Congratulations to the outstanding theatre design students who are the recipients of the 2025 Pat MacKay Diversity In Design Scholarships, awarded annually since 2019 in partnership with TSDCA (Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association) and USITT. The scholarships are worth up to $5,000 for each student and are funded by LDI and Live Design to support talent from underrepresented backgrounds in the field of entertainment design.
The Diversity In Design Scholarships are sponsored by Lightswitch, in their effort to support the next generation.
This year's students are studying lighting, sound, and projection/scenic design.
The Diversity In Design Scholarships are part of LDI's Foster the Future Program, which comprises the Pat MacKay Diversity in Design Scholarship, the LDI + DSE Production Assistant Program, and the Young Career Professionals Program, which includes access to both show expo halls, an LDInnovation Conference badge, and special events for those ages 18-25. Find more info on Foster The Future here and register for LDI 2025 here.
Judges for the Diversity In Design Scholarships this year were hip-hopper Jordan Gilliam, visual designer Roma Flowers. video artist and theatrical designer Davonté Johnson, Pat MacKay, former publisher of Theatre Crafts International (TCI) and Lighting Dimensions and founder of the LDI Trade Show & Conference, and Darius Evans, currently a lighting design student and a scholarship recipient in 2023.
Meet the students!
Bianca Akoa is a sophomore at Boston University majoring in theatrical lighting design. She has a can-do attitude and a high standard of excellence. Lighting design is a very important passion of hers and she is looking forward to learning as much as she can about lighting at BU and beyond. She is very grateful to have been awarded the Pat MacKay Diversity in Design Scholarship as this will allow her to continue to study at BU with less financial worry. Bianca is very excited to collaborate and meet with other lighting designers and is hopeful that this scholarship will help her reach that goal. She is excited to see where a career in lighting design will take her and is thrilled at the possibilities.
"I would love the opportunity to work as either a lighting designer or production electrician on Shrek the Musical as it is the play that made me fall in love with theatre in the first place," says Akao. "I want to embrace the freedom that lighting design gives me taking advantage of the fact that lighting design can take me all over the world."
Audrey Allen is a projections/video designer, scenic designer, and scenic artist. She is currently studying for a BFA in scenic design, with additional emphases in scenic painting and projections/video design, at Utah State University and is in her junior year. She recently won “Heart of the Arts for Scenic Arts” at KCACTF’s region 8 festival for her scenic painting. Audrey is drawn towards telling a story in all of her projects, and finds it vital in every aspect of design. Currently, one of those outlets is through the medium of projections and the flexibility of the artform. Eventually, she would like to find herself designing for playhouses and stages across the globe, and exploring the world of designing projection-based experiences and exhibits.
"My goal in education is to take every opportunity to learn everything I can possibly know. Currently that largely focuses on projections, since I am so new to the world of it," Allen explains. "I am fairly confident in the creation of media, well, at least I think I am, for at least the limited information I know, but I know that I still have a ton more to learn. Beyond Blender and Adobe After Effects, I also am trying to learn as many different projections softwares as I can to be even more adaptable - which currently are disguise and QLab, but I want to approach my projections professor about other programs.:
Elena Hewett (they/them/theirs) is a lighting designer and scenic painter currently pursuing both a BFA in technical production and a BA with a focus in comparative genocide studies at Western Michigan University. They’re passionate about creating art that is collaborative and community-centered, communicating complex messages with subtlety and refinement. One of Hewett’s main motivations is to emphasize and uplift the voices of fellow trans and gender-nonconforming individuals within theatrical spaces. They are thrilled to be recognized by this scholarship and hope to continue to develop as a designer and artist.
"Continuing my education is inexorable from my vision of the future. I want to earn a Master's in Lighting Design and would potentially seek a Master's or Doctorate in a research role, though that might fall later along the timeline. With the sheer speed of technological advancement in the field, I will absolutely prioritize future education, whether that is in a formal setting or not," Hewitt notes.
Ashley Nava is a sound designer and audio technician from Fullerton, California. She is in her first year at The Theatre School at DePaul University, where she’ll be studying sound design. Her goal is to work in the world of entertainment through audio—whether it’s in theater, film, concerts, or any live event, and to learn every aspect of sound and continue growing as a well-rounded audio artist. As a Mexican American and first-generation college student, she also hopes to open doors for others from communities like hers and show that there’s a place for them in this industry.
"As a first-generation college student, pursuing this degree means more than just following a passion — it means breaking new ground for myself and my family. I’ve worked hard to carve out a path in an industry where voices like mine aren’t always represented. My long-term goal is to use what I learn at DePaul to help create more immersive, inclusive, and meaningful soundscapes in live performance — and to open doors for others like me in the world of design," says Nava.
Tait Truong (he/him) is a lighting technician from Oklahoma City who is currently working towards becoming a lighting designer. As a second-year student at Oklahoma City University who is pursuing a B.F.A. in design and production with a lighting design focus, Tait strongly believes in the potential that lighting has in uplifting a story and strives to create breathtaking visuals in all avenues. Inspired by the vast array of artists and collaborators that theatre brings together, Tait is constantly on the lookout for the next organization to be involved with. Around the city, he has had the pleasure of being involved with Toucan Productions, Oklahoma City Repertory Theater, OCCC’s Theater Department, and many others. Looking towards the future, Tait aims to create designs that he can be proud of as well as inspire others to pursue theatre arts.
"The goals that I intensely seek for my career are the moments of dialogue and active cooperation between other artists that comes from genuine thoughtfulness towards theatre as an art form," says Truong. "As much as I look forward to the joys of the theatre making process, I also anticipate and invite the hardships that are evident in any project. Molded from this comes forth the end result of theatre at its most genuine form. It is a career goal of mine for audiences to see this and be inspired by what theatre truly is and what it can achieve beyond telling a story."