The Michael Northen Bursary was set up by Michael Northen shortly before he passed away in 2001.  It takes the form of a £500 prize awarded to a student who shows exemplary talent in lighting design. 

This award was originally made in conjunction with the White Light Bursary, but since 2004 the ALPD has administered the scheme and organises the presentation of awards as a fitting tribute to Michael who was a founding member of the ALPD and a previous President. The fund itself is held by The Mousetrap Foundation, an organisation committed to encouraging young theatre practitioners. The ALPD therefore awards the bursary each year in conjunction with The Mousetrap Foundation.

2001 (included within the White Light Bursary):

• Winner:                       Sven Ortel - Rose Bruford College
• WL Bursary:               Suzy Hallam - Rose Bruford College
• ETC Bursary:               Richard White - Rose Bruford College

2002 (included in the White Light Bursary):

• Winner:                       Nathan Curry – Middlesex University - ‘Tristan & Islode’
• WL Bursary:               Eleanor Green – Trinity College - Lighting a Submarine
• ETC Bursary:              Phil Speck – Bretton Hall - ‘Three Sisters’

2003:

• Ayse Sdif
• Guy Kornetski

2004: (runners up prizes awarded by ETC and ALD but not designated)

• Winner:                      Johnathon McMullan – Guildhall School of Music & Drama - ‘Monday after the Miracle’
• Runner Up:                Lucy Hansom – Central St Martins - ‘Three Melodies’
• Runner Up:                Kristen Tunold – Hanssen – LIPA - ‘Metamorphosis’

2005:

• Winner:                        Matt Daw – Central School Speech & Drama  - ‘Extremely Difficult Times’
• ALD Runner Up:          Mary Pope – RADA  -  ‘Movies in Motion’
• ETC Runner up:           Andrew Ellis – Central School Speech & Drama  -  ‘Tin Drum’

2006:

• Winner:                            Chloe Kenward – University of Hull  -  ‘Egbert in the Underwold’
• ALD Runner Up:              Joshua Tomalin – LAMDA  -  ‘Mathilide’, ‘Serious Money’ & The Misanthrope’
• ETC Runner Up:               Richard Howell – Guildhall  -  ‘Twelfth Night’

PRG Special Mention:     Georg Spindler and Rene Zensen – LIPA  -  ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’

2007:

• Winner:                        Georg Spindler – LIPA  -  ‘The Memory of Water’
• ALD Runner Up          Dan Large - Central School of Speech and Drama  -  ‘Ghost Sonata’
• ETC Runner Up:          Catherine Crick - Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama  -  ‘Quadrophenia’

2008:

• Winner:                               Timothy Deiling – Central School of Speech & Drama  -  ‘The Visit’
• ALD Runner Up                  Jack Knowles - Central School of Speech and Drama  -  ‘A Guest For Dinner’
• ETC Runner Up:                  Callum Howie - Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama  -  ‘Dialogues des Carmelites’

          Hounourable Mention:      Emma Thompson – Rose Bruford College  -  ‘Macbeth’

2009:

• Winner:                             Dan Hill – Central School of Speech & Drama  -  ‘Woyzeck’
• ALD Runner Up               David Alcorta - Central School of Speech and Drama  -  ‘The Runners’
• ETC Runner Up:               Fridthjofur Thorsteinsson - Central School of Speech and Drama  -  ‘Godfather Death’

2010:

• Winner:                                 Bradly “Ziggy” Jacobs - Central School of Speech & Drama  -  ‘Remembrance of Things Past’
• ALD Francis Reid Award:   Tanya Stephenson - University of Leeds  -  ‘Dream/Play’
• ETC Prize:                              Sean Gleason - Rose Bruford College  -  ’As It Is In Heaven’

2011:

• Winner:                                 Rob Dyer – Guildhall School of Music & Drama
• ALD Francis Reid Award:   Elliot Griggs - RADA 
• ETC Prize:                              Shmuel (Muly) Yechezkel - Rose Bruford College

      2011 award criteria changed to being portfolio based, hence no show titles included.

ALD 50th Anniversary Bursary

• Winner:                               Paul Green 
• Honourable Mention:        Lucy Record

2012:

• Winner:                                 Rachel Bottomley - LIPA                                              
• ALD Francis Reid Award:   Alexander Ridgers – Royal Conservatoire Scotland                                                       
• ETC Prize:                              Zoe Spurr – Central SSD

2013:

• Winner:                                 Alex Fernandes – Edinburgh University                                                    
• ALD Francis Reid Award:   Nic Farman – Rose Bruford College                                   
• ETC Prize:                             Jamie Platt – Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

2014:

• Winner:                                  Max Narula – Guildhall School of Music & Drama
• ALD Francis Reid Award:   Oliver Bush – LIPA                                                
• ETC Prize:                              Jack Weir - Guildhall School of Music & Drama

2015:

• Winner:                                   Adam Murdoch – Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts                                           
• ALD Francis Reid Award:     Joe Price – Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama                                            
• ETC Prize:                               Robbie Butler - Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Excellence in Video Design: Iain Syme – Royal Central School of Speech & Drama

2016:

• Winner:                                   Rory Beaton – Guildhall School of Music & Drama                                                         
• ALD Francis Reid Award:    Sana Yamaguchi – Royal Central School of Speech & Drama                                                          
• ETC Prize:                               Jai Morjaria - RADA

​

2017:

• Winner:                                   Jack Coleman – Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts                                                          
• ALD Francis Reid Award:    Jess Bernberg – Guildhall School of Music & Drama                                                         
• ETC Prize:                               Hector Murray - Royal Central School of Speech & Drama

2018:

• Winner:                                   Sophie Bailey – Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts                                                          ​
• ALD Francis Reid Award:    Bethany Gupwell – Guildhall School of Music & Drama                                                         
• ETC Prize:                               Johanne Jensen - Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
• Video Design Award:           Ruben Plaza Garcia - Rose Bruford College

2019:

• Michael Northen Award for Lighting Design:   Lucia Sanchez Roldan - Royal Academy of Dramatic Art​​​                                                                                                                                                          Ryan Joseph Stafford - Rose Bruford College​​                              ​                                                        
• Fred Foster Award for Production Electrics: ​    Rohan McDermott - Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• Blue-I Media Award for Video Design:             Tracy Gibbs - LIPA

2020:

• Michael Northen Award for Lighting Design:    Euan Davis - Royal Academy of Dramatic Art​​​                                                                                  
• Fred Foster Award for Production Electrics: ​    Liam Sayer - Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• Blue-I Media Award for Video Design:             Liam Strong - Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• Francis Reid Award for Best Emerging LD:     Josie Ireland

2022:

• Michael Northen Award for Lighting Design:    Charly Dunford - LIPA
• WYSIWYG Award for Programmers:                Stanley Olden - Guildhall School of Music and Drama