UC Irvine Drama Student Isabel Toteda ’27 Receives National Award From The Costume Society of America

The honor makes Toteda the only undergraduate recipient in this year's applicant pool

The Costume Society of America (CSA) has named UC Irvine Department of Drama
student Isabel Toteda '27 as this year's recipient of the Howard Vincent Kurtz Emerging
Theatre Artist Award. A national honor established in 2021, the award recognizes
student members and provides an opportunity for the recipient to present their research
or creative work at the CSA National Symposium. Among graduate and Ph.D.
students, Toteda was the only undergraduate in this year's applicant pool.

Toteda was recognized for her costume design work on Twelve Angry Jurors, a
student-led production supported in part by the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Innovation Grant awarded to director DJ Maloney, M.F.A. '26.

"I am honored to have received the Howard Vincent Kurtz Emerging Theatre Artist
Award as an undergraduate," said Toteda. "Having my work recognized by the Costume
Society of America so early in my career is really encouraging, and I am incredibly
grateful for the support from my professors and peers that has led me here."

A third-year undergraduate double-majoring in drama and European studies with minors
in linguistics and film & media Studies, Toteda received the Honors in Design &
Technology designation for costume design and serves as an assistant archivist to UCI
Drama's Historical Costume Collection. A recipient of the Medici Circle Scholarship in
2025, her recent work includes assistant designing on UC Irvine's mainstage production
of The Green Knight and Emergent Series production of Tick, Tick... Boom! This spring, she directed UCI Drama's Emergent Series production of Chekhov's The Bear and The Proposal.

To learn more about the Costume Society of America, visit costumesocietyamerica.com. To learn more about UCI Drama, visit arts.uci.edu/drama.