The Burry Fredrik Foundation has announced Scenic Designer Omid Akbari as the recipient of the 2024 Burry Fredrik Design Fellowship and its $10,000 award. The Burry Fredrik Design Fellowship was established in 2017 to help launch the careers of graduates from David Geffen School of Drama’s Design program. Each year, the faculty selects one graduating scenic, costume, lighting, projection, or sound designer as the Burry Fredrik Design Fellow, who receives a cash award.
In addition, the Burry Fredrik Foundation is committed to supporting the careers of all graduates of the Design Program of the David Geffen School of Drama. For a period of two years following their graduation (starting July 1 and ending June 30 two years hence), when a graduate of the Geffen School Design Program is hired and accepts work as a designer at any of Connecticut’s professional producing theaters, for their first production at the theater, the Burry Fredrik Foundation will award that theater a grant in an amount equal to the customary and usual fee paid to the graduate for their design.
“Omid Akbari is an outstanding addition to the remarkable group of Burry Fredrik Design Fellows from David Geffen School of Drama,” said Barbara L. Pearce, Chair of the Foundation. “We are proud to support their work and to provide opportunities for all of this year’s talented graduate designers at theaters in Connecticut.”
“We are grateful to the Burry Fredrik Foundation for its generosity,” said Design Program Co-Chairs Riccardo Hernández and Toni-Leslie James. “It provides crucial financial support to our students as they begin to make their way in the world after graduation, giving them an opportunity to showcase their artistry at theaters throughout Connecticut.”
Omid Akbari he/him/his is a scenic designer and costume concept artist. He is currently a fourth-year M.F.A candidate in set design at David Geffen School of Drama, where his recent credits include the Dwight/Edgewood Project, Furlough’s Paradise, and Macbeth. At Yale Rep, he was the scenic designer for Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi in 2023. He received his bachelor’s degree in set design from the University of Art in Tehran, Iran. He has done many productions in Iran as a set and costume designer and was nominated for the Best Set Designer at the International Theatre Festival in Iran. omidakbari.com
“I am deeply grateful and honored to receive this year’s Burry Fredrik Design Fellowship. As an international designer, I feel extremely fortunate to be presented with this prestigious award from the Foundation. I look forward to collaborating with the talented members of the Connecticut theatre community,” Akbari said. “I would also like to thank the David Geffen School of Drama, the design faculty, my wonderful classmates, and the Burry Fredrik Foundation for providing early career designers with such a remarkable opportunity to make their way into the American theatre.”
Previous recipients of the Burry Fredrik Fellowship are Set Designer Claire DeLiso, 2017; Sound Designer Frederick Kennedy, 2018; Set Designer Stephanie Osin Cohen, 2019; Lighting Designer Evan C. Anderson, 2020; and Projection Designer Camilla Tassi, 2022; and Scenic Designer Marcelo Martínez García, 2023.
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.
