DTM Expo: Regional Design Projects

What is it?

The Regional Design Projects are an opportunity for Region 3 student designers to showcase their work for non-realized paper/classroom design projects. Each student will receive a response to their work intended to help them improve their design skills and grow as designers.

All entries must be original designs conceived and rendered by the entrant.

Categories of entry include:

• • Costume Design
  • Lighting Design
  • Makeup Design
    • Wig/Hair Designs may be included as a Makeup Design entry
  • Scenic Design
  • Sound Design
  • Projection Design

Eligibility

To be eligible, students must:

• Have designed/created all or part of a non-realized project at their home institution in the previous calendar year (January 2025-December 2025).
• Use one of the recommended scripts from the current Regional Design Projects List of Plays.
• Be registered for the Festival Conference and participate in the Response sessions.

I’m going to go for it – How do I register?

1. Register for the Festival Conference
2. Register for this event on the DTM registration page
3. Prepare your materials and presentation

If entering more than one category, a separate form must be submitted for each entry.

Regional Design Projects List of Plays

Below is a suggested list of plays for the Regional Design Projects. A new list is announced each year. 

How to Prepare

Student designers are asked to prepare a display showing their design, and present it to a team of professional Guest Respondents at the Region 3 Festival Conference. All designers will receive feedback in both an oral response session with a panel of design Respondents and written response from Regional Faculty Respondents.

Supporting materials that have proven most useful include combinations of the following: a design statement outlining your concept and ideas, research images, preliminary sketches, white models, color models, color sketches, drafting including sections, magic sheets, recordings of sound cues and manipulations that lead to those compositions, design bibles, story boards, costume plates, fabric and trim swatches, costume plots, cue synopsis, tracking sheets, and the like. This is in no way meant to be a definitive list. Choose elements that best articulate and document the conceptual approach, process, and the production. 

For more specific details, please visit the DTM How to Prepare page. 

Unrealized Design Projects at the National Festival

For the 2026 Festival Conference, both realized and unrealized/paper design projects will be eligible for national selection. One student in each design discipline (Costume, Lighting, Projection, Scenic, Sound, and Projections) will be chosen from each Region to attend the National Festival. 

At the National Festival, students will spend a week taking master classes from professional designers, presenting their design projects, and networking with student and professional designers from across the country. Students will be eligible for various professional learning opportunities, fellowships, and awards based on their projects and work during the festival. 

Faculty Written Responses

For any faculty interested in providing written responses to Regional Design Projects, please visit the Faculty Respondent page for more information. 

Special Recognition (Affiliated Awards):

In addition to recognition of outstanding work in each of the above categories, there are also additional special recognitions given at the Regional Festival Conference. Each year offers different opportunities. Past opportunities have included a fully funded trip to the national United
States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference, books from publishers such as McGraw Hill, a large theatrical makeup kit from Mehron Makeup, and many others. Recognition and awards will be announced and presented at the Awards Ceremony on the last day of Festival Conference.