Each will receive £1,200 and a year’s mentorship with Cardboard Adventures, aimed at supporting their development as designers and makers within UK theatre.
The prize was founded by theatre company Cardboard Adventures, and is open to designers and makers of “physical objects working in theatre”, including theatre designers – comprising set and costume – puppetry designers and makers, prop designers and makers and costume makers.
Founder Sam Wilde said there had been a “huge“ number of applications, adding that “there is an extraordinary depth of talent, skill and imagination among UK theatre makers, but there’s also a real need for simple, tangible support at the right moment”.
“Choosing two recipients felt like the right way to make a meaningful investment in hands-on craft, backstage design, and in the people who make theatre and theatre productions happen,” Wilde added.
He described the award as “a statement of belief impractical making, and a way to draw attention and show our love to the people who physically build the work we all appreciate and admire”.
“We have also committed to getting back to each applicant, successful or otherwise, and offering one-to-one feedback on their application. It’s going to take us all year but everyone is just so talented, I wish I could support them all – and having 100+ Zooms to talk about their application and offer whatever small support and advice we can is a small way to do that. I’m already looking forward to meeting all of those wonderful creatives,” he said.
Gilby is a propmaker who has been working in the industry for two years after training at the Watermill Theatre through its Career Through the Arts programme.
“Their application was full of joy and optimism for the future of the industry and their role within it, while also speaking honestly about the realities of being a disabled artist and the barriers they navigate – and, ultimately, the way these funds can help them create a more accessible and long-term environment to make. It felt essential for us to support them,” Wilde said.
Wilson is a recent graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, who Wilde described as “a wonderfully talented designer and maker who is eager to spend more time in the rehearsal room developing work alongside creative peers”.
Designer Alex Berry, who was a judge for the award, described the prize as feeling “like a brilliant rebellion”.
“In the theatre industry, there is a pressure to define yourself, your work, your aesthetic, whether you are a designer or a maker. This prize acknowledges the skill, creativity and artistry involved in all these different disciplines and champions those multiskilled artists who refuse to be pigeon-holed,” Berry said, adding: “Min is an exceptional propmaker and has a wonderfully clear vision for the kind of work they w ant to make in the future and what they need in place to pursue that. I hope this award gives them the opportunity to create a workspace that supports those dreams. Eve is a phenomenal artist, designer and maker. I’m so excited to see what she does next.”
The award is supported by theatre critic Mary Pollard, who said the prize “makes a vitally important contribution to an underrepresented theatre sector”.
