WINSTON-SALEM – North Carolina School of the Arts student Rebecca Perrenod Lanctot, who graduates today* with a Master of Fine Arts in scene painting, will receive one of the top awards for young designers and technicians in the nation next week. 

Lanctot (pictured at work at right), who has just completed her graduate studies in the School of Design and Production at NCSA, will accept the Golden Hammer Scenic Technology Award at the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Toronto, March 16-19.

Lanctot, who is a native of Ferndale, N.Y., attended school in New York and Pennsylvania. She lived in Stem in Granville County in North Carolina before moving to Winston-Salem, where she currently resides with her husband.  

The Golden Hammer Award is for graduate students in stage engineering, shop management, scene painting, scenery or properties construction, and craft. It is one of nine top awards, known as the YD&T Awards (Young Designers and Technicians Awards) that bring recognition and support to young designers and technicians at the beginning of their careers. Recipients must be completing or have completed a bachelor’s or advanced degree within two years from an accredited college or university in North America. 

Lanctot was nominated for the Golden Hammer by Pamela Knourek, costume shop director and School of Design and Production faculty member at NCSA. “Rebecca has shown tremendous talent as a scene painter and has crossed over into the costume shop, where she did fabric manipulation. Her talent, paired with her organizational skills and strength as a team member, make her a ‘triple threat,’ if you will!”  

While a student in Design and Production, Lanctot collaborated with the Design and Production Costume Shop on surface modification for the play “Top Girls” and the opera Don Giovanni. For “Top Girls,” she painted the surface design – a kimono. She was the scenic charge on Don Giovanni and collaborated with costumes, wigs and makeup to transform a canvas garment into a marble statue – for a moving singer.  

USITT is the association of design, production, and technology professionals in the performing arts and entertainment industry. The organization’s annual conference and expo is held in a different North American city each year and attracts more than 3,800 attendees from all over the world. The conference offers nearly 200 sessions featuring design, technology, costume, sound, architecture, management, engineering, and production. The expo, with more than 150 exhibitors, showcases businesses, products, services, and educational opportunities in the performing arts and entertainment industry.  

An arts conservatory of international renown, the North Carolina School of the Arts was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA became part of the University of North Carolina in 1972. More than 1,000 students from middle 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. For more information, visit the School’s website at www.ncarts.edu.  

The School of Design and Production offers a comprehensive program of instruction and practice in 12 different concentrations in theatrical design, production and management. More than 20 full-time faculty members teach 150 courses offered each year. Students design and execute the sets, properties, costumes, lighting, sound, and wigs and makeup, as well as manage all production aspects for more than 20 shows annually. The school awards the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the College Arts Diploma, and the Master of Fine Arts. The employment rate for Design and Production graduates approaches 100 percent. 

For more information, contact Marla Carpenter at 336-770-3337 or carpem@ncarts.edu in the public relations office.

 * Note: Though some students graduate during the school year, commencement ceremonies are held at the end of the school year. This year, separate commencement ceremonies for high school and college will be held on May 28.