USITT is pleased to announce Darius Knight Evans as our 2024 Collier Robert Woods, Jr. Scholarship recipient.

The Collier Robert Woods, Jr. Scholarship, named to honor designer and technician Collier Robert Woods, Jr., who passed away in 2020, supports Black and African American students with interests in lighting design and/or theatre production, technology, and associated theatrical fields. Woods was a veteran lighting designer and stage technician with extensive lighting design credits in opera, ballet, modern dance, music, and theatre.

Knight Evans is a sophomore lighting design major at Boston University. He grew up with two parents in live entertainment and was exposed to the scene at an early age. His previous production credits include assistant production electrician for Cendrillon, lead spot op for La Clemenza di Tito, and assistant master electrician at the Forestburgh Playhouse. He is currently working as the assistant lighting designer for Dark Sisters at Boston University. He would like to thank his family, friends, and mentors who have helped him along the way. 

“It is an honor to be chosen as the Collier Woods Scholarship recipient for this year,” Knight Evans said. “I’ve been looking at this scholarship for a long time, and it means a lot to me that USITT selected me to be this year’s recipient. Words cannot describe how eternally grateful I am. It feels incredible, and it is an honor to be chosen.”

Knight Evans would like to thank USITT for selecting him this year. He also thanks his parents and family for their ongoing support, his high school teachers, Mr. Sallach and Mr. Collins, and his high school principal Ms. Jackson, as well as all of his professors at Boston University who have helped him grow. He'd also like to thank Paul Miller, Ken Billington, and Mark Stanley for helping him find lighting design.

“I am thrilled that Darius Knight Evans is a recipient of the Collier Robert Woods, Jr. Scholarship,” said Woods’ wife, Anjali Austin. “With his passion for lighting design and theatre production, I am happy that we can support Darius as he continues to pursue a career in the field.”

If you would like to make a gift to the Collier Robert Woods Scholarship Fund, click here.