2020 Awardee: Sonya Smullen

sonya smullen set designer

"I sincerely value the support of the Dewar Arts Awards. It has granted me the possibility to devote myself to my studies at the Wimbledon College of Arts and develop my potential as a theatre maker. Without their support, the reality I live in would still only be a dream."

YEAR OF AWARD: 2020
AGE AT AWARD: 17
ARTFORMS: ,
 
 
 

Biography

Sonya Smullen is a theatre set designer from Glasgow. Whilst studying Music History at the Music School of Douglas Academy, she discovered a love of set design whilst watching operatic performances. Realising that the design of the space can have an extraordinary effect on performer and audience alike, she moved to London to study Theatre Design at The Wimbledon College of Arts.

In November 2020 she was selected as a finalist for the Prague Quadrennial festival for a site specific immersive design proposal of Karel Capek’s Play ‘The White Plague’. Sonya was also chosen to showcase her work in response to the archive of theatre designer Jocelyn Herbert at the National Theatre symposium ‘Staging the Future’ in March 2021.

After being nominated to study abroad, she was accepted by the Weissensee Academy of Art Berlin to spend an academic year on the Fine Arts Stage and Costume Design programme in Germany.

Her studies at Wimbledon have enabled her to follow the aspirations she had while sitting in her lessons in Music History. Looking to the future, she hopes to work across a multidisciplinary platform, collaborating with a variety of artists to find new approaches for theatre making.

How the Award Helped

Her Dewar Arts Award helped Sonya to complete her BA Theatre Design studies at the University of the Arts London.

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sonya smullen set designer

"I sincerely value the support of the Dewar Arts Awards. It has granted me the possibility to devote myself to my studies at the Wimbledon College of Arts and develop my potential as a theatre maker. Without their support, the reality I live in would still only be a dream."

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2015 Awardee: Anna Orton

With such a hands-on course I know I will build the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to successfully develop my career in Theatre Design.

YEAR OF AWARD: 2015
AGE AT AWARD: 29
ARTFORMS: , ,
 
 
 

Biography

Born in Edinburgh, Anna grew up in a small village in Midlothian. In 2003 she was accepted onto the Fine Art course at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and has lived in Dundee ever since.  She has supported herself throughout her studies by working multiple jobs, whilst always pushing herself to develop her own highly successful art practice.

Anna’s talents as an artist and educator were recognised by her university tutors, and she was invited to teach on the Contemporary Art Practice course at Perth College UHI.  During her time there she introduced many inspiring and innovative projects to the students she worked with, and demonstrated a natural ability to bring out the best in them. Her vast knowledge, understanding and experience of contemporary art techniques and concepts proved invaluable.

Anna has a passion for theatrical art, with strong skills in technical drawing, painting, large scale sculpture and small to-scale model making. Her ambition to explore her art in a theatrical context was fuelled by her work with the Dundee Rep, and in 2015 she applied for a Masters in Theatre Design at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She successfully gained a place – one of only four applicants to achieve this.

How the Award Helped

Anna’s Award enabled her to accept her place to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre.  This specialist masters course offers the ideal opportunity to develop the necessary skills to pursue her chosen career path.

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With such a hands-on course I know I will build the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to successfully develop my career in Theatre Design.

Back