration, and/or supplies over a one-year period between July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020. Funds can not be used for required curriculum at the applicant’s college, university or professional training program. International study is allowable, but the scholarship will only cover tuition, registration, and supplies. Expenses related to travel will not be covered by the scholarship. For more information, interested applicants should contact Michael Francis, mfrancis@tcg.org.

To assist applicants with their applications, TCG will hold the following information sessions via teleconference and webchat on the following dates: Tuesday, April 9, 2019, 3:30-4:30pm ET,  Thursday, April 11, 2019, 5:00-6:00pm ET and Thursday, April 18, 2019, 3:00-4:00pm ET. Participation in a session is not a requirement to submit an application.

Willa Kim was a costume designer for ballet, theatre, opera, and television. Among many honors were Tony Awards for Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies and Tommy Tune’s The Will Rogers Follies, and Tony nominations for Peter Allen’s Legs Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song & Dance, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, and Joel Grey’s Goodtime Charley. She won Drama Desk Awards for Jean Genet’s The Screens, Irene Fornes’ Promenade, and Sam Shepard’s Operation Sidewinder; Obie Awards for Robert Lowell’s The Old Glory and Lanie Robertson’s Woman Before A Glass; and Emmy Awards for the PBS broadcasts of Michael Smuin’s ballets The Tempest and A Song For Dead Warriors. Ms. Kim received lifetime achievement awards from the Fashion Institute of Technology and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. The Theatre Development Fund honored her with the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2007 she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) exists to strengthen, nurture, and promote professional theatre in the U.S. and globally. Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and nearly 10,000 Individual Members. Through its Core Values of Activism, Artistry, Diversity, and Global Citizenship, TCG advances a better world for theatre and a better world because of theatre. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG’s partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 16 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its Member Theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field, and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre.www.tcg.org.