Center Theater Group
Los Angeles
The Sherwood Award cultivates emerging artists and invites them to engage in a professional relationship with Center Theatre Group. Sherwood winners demonstrate leadership qualities, push existing boundaries, and are dedicated to improving the future of their respective artistic fields (which have included direction, design, puppetry, and playwriting, among others).
The Sherwood Award was established in 1996 by the Sherwood family in memory of Richard E. Sherwood, a patron of the arts who was passionately committed to theatre and had a special appreciation for the energy and talent of emerging artists. A former president of LACMA, he was president and then chairman of the Center Theatre Group Board of Directors from 1980 until his passing in 1993.
Sherwood Award requirements:
Applicants must be:
- An individual artist (no groups or teams)
- A resident of Los Angeles for at least two years
- An artist who has developed/collaborated on at least two fully-produced projects in Los Angeles
- Emerging in their field (which does not reflect the age of the artists, but where they are in the trajectory of their careers)
Sherwood Award priorities:
Competitive candidates will demonstrate the following qualities:
- Innovative—introducing new ideas; original and creative in thinking
- Pushing boundaries—extending frontiers, experimenting, challenging the theatrical norm, finding new forms of artistic expression
- Exceptional talent—the ability to capture the attention of the audience through pure skill and craft, a natural ability or aptitude in the selected field, translating passion and dedication into works of art, etc.
- Effective communication—theatre artists who can passionately and effectively communicate their point of view and distinct artistic voice.
About the Sherwood Award Application Process
There are three phases in the Sherwood Award application process.
Phase One (June – July): Applications are reviewed by the Sherwood Artistic Program Coordinators and the Sherwood Fellow. Candidates’ submitted application, professional history, and one work sample will be reviewed.
Phase Two (July – August): Approximately 8 semi-finalists will be selected. Each may be asked to submit up to two additional work samples for review. Semi-finalists will be reviewed by an external panel of professionals, who will make recommendations to the Sherwood Artistic Program Coordinators and the Sherwood Fellow. These applicants will then interview with the Sherwood Artistic Program Coordinators and Fellow. Three finalists will then be selected.
Phase Three (September 2016 – Winter 2017): The three finalists will interview with the Sherwood Award Panel comprised of Dee Sherwood, the Sherwood Coordinators and Fellow, and additional Center Theatre Group artistic staff. By this point, all members of the Panel will have reviewed the candidates’ work. Finalists will be announced in early October, and the Sherwood Award recipient will be announced at the Ovation Awards.
To complete the Sherwood Award application, copy and paste link into browser: https://centertheatregroup.submittable.com/submit/5dfbb88f-f259-43e1-8262-bcc5d4291a0c
The Sherwood Award application deadline has been extended to June 10, 2016 at 11:59 pm.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
