Broadway Green Alliance Reveals Winner of First BGA College Green Captain Prize

The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) has announced the winner of the first College Green Captain prize to Travis Blackwell, the Green Captain at the University of Memphis who won for his greening efforts at the college's theatre department. Travis is in his third year at Memphis working towards his BFA in Theatre Design and Technical Production with an Emphasis in Stage Management.

Travis helped make environmental awareness a part of his theatre's daily practices by including "Green Facts" in materials sent to the cast and production team. The daily emails contained tips and tricks on how to make day-to-day life more environmentally friendly (topics ranging from how to recycle to what kinds of light bulbs to buy). Travis also encouraged cast members to recycle waste and reuse supplies, all of which created awareness throughout the cast and department as a whole. Travis was presented with a framed plaque at USITT (United States Institute of Theater Technology conference in Cincinnati this week) and will also receive tickets to the Broadway or Touring production of either Wicked or The Lion King, along with a backstage tour of the production and a meeting with a current Broadway Green Captain.

The BGA launched the new contest to honor and reward College Green Captains for creating greener productions on college campuses. Winners brought innovative, creative, or widely-applied greening and energy-efficient methods into the design or production of theatre at their campus. Piper Rasmussen of Barnard College of Columbia University and Jade Zaroff of Emerson College were the other two finalists.

The winner was selected by a panel of judges which included: Associate Professor of Theatre Technology at Indiana University and co-chair of the BGA Education Committee, Paul Brunner; BGA Co-chair and Executive Vice President of Clark Transfer, Charlie Deull; Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Design for Theatre at York University, Ian Garrett; Green Sports Alliance President, Allen Hershkowitz, PhD.; and Tony Award-winning set designer, Donyale Werle (Peter and the Starcatcher; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson).

The BGA College Green Captain program is modeled after the successful BGA Green Captain program in which a cast or crew member of every Broadway show volunteers to serve as a BGA liaison of the production for all things environmentally friendly. College Green Captains are self-selected members of a college or university theatre department who are committed to greening one or more of the department's productions. College Green Captains are encouraged to find a faculty or staff Green Captain to partner in greening efforts.