The Bursary is awarded annually to a student or recent graduate who has demonstrated strong, imaginative and creative lighting designs. It is organised by the Association of Lighting Designers, a professional body representing lighting designers in the live performance industry.
Northen was both a former chairman and president of the ALD and the first credited lighting designer in the UK.
Each year an award of £500 is presented to a young lighting designer who has shown excellence in the field of lighting design. The project must be a performance based lighting design in or out of the college environment. Two runner-up prizes of £250 each are also presented: an ETC sponsored award, and the ALD-sponsored Francis Reid Award.
The Michael Northen Bursary of £500, presented by lighting director Durham Marenghi, went to Rachel Bottomley of LIPA. The judges commented: "Rachel presented a very impressive portfolio, showing atmospheric, bold and dramatic states. It showed interesting and thoughtful approach to scripts and finding relevant reference material, visibly demonstrating how it was involved within her process through to seeing it implemented in the finished design.
"She clearly has a good understanding of how to support a narrative using colour and composition, while understanding how to exercise caution and not overdo things, only using something when fully justified."
The £250 ETC Award for runner up was awarded to Zoe Spurr of Central School of Speech & Drama. The award was collected by Max Spielbichler, assistant lighting director on the show that was entered. The judges said: "Zoe showed a good demonstration of influences and source material, which directly informed decisions, as well as showing detailed and thorough discussions with the creative team."
The £250 Francis Reid Award for runner up was awarded to Alexander Ridgers of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland by Francis Reid. The judges said: "Alexander's portfolio included lovely photos, which showed very strong stage images and composition. His concept ideas were interesting, and were clearly seen with good overall outcomes for the designs included."
Taking part in the Michael Northen Bursary brings the student's work to the attention of the experienced lighting designers and other industry professionals on the judging panel. Winning one of the three awards captures the attention of all the members of the ALD, and potentially everyone attending the PLASA show, as the winning portfolios were available to view on the ALD stand. Winning can also be a help at the start of a professional career in lighting, as part of the prizes include some outstanding opportunities to work alongside top industry names.
The award was established in 2000 after Michael received an MBE for his contribution to theatre and lighting design. His work on The Mousetrap can still be seen in the West End today.
The Mousetrap Foundation, a theatre education charity dedicated to providing opportunities for young people to attend West End productions, administers the Bursary fund.
(Jim Evans)
