Editor's Note: This is the 13th in a series of articles about NCA's famous Grand International Award (and the related costume awards) written by Pam Markel and Dwayne Ibsen, past presidents. To read the previous article, click here.
The Memorial Awards of the 21st century were the competing shadows of those that preceded them in previous years. The 1990s entries were extraordinary and glamourous, but the 21st century entries were about to blow everyone away. Memorial entries of this decade were spectacular, oozing with the ingenuity of new design techniques and materials and trims that became accessible through the internet. No longer did costumers have to search locally for those special materials, suddenly everything was at their fingertips. The members of the NCA with their creative abilities took these opportunities and ran with it.
The following list of costumes and shops were the Memorial Award Winners of 2000-2004. Not every category was participated in each year, but there was quite the showing of talent overall. How hard it had to be to judge these magnificent creations.
Abe Jacobson Memorial Award for Outstanding Masquerade Costume
2000- “La Grande Masquerade” – Irvin Stern’s Costumes, Wayne, PA
2003 – “Little Bo Peep” – Acme Costumes, Garden City, GA
2004 – “King & Queen of Hearts” – Spotlight Costumes, Pittsburgh, PA
Dorothy & Lar Mar Kerns Memorial Award for Outstanding First Showcase Costume
2000 – “Lumiere & Babette” – Akron Design & Costume, Akron, OH
2003 – “Lights of Freedom” – Gayla’s Costume Shoppe LLC, Benton , AR
Charles & Elsie Van Riper Memorial Award for Outstanding Spectacular Costume
2000 – “Catherine the Great” – Spotlight Costume, Pittsburgh, PA
2001- “Colourous Schfizz” – Center Stage Costumes, Gainesville, FL
2002 – “Illinois Violet” – Josie O’Kain’s Costume Shop, Joiet, IL
2004 – “Suleyamn the Magnificent” – Enchanted Attic
Robert Schultz Memorial Award for Outstanding Animal/ Mascot Costume
2000 – “Big Bad Wolf” – Robert Schmidt Costumes, St Louis, MO
2002- “ Big Blue” -Center Stage Costumes & Magic, Gainesville, FL
2003- “E Bert Humpydink” – Dale Morton Studios, Hurricane, WV
2004- “Puss & Boots” – Acme Costumes, Garden City, GA
Warren Hendricks Memorial Award for Outstanding Authentic Costume
2000 – “Gay Nineties Gown” – Winego, Occoquan, VA
2001- “Tournure Walking Suit” – Winego, Occoquan, VA
2004- “The Court of Charles II – Spotlight Costume, Pittsburgh, PA
C. Arthur Landes & Joseph R. Landes Memorial Award for Outstanding Theatre Costume
2000 – “Wicked Stepmother and the Hearld” – Jest for Fun, Bentleyville, PA
2001- “The Lady of Camellias” – Landes Costumes by Rachel, Indianapolis, IN
2002- “Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” – Camelot Costumes, Freeport, IL
2003- “Angelique” – A to Z Theatrical Supply and Service, Kansas City, MO
2004- “Pieces Brillantes” – Landes Costumes by Rachel, Indianapolis, IN
Percy Rubenstein Memorial Award for Outstanding Comedy Costume
2001- “HoHoHo” – Annie’s Costumes and Magic, Plantation, FL
2002 – “Dolly Levi Straus” – Spotlight Costumes, Pittsburgh, PA
Helen Aune Memorial Award for Outstanding Holiday Costume
2001- “On the Stoke of Midnight- Happy New Year” – Carnival, London, England
2002- “Renaissance Wedding” – Costumes Creative, Silver Springs, MD
2003 – “Pride King” – Spotlight Costumes, Pittsburgh, PA
Cliff Allen Memorial Award for Outstanding Fantasy Costume
2002- “VooDoo Rada – Spotlight Costumes, Pittsburgh, PA
2003 – “Firefly Fairy” – Center Stage Costumes and Magic, Gainesville, FL
2004 – “Froggye Went a Courtin” – Costumed Occasions,
William Zauder Memorial Award for Outstanding MakeUp
2002- “Azure Undine” – Center Stage Costumes & Magic, Gainesville, FL
2003 – “Black Magic Revels” – Spotlight Costumes, Pittsburgh, PA
2004 – “Suleyamn the Magnificent” – Enchanted Attic
Each of these entries competed for Showcase and could have won. Being awarded a Memorial Award was quite an honor. What an amazing amount of talent and creativeness our organization has shown.
Coming up are the last editions of the Grand International and Memorial Award winners. You don’t want to miss them.
Your Past Presidents,
Dwayne Ibsen and Pam Markel