WINSTON-SALEM – University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) School of Design and Production Dean Joseph P. Tilford has been elected to the board of directors of the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT).

 

USITT is the association of design, production, and technology professionals in the performing arts and entertainment industries. USITT has approximately 4,000 members from the United States, Canada and 40 other countries. 

 

Dean Tilford is currently leading the UNCSA School of Design and Production contingent at USITT’s Annual Conference and Stage Expo, March 9-12, in Charlotte.

 

Last year, in celebration of its 50^th anniversary, USITT chose Dean Tilford as one of two designers to highlight in special exhibits. According to Sightlines, the web magazine of USITT: “Mr. Tilford is recognized as a designer of remarkable vision and talent. The selections in this exhibit (‘The Designs of Joe Tilford’) show some of the principles and signature elements that have elevated him as a unique and visionary artist of the American professional theatre.”

 

Joseph P. Tilford earned a B.G.S. and an M.A. from the University of Cincinnati. He served as director of M.F.A. programs in design and directing and chair of the Design Studies Program at Northwestern University, was head of the Theatre Design and Technology Program at Wright State University, and was on the design faculty at Cornell University.

 

Dean Tilford is also an award-winning free-lance set and lighting designer. His credits include designs at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, Chicago’s Next Theatre, the Human Race Theatre, Organic Theatre Company, Shakespeare on the Green in Lake Forest, Court Theatre, the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, the Victoria Theatre, the Missouri Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, the Old Globe Theatre, the Cleveland Play House, Northlight Theatre, Chicago’s Touchstone Theatre, Capital Repertory Theatre, the Asolo Theatre, the Dayton Ballet, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Candlelight Theatre, Players Theatre of Columbus, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Mid-America Dance Theatre, and Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions.

 

He also has additional professional experience as a free-lance and contract technical director, production manager, and technician for organizations such as 20th Century Fox, the Cleveland Ballet, the Lexington Opera House, WNET/PBS, and Alliance Motion Pictures. His design work has been featured in many design and gallery exhibits including the American Professional Exhibit at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial in the Czech Republic.

 

In 2007 he was recognized as being among the world’s most gifted visionaries for his professional set design work. Tilford serves on the board of the Michael Merritt Award for Achievement in Design and Collaboration. He is listed in "Who's Who in Entertainment,”  "Who's Who in American Education" and “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.” He is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 with cards in set design and lighting design.

 

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established as the North Carolina School of the Arts by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from high school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. UNCSA is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. UNCSA is located at 1533 S. Main St., Winston-Salem. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.

 

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Joseph P. Tilford