On Monday, Oct. 30, faculty, staff, and alumni representing Arcadia’s Visual and Performing Arts Department will be recognized at the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, a ceremony that celebrates Philadelphia’s diverse performing arts community.

For the second consecutive year, Damien Figueras ’16 received a Barrymore nod in the Outstanding Sound Design category—this time, for Tribe of Fools’ Antihero, a production that examines law enforcement, justice, and comic book heroes through stylized fight sequences. Antihero’s original score and effects, designed by Ren Manley ’09 in 2013, served as a foundation for Figueras.  

“I wanted to honor [Manley’s] work, but I didn’t want to feel stuck,” said Figueras. “I worked on creating a more immersive soundscape for the outdoor scenes. For the major fight sequence, I relied heavily on my knowledge of old-school Nintendo 64 video games. In the end, we included references to Super Smash Bros., Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and many others.”

Figueras also took charge of programming Antihero’s video projections—an undertaking that helped him design Arcadia’s production of Speech & Debate last fall.

“I had no idea how I was going to design both a massive soundscape and a massive amount of video content,” said Figueras. “But my time at Arcadia taught me that we never stop learning. If I hadn’t been able to design shows for Arcadia’s Under Siege Productions and MainStage Theater, I don’t think I would be where I am today.”

Additionally, several faculty and staff will be spotlighted at the ceremony: Scott Greer, adjunct professor of Acting, received an Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play nomination for his performance in Interact Theatre Company’s How to Use a Knife; lecturer Kim Carson earned an Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical nod for People’s Light and Theatre Company’s Sleeping Beauty; and Adjunct Professor of Acting Greg Wood is recognized in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category for Arden Theatre Company’s Stupid F***ing Bird.

For exceptional work behind the scenes, former Barrymore Award winner Joshua Schulman, adjunct professor of Technical Theatre and resident lighting designer at Arcadia, was nominated for Outstanding Lighting Design in People’s Light and Theatre Company’s The Mountaintop, while resident sound designer Christopher Colucci is recognized in both the sound design and original music categories for The Wilma Theater’s When the Rain Stops Falling.

Additionally, directors Allison Heishman and Rebecca Wright have each been nominated for the F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist.