Michael Northen Bursary 2014 Awarded to Max Narula at PLASA London

Max Narula, a student at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, has won this year's Michael Northen Bursary (MNB), picking up a £500 cash award at a special presentation at PLASA London on Tuesday, October 7 at ExCeL London. He was also awarded a year's premium membership to Stage Jobs Pro and a copy of Michael Northen's autobiography.

The Bursary is awarded annually to a student or recent graduate who has demonstrated strong, imaginative, and creative lighting designs. It is organized 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 judges commented on Narula's work:
• This was an extremely impressive and comprehensive submission, ticking all the boxes, and more! Simply, Max's passion and skills were at the forefront throughout his entry.
• He displayed a great work ethic, demonstrating a good solid CV, with clear professional development and progression throughout his studies.

The £250 ETC Award for runner up was awarded to Jack Weir, also a student at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. The judges said:
• Jack submitted a particularly impressive and concise entry, with great images and notation, and demonstrated an impressive realisation of his work.
• It was particularly Jack's concise approach and passion that stood out to the panel. Through his clear paperwork and lighting plans, alongside great imagery, Jack clearly demonstrated a clean and particularly stylistic approach.

The £250 Francis Reid Award for runner up was awarded to Oliver Bush, a student at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. The judges said:
• Through his use of images and his clear annotation throughout, Oliver gave the judges a particularly descriptive breakdown of his own design choices and how these impacted on the process as a whole.
• Oliver's reflective approach particularly impressed - displaying his desire to learn, develop and improve throughout.

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.

All the winning portfolios were available to view on the ALD stand. A folder containing the winners' work, along with photos of each of them, and photos from the winners prize giving presentation, can be found at http://j.mp/MNB-2014.

The award was established in 2000 after Northen 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.

The awards were organized by Sean Gleason on behalf of the ALD. The judges were Lucy Carter, Tim Lutkin, Matt Drury, Mark White, Bernie Davies, Mike Le Fevre, and Sean Gleason. The Michael Northen Bursary award is open to all students, not just ALD members. For further information please contact Ian Saunders at the Association of Lighting Designers at office@ald.org.uk.