In its continuing support of arts education, ETC has announced the recipients of its 12th annual LDI Student Sponsorship. The programme gives six students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of lighting design and stage technology an exclusive opportunity for professional development.
The students enjoy an all expenses paid trip to the LDI trade show; backstage access to ETC’s tradeshow stand; an insider’s look at the latest technology; and the chance to network with industry professionals. ETC matches the Student Sponsorship recipients with industry luminaries who serve as mentors – giving advice, inspiration and support to the students as they embark on their careers.
This year’s ETC LDI Student Sponsorship recipients are:
Ryan Bona
Ryan Bona is a Master of Fine Arts candidate for theatrical lighting design at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2009, with a BA in theatre. In 2010, Bona was awarded a Wally Russell lighting internship at the Los Angeles Opera.
Michael Farmer
Mike Farmer is a senior undergraduate at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts in technical production, with an emphasis on lighting design. He will receive his degree in May 2012 and plans to work on the west coast following graduation.
Bryan ‘B’ Lussier
B Lussier is working toward a Master of Fine Arts in lighting design at the University of Florida and holds a BA in English, Elizabethan and Jacobean drama from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was lighting director at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, 2007 to 2009. He is co-developer for an Introduction to Light and Sound online course and has also taught undergraduate lighting design classes.
Mary Montgomery
Mary Montgomery is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in theatre design and technology from the University of Minnesota. She graduated from Minnesota’s Winona State University in 2009, with a BA in theatre and dance. Montgomery served as a lighting design intern at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 2009 and as master electrician for Winona’s Great River Shakespeare Festival this summer.
Kong Qingyao
Kong Qingyao is this year’s international recipient of the ETC LDI student sponsorship, hailing from China. He is studying at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, working toward a Master of Fine Arts in lighting design and technology. He completed his undergraduate study at the same university, graduating in 2005 with a bachelor of arts in lighting design. He works in the department of stage design at the school.
Ethan Steimel
Ethan Steimel, currently a graduate student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Missouri State University in 2010.
Pictured clockwise, from top left: Bryan ‘B’ Lussier, Ethan Steimel, Mary Montgomery, Ryan Bona, Kong Qingyao, Michael Farmer
