The ALPD announces the winners of the Michael Northen Award

The Fred Foster Award for Excellence in Production Electrics

The Anne Valentino Award for Excellence in Programming

at the New Technology Showcase

The Association for Lighting Production and Design announce the winners of their 2024 Awards at the New Technology Showcase at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama today, Thursday 30th January.  This event, jointly hosted by White Light, the ALPD and RCSSD, is an opportunity for lighting professionals to explore and compare the latest lighting technology available on the market.

The winner of The Michael Northen Award for emerging lighting designers sponsored by Go Live Theatre Projects, ETC and Vectorworks is Skylar Turnbull Hurd, a lighting designer, assistant lighting designer and production video engineer working mostly in theatre. Skylar studied at RADA and also won a Profile Award for Outstanding New Designer earlier this year.

The judging panel commented that Skylar submitted some extraordinary images with great use of colour, texture and beam to define the spaces, and that all the concepts were thoroughly researched, documented, and bespoke to each specific production. They also commended her collaboration, honesty and openness.

Skylar said:  “It means so much to me to win the Michael Northern Award. It is an honour to have my hard work and that of my teams recognised. Compiling all of the pieces of the shows to create my portfolio reminded me of how valuable those experiences were, and I am immensely grateful to all of the different groups of people who have supported me throughout those different projects, and to the judges for choosing me. I now feel even more motivated to keep pursuing what used to be a hobby, and now is my career!”

For the second year both the Anne Valentino Award for Excellence in Programming and The Fred Foster for Excellence in Production Electrics sponsored by ETC were nominated awards for working professionals. This gives the ALPD an opportunity to recognise and celebrate excellence in these fields. The programming award was renamed this year to honour the contribution to programming and console design of Anne Valentino.

The Anne Valentino Award for Excellence in Programming sponsored by ETC goes to Andrew Leighton.  Andrew has programmed over 30 shows at Chichester Festival Theatre since finishing his apprenticeship in 2018. Highlights at Chichester include Flowers for Mrs Harris with Mark Henderson, Local Hero with Paule Constable and Quiz with Ryan Day. Andrew’s nominations commend his speed, his positive energy and his ability to read each designer he works with and provide programming and support tailored to their way of working whilst maintaining excellent working relationships with all of the lighting team.

The Fred Foster Award for Excellence in Production Electrics sponsored by ETC goes to Alex Bosworth.  Alex started as a casual at Birmingham Rep in 2013 and became Head of Lighting in 2021 He received multiple nominations for his impeccable skills, vast knowledge, tireless work ethic, positivity, and sense of fun!

Further information Amanda Laidler, office@thealpd.org.uk  Tel:  07817 060189

The ALPD would like to thank all their sponsors:  Go Live Theatre Projects, Vectorworks and ETC, as well as all the lighting professionals who so generously give their time to adjudicate, advise and mentor. 

The ALPD continues to develop its Awards’ programme, and hopes to extend it in future years.

Notes for Editors:

The Association for Lighting Production and Design (The ALPD) is the body representing all those who work in or are interested in the creation of lighting for live performance and events. It is an association that welcomes lighting designers, technicians and programmers across the full range of performance lighting disciplines.

This year, there are 3 awards being presented as part of the “ALPD Awards for Excellence” scheme. As last year, only the Michael Northen award is for an early career lighting designer. The other two awards have been made to mid-career professional production electricians and programmers awarded through a nomination process by colleagues and co-workers.

The Michael Northen Award
This award is sponsored by Go Live Theatre Projects.

Michael Northen was the first credited Lighting Designer in the UK and his work on “The Mousetrap” can still be seen in the West End today.

The winner of this award receives a £500 cash prize, a 512 ETCnomad™ Package, a Vectorworks licence for 12 months and a 6-month mentoring scheme with an industry professional to run alongside the initial stage of their career. The winner will also receive a copy of Michael’s book – “Northen Lights”.

The Fred Foster Award for Excellence in Production Electrics
This Award is sponsored by ETC and dedicated to the late ETC CEO, Fred Foster.

The winner of this award receives an engraved mini Source 4 kindly supplied by ETC

The Anne Valentino Award for Excellence in  Programming
This award is sponsored by ETC

The winner of this award receives an engraved mini Source 4 kindly supplied by ETC.