ETC announces 2019 LDI Fred Foster Student Mentees
Date Posted: 10/17/2019
Recognizing the importance of mentorship in any lighting professional’s career, ETC has sponsored students at LDI for the past twenty years, connecting them with the industry’s brightest talent. Now, ETC has renamed this initiative the Fred Foster Student Mentorship Program, in honor of the late Founder and CEO’s legacy. ETC is proud to announce this year’s recipients.
As a part of the program, seven students from around the world will receive an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas with a full LDI conference pass. In addition to networking with seasoned lighting professionals at the show, each student will be paired with a mentor to keep in contact with for support, advice, and encouragement the following year and beyond.
The 2019 recipients of the Fred Foster Student Mentorship Program are:
Allison Newcombe
Allison Newcombe is currently attending University of South Carolina as a candidate for an MFA in Lighting Design. As a graduate assistant, she oversees undergraduate students during lab hours, teaching them how to use lighting equipment. Her selected works in lighting design include Aphra Behn, The Wolves, The Revolutionists, Newsies, Shakespeare in Love, Piece of My Heart, The Crucible, and more.
Garrett Bell
Garrett Bell is working towards completing his MFA degree in theatre lighting design from Purdue University in 2020. His recent lighting design credits include These Shining Lives, The Tempest, and Hamlet. He will be designing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches this February. At College of Charleston, he earned a bachelor’s degree in both studio art photography and theatre lighting and scenic design and technology.
Marissa Michaels
Marissa Michaels joins the Student Mentorship Program from New York. She is working towards a BFA in theatre design/technology with a concentration in lighting design from Purchase College's professional training program. Her recent design work has been featured in a dance piece titled “Phission” at Purchase for the Conservatory of Dance, Oliver! at Buck’s Rock Performing & Creative Arts Camp. She is currently lighting Lorca’s Blood Wedding which opens at Purchase College this October.
Ronan O’Shea
A student of film and screen media at University College Cork in Ireland, Ronan O'Shea has worked as a lighting designer for both stage and screen. He has designed for both plays and musicals while also working as a director of photography and gaffer on several short films. Ronan won the U.C.C. Dramat Award for Best Lighting Design for his work on The Children's Hour. He has also recently worked as an Associate Designer with Graffiti Theatre Company on their most recent national tour.
Samuel Boucher
After earning an undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from Université Paris X-Nanterre, international student Samuel Boucher entered the Production Design and Technical Arts program at National Theatre School of Canada. With a range of technical and design experience, Samuel has worked as a lighting designer, technical director, lighting operator, and more on multiple productions. His most recent lighting design work was featured in Tu es Nora at Patro le Prevost in Montreal.
Lauren Gallup
Based in Washington D.C., Lauren Gallup currently attends the University of Maryland and is on track to earn a MFA in lighting design in 2020. Lauren has designed for a range of venues, including Imagination Stage, The Hangar Theatre (Wedge and Kiddstuff series), Nu Sass, Signature Theatre (Signature in the Schools) among others. She apprenticed at The Santa Fe Opera and The Olney Theatre Center (MD), and served as The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Lighting Design Assistant as part of the FAIR program.
Omar Madkour
An Egyptian native, Omar Madkour is pursuing an MFA in lighting design at California Institute of the Arts. His lighting design credits span across Egypt, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Belgium. His selected works include Black Like Me, Ordinary People, No Exit, Mind The Gap, Dreamscape, and more.
Congratulations to all of the recipients. Visit ETC and High End Systems at LDI booths 325, 425, and 525.