Meet this year’s recipients of ETC’s LDI Student Sponsorship

In its continuing support of arts education, ETC is once again giving six students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the fields of lighting design and stage technology an exclusive opportunity for professional development. As recipients of ETC’s annual LDI Student Sponsorship, the students will enjoy an all-expense-paid trip to the LDI tradeshow, a full conference pass to experience the newest technology and benefit from LDI seminars and trainings, and the chance to network with professionals throughout the industry at special events. ETC will match 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.

Introducing the 2016 ETC LDI Students:

Ben Clark

Currently a graduate student studying technical design and production at the Yale School of Drama, Ben Clark has worked professionally for ten years. This summer, he held an equipment designer position at Theatre Projects. Prior to grad school, Ben served as associate technical director at ArtsEmerson for three years, overseeing show construction, supervising crews, and carrying out rigging inspections and maintenance. He was a carpenter, electrician and rigger for the American Repertory Theater and for freelance projects, including Punch Drunk’s Sleep No More, WGBH Public Television, the Huntington Theater Company, The Ogunquit Playhouse, Williamstown Theater Festival, Pook Diemont & Ohl, and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company.

Wylder Cooper

Finishing up his last year of undergraduate studies at Clemson University, Wylder Cooper is earning a bachelor of arts in production studies in performing arts, with a theatre concentration and lighting emphasis. He worked as an apprentice electrician at the Santa Fe Opera, and as an overhire programmer at StageTech. Wylder served as the Bellamy Theatre lighting supervisor for Clemson University, and a house electrician on the production staff at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts. He has designed the lighting for She Loves Me; LOOT; Almost, Maine; Urinetown; Ring of Fire, and more.

Jessica Ann Drayton

Jessica Ann Drayton is a senior at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, working toward a bachelor of fine arts in design and technology, with a concentration in lighting design. She has summer internship experience as an assistant lighting designer at the Cincinnati Opera, an apprentice electrician for the Santa Fe Opera, and an electrician for the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Since 2012, she has worked as a lighting designer and electrician for Wolfman Productions and Consulting Inc. In the past, she was a console programmer at the Atlanta Lyric Theatre, and an electrician at the Six Flags over Georgia Fright Fest.

Alyssa Glenn

A master of arts candidate, Alyssa Glenn is studying theater arts at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned a bachelor of arts at UCSC in 2016, with a major in theater and a minor in education. Alyssa is currently serving as production manager for the student-run Barn Theater at her university. Her lighting designs have been seen on Ramayana: Of Monkeys and Men, Woyzeck, A Dream Play, The Tempest, Rent, and Little Shop of Horrors. She has been a technical event supervisor at Santa Clara University since 2013, and has technician experience at UCSC, Opera San Jose, and the Palo Alto Players.

Alex Stevens

Alex Stevens is pursuing a master of fine arts in lighting design at Carnegie Mellon University after completing a bachelor of fine arts in lighting design and production from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. He was an assistant lighting designer, lighting design fellow, and lighting design intern at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, lighting intern for the 2015 Grammy Awards, and a lighting apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera. Alex’s lighting design credits include Pixels on the Royal Caribbean International Oasis of the Seas, Cock with Kinetic Theatre, White Rabbit Red Rabbit and Detroit with 12 Peers Theatre, and Master Builder with Quantum Theatre.

Nils Voerste

Originally from Germany, Nils Voerste is in his final year of the University of South Wales BSc Lighting Design and Technology course. He is taking courses on lighting for event, theater and architecture. During his third year, he worked with consulting engineering company Arup in London, designing lighting concepts for architectural projects and working on installations for local design festivals. Nils previously worked as an assistant lighting designer for lighting designer Herbert Cybulska at Frankfurt-based Cybulska + Partners Lighting Solutions. At his university, he served as a lighting technician for the “Locos in a Different Light” project in York.