Gion DeFrancesco receives Gold Medallion from Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival

Gion DeFrancesco, scene designer, associate professor of theatre and theatre production manager at Miami University, has been awarded the Gold Medallion from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region III. He is one of three recipients of the award, given for sustained excellence of work in contribution to the KCACFT Region III Festival, particularly in the design and organization of the student design exposition.

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Gion DeFrancesco, scene designer, associate professor of theatre and theatre production manager at Miami University, has been awarded the Gold Medallion from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region III.

The Gold Medallion is a national honor bestowed by the KCACTF Regional Board to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and to the development and quality of the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival.

DeFrancesco teaches courses in visual communication, scene design, scene painting and history of the American musical theatre. Since joining the Miami faculty in 2001 he has served as faculty scene designer and charge artist and, since 2003, has served as production manager.

His design work has been seen on stages from New York to Florida and has been recognized by the Dayton Daily News and the Cincinnati Enquirer.

He has worked as a scenic artist with the University of Illinois SummerFest, Struthers Library Theatre and the Contemporary American Theatre Festival.

He has been active with the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and serves as regional programming coordinator for the 2015 conference in Cincinnati. He also serves as an editor of the second Compendium of Scene Design Projects to be published by USITT in 2016.

DeFrancesco's involvement with KCACTF Region III began in 1991 when he entered the regional design exposition as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. He served as co-vice chair of Design and Technology in Region III from 2005-2009 and as co-chair of Design, Technology and Management from 2009-2012. 

During his tenure at Miami three Miami students have received top honors in the KCACTF regional design exposition.

He will be honored during the KCACTF Region III Festival held in Saginaw, Mich. Jan. 8-11.