Deng Yunwei
Gold Prize
Title: Spring Awakening
Competition Theme: Intersection of Literature and Art
Medium: Stage Design
Emerging young designer Deng Yunwei presents a reinterpreted stage production of Steven Sater's coming-of-age rock musical Spring Awakening, originally based on Frank Wedekind's play. Set in a strict 19th-century German town, the story follows young people grappling with adolenscence. Girls discover their changing bodies and desires, while boys face the pressures of a rigid education system where a grim future awaits. Deng's reimagining goes beyond this historical setting, showing how these struggles are still relevant in today’s contemporary context. Using creative stage design to promote collaboration between director, actor, and set, Deng aims to create an immersive experience that draws the audience into the heart of the story. This reimagined Spring Awakening aims to spark conversations about the well-being of young people, mind and body, challenge societal discomfort around sexuality, and prompt reflection on the norms that might hinder a healthy journey into adulthood.
In awarding the Gold Prize, the judges were particularly impressed by Deng’s effective use of different formats to articulate concept, development, and realization of a theatre design project engaging with the rite of passage genre. This highlighted Deng's ability to conduct thorough research, employing both primary and secondary methods, and to make insightful connections between the project and her broader academic journey.
The judges commend Deng's strong work ethic, professional approach, sophisticated inquiry, rigorous process documentation, excellent craftsmanship in model-making and renderings, and clear and effective presentation skills.