School Notes: David Geffen School of Drama
May/June 2022

Projection designer wins design fellowship

Projection designer Camilla Tassi ’22MFA has been named the recipient of the 2022 Burry Fredrik Design Fellowship, established in 2017 to help launch the careers of graduates from David Geffen School of Drama’s design departments, and its $25,000 award. In addition, if Tassi is hired as a designer at any professional theater in Connecticut in the next two years, the foundation will make a grant to that theater in an amount equal to the fee paid to the designer. 

Tassi said, “I hold deep respect for the work of my current peers, past graduates, and faculty of the design program. It is humbling to receive this award, and I look forward to ways of giving back and meeting new collaborators within the Connecticut theater community. As someone who grew up outside of the US, I care about developing roots and deeper relationships—I am moved that engagement with the state’s arts community is at the center of the Burry Fredrik Foundation’s mission. With their generous support, I hope to also further an initiative I began during my studies: a collective which aims at providing educational spaces, training, and collaborative opportunities to theatrical designers and chamber musicians from across the country.”

A theater trailblazer, Tony Award–winning producer, and Broadway director and stage manager, Burry Fredrik established the Burry Fredrik Foundation to promote the development of new work and the fiscal health of professional theaters in Connecticut. To fulfill its mission, the foundation provides support for developing new works and audiences for Connecticut professional producing theaters with national import and fosters the development of young theater designers.