To remember and honor its dear friend and colleague, actor Norma Fire, Kitchen Theatre Company will present an annual award, the Norma Fire Emerging Artist Award. This award will go to a young theater artist age 30 or younger whose work in the previous season was exemplary and demonstrated great professional potential. The young theater artist may be an actor, director, playwright or designer.

The first annual Norma Fire Emerging Artist Award will be presented to Tyler M. Perry for his designs of Venus in Fur (Scenic & Lighting), Lungs (Scenic & Lighting), Heroes (Lighting), and Slashes of Light (Lighting) in the 2013-14 Kitchen Theatre Company Season. Members of the Artistic Director's Excellence Fund and the Artistic Director will determine the recipient each year.

Tyler M. Perry is a NYC-based lighting and scenic designer. He received his BFA in Theatrical Production Arts with concentrations in Lighting and Scenic Design from Ithaca College in 2012. His work has been seen at The Atlantic School of Acting, The Kaye Playhouse, Kitchen Theatre Company, Running to Places Theatre Company, Hangar Theatre, Ithaca College, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Florida Grand Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, and the Herson Group Ltd. Other Kitchen Theatre productions he has designed include Crooked, Opus (Scenic & Lighting Designer); Heroes, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, The Whipping Man, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and The Mystery of Irma Vep (Lighting Designer).

Norma Fire joined the Kitchen Theatre Company for the 2003-04 season in the world premiere of The Book Club by Rachel Lampert. She returned almost every season after that, leaving a legacy of memorable performances that added to those 'important conversations that happen in the Kitchen.' She appeared in Three Tall Women by Edward Albee and the world premieres of Rachel Lampert and Larry Pressgrove's musicals Comfort Food and Bed No Breakfast. She appeared in the inaugural season of the new theater in At A Loss (Handle With Care) by Jason Odell Williams and returned last in 2011-12 to appear in In the Company of Dancers by Rachel Lampert.

Norma Fire was a dedicated theatre artist and supporter. She was as comfortable in a play from the established repertory as she was in working with new work by leading downtown theater and dance makers, notably David Gordon.

At Kitchen Theatre Company, she relished working with everyone and particularly enjoyed her younger colleagues, the ones with "a real future," as Norma would say. We are pleased to be able to offer an award in her name to Tyler M. Perry, a young designer we believe has 'a real future' for sure!

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