Sponsored by LDI and Live Design, The USITT Rising Star Award recognizes excellence and artistic achievement by young professionals at the beginning of their careers in scenic, lighting, sound, and video/projection design for live events, or the convergence of these design disciplines. Applications for the 2027 Rising Star Award open on September 14, 2026. Apply here: 2027 Rising Star Award.
Nominations will close on November 14, 2026. The 2027 Rising Star Award will be presented at the USITT27 Annual Conference & Stage Expo, which takes place March 17-20, 2027 in Baltimore, MD.
• To be eligible, nominees must be in their first four years of professional (non-academic) work following the completion of their highest degree.
• Confirmation of nomination will be sent to the nominee with an invitation to complete their award submission.
• Successful nominees will demonstrate their professional accomplishments by submitting up to eight representative samples of their work, two letters of support, and a current professional resume or link to website.
• Nominees are judged for their range of knowledge and for their integration of skills and artistry as demonstrated by their work.
Sponsors LDI and Live Design, who have a long history of working with USITT, founded The Rising Star Award in 2005 to support emerging designers. USITT members, and university professors are invited to nominate promising young designers for this award; Young designers may also nominate themselves or their peers. The winner is presented with their award as part of the USITT Awards Ceremony on the main stage and invited to an award luncheon to meet the other 2027 award winners. They are also on USITT's podcast, TECHnically Speaking, and on USITT socials, so all members can celebrate their work! In addition to all of that spotlight, the Rising Star receives a $2,000 reward to help further their professional development.
Meet Gisela Estrada, 2026 Rising Star winner, in a Q&A with Live Design, in which she notes, "I love creating worlds where I can place a little bit of myself and supporting a story in a unique or abstract way while still keeping the precision and artistry the work requires."
“My goal is to make impacts that are invisible, yet crucial: impacts felt in the way that students experience learning resources, the way sound designers manifest their spatial audio imaginations, and the way we gather together to talk about what we can do better for each other,” says 2025 Rising Star winner Natalie Houle, featured in this Q&A with Live Design.
William N. Lowe, 2024 Rising Star recipient, notes “I am honored to have received the Rising Star Award from USITT, Live Design, and LDI.” Read his Q&A with Live Design.
The 2023 winner, Adam J. Thompson, is a video/media designer and multimedia performance director. Read Live Design's Q&A with him here.
Freelance scenic designer Kristen Martino was the 2022 recipient of the USITT Rising Star Award, she talked to Live Design about her journey starting out as a scenic designer here.
2021 winner, Elizabet Puksto from Vilnius, Lithuania, discusses her art direction for the immersive Modeland for Tyra Banks and designing music videos for various artists here.
Rising Star Award Winners 2005-2026:
2026 Gisela Estrada, scenic designer
2025 Natalie Houle, sound designer
2024 William N. Lowe, theatre & video game audio designer
2023 Adam J. Thompson, video/media designer.
2022 Kristin Martino, scenic designer
2021 Elizabet Puksto, scenic/production designer
2020 Joe Klug, scenic designer
2019 Maranda DeBusk, lighting/projection designer
2018 Paige Hathaway, scenic designer
2017 Bryce Cutler, scenic & media designer
2016 Stephen Moss, lighting designer
2015 Chris Wood, lighting & sound designer
2014 Janie Bullard, sound designer
2013 Aaron Porter, lighting designer
2012 Jason Simms, scene designer
2011 Daniel Brodie, projection designer
2010 Ben Pilat, lighting designer
2009 Sean Savoie, lighting designer
2008 Elisheba Ittoop, sound designer
2007 John Horan, lighting designer
2006 Justin Townsend, lighting & scenic designer
2005 Kelly Hanson, scenic designer
Click here for more information on the USITT Rising Star Award or apply here: 2027 Rising Star Award.