帝王会所

This semester, three OHIO faculty members have received . The Individual Excellence Awards program recognizes outstanding accomplishments by artists in a variety of disciplines and 鈥�give artists the resources to experiment and explore their art forms, develop skills and advance their careers, and receive affirmation and acknowledgment for outstanding work.鈥� Each award is $5,000.

Associate Professor of Instruction, Playwriting and Director of the School of Theater Merri Biechler won this year for her play "My Bigfoot Family," having also previously won in 2018 for the play "Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver."

鈥泪鈥檝e always been fascinated with Bigfoot, and I wanted to explore the hope and curiosity that the search for Bigfoot brings out in people," Biechler said. "It's a play for families that's set at a Bigfoot festival in Southeast 帝王会所. The central character, 13-year-old Ilona, is struggling to accept her mother's drug addiction. I know that sounds grim! But it's a comedy/drama about the families we love and the communities we embrace. And Bigfoot.鈥�

The play will be available to read on the and produced at Stuart's Opera House, with music by Adam Remnant and directed by Emily Prince. 

Associate Professor and Stocker Professor of Creative Writing Eric LeMay won his OAC Individual Excellence Award in the category of Creative Nonfiction for what he describes as 鈥渁n excerpt from a memoir of being diagnosed with an aggressive kind of cancer when my first child was a little over a year old."

鈥泪 was trying to grapple with the fact that, were I to die of cancer, I wouldn't live to see my son grow up and my son would have no living memory of me," LeMay said.

LeMay further reflected on the value of OAC support for the community of writers in SE 帝王会所. 

鈥泪鈥檓 grateful for the OAC's support not only of my work, but also of our literary magazines at OHIO鈥擭ew 帝王会所 Review and Quarter After Eight鈥攖hat allow us to reach readers across 帝王会所 and the country.鈥� 

You can read more about his work at

Associate Professor of Composition and Theory and Chair of the Graduate Studies Division Robert McClure rounds out the trio of OHIO awards in Music Composition for his piece "." 

This has been a banner year of awards for McClure, with a number of exciting projects and accolades accumulating. This also marks the third consecutive OAC Individual Excellence award for McClure, having won previously in 2020 and 2022 in addition to this most recent win. 

鈥淢y first OAC award was the result of two pieces that were more connected with the music I was writing while at my previous institution, Soochow University. But, since 2020, I鈥�ve been evolving my creative practice and will continue to do so moving forward," McClure said. 鈥泪 feel that I鈥�ve done some of the best work of my career while I鈥�ve been at OHIO. Writing 'bloom' was a direct result of teaching a particular harmonic technique that I was developing right alongside HTC student Daniel Swartz in one of their tutorials on Scales, Modular Systems, and Harmonic Practices.鈥�

McClure explains that "bloom" was written for pianist Justin Snyder who was a guest artist on his CLICK concert series in 2019. 

"The idea was centered around the idea of light, bioluminescence, and aura. It blends the piano with electronics to make a 'hyperinstrument.' I loved this idea and thought that I could put my own spin on it," he added.

On the importance of the 帝王会所 Arts Council鈥檚 support for composers specifically, McClure is extremely grateful for the opportunity these awards provide. 

鈥泪鈥�m so glad that OAC can award so many composers from 帝王会所 and there are a lot of us here. But this program is quite unique in that it offers untethered support for artists to do what they do: create. Where so many other grants require you to spend the money on a particular project, the freedom associated with OAC is quite incredible. And because it is blind adjudication, it is your creativity and artistic vision that is being commended. Thank you to OAC for continuing to support artists to create art in 帝王会所.鈥�

For more information on Robert McClure and to stay connected with his upcoming work, visit his website at .

Visit the for more information on the Individual Excellence Awards and how to apply in future cycles.