Shirley Prendergast

Merris Shirley Prendergast (June 15, 1932 – February 26, 2019) was a theater lighting designer notable for being the first African-American woman admitted to the United Scenic Artists’ lighting division, in 1969, and the first African-American female lighting designer on Broadway in 1973.[1][2] She designed lighting for Broadway shows such as Waltz of the Stork, Amen Corner, and the Paul Robeson one-man show.[3] Prendergast designed lighting for fifty years, well in to her mid-80s. One of her last lighting design productions was Zora Neale Hurston: a Theatrical Biography in 2016.[4]

Shirley Prendergast
BornJune 15, 1932
Boston, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 26, 2019
Other namesMerris Shirley Prendergast
Occupationlighting designer

Early life

Prendergast was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dorita and Wilford Prendergast.[1] She grew up in Boston and New York.[4] She studied microbiology at Brooklyn College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954.[3] She worked as a bacteriologist with the New York City Health Department, and did her art in the evenings.[3] She took a lighting design class at the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association)[5] with Nicola Cernovich, a designer with Alvin Ailey's dance troupe.[3] She then went on to study lighting at Lester Polakov's Studio of Stage Design.[3]

Her first jobs were lighting design for the Negro Ensemble Company; one of their shows The River Niger, went to Broadway and established her in her new career.[3]

Awards and honors
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References
  1. Perkins, Kathy A. (Summer 2014). "The Remarkable Career of ShIrley Prendergast". Theater Design & Technology. 50 (3): 30–39. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  2. Perkins, Kathy A. (2019-04-04). "Trailblazing lighting designer Shirley Prendergast passes". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  3. "Shirley Prendergast Honored for Lighting". USITT. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  4. Perkins, Kathy A. (2019-04-09). "In Memoriam: Shirley Prendergast". USITT News. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  5. https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/hickmanbrady/tdt_2014summer/index.php#/p/32
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