BA (Hons) Production Design for Stage & Screen student Phoebe Lynch is the first gold-prize recipient of a new award for this year: the Norman Austick Award for Outstanding Commitment to the BA (Hons) Production Design for Stage & Screen course. The award is named after and presented by Lecturer Norman Austick, who worked as a lecturer on the programme for 32 years.

Phoebe Lynch, 22 years old, from Northumberland County, said, “Honestly, I was quite shocked! We didn’t know beforehand that they had introduced a new award. But I felt really proud of everything I’d done to get to that point.”

Phoebe, whose FMP was based on “a dressing room set for a fictional TV series about a 1920s showgirl”, said she really enjoyed her course: “There have been ups and downs, but I feel that I’ve learned so much. Obviously, I’ve learned a lot about how to use workshop machinery safely, but learning how to use programmes like Adobe Illustrator and SketchUp will be really useful when working in the industry!”

When asked what advice she would give future students on her course, she replied, “Enjoy your time here! It goes by faster than you think! Always ask questions and try not to leave everything to the last minute!”

Reflecting on living in Hartlepool, she said, “I’d say take it one day at a time, try and enjoy the rain as much as the sunshine. Hartlepool has a lot to offer when you have a good look around.”

Phoebe said her favourite memory of her time at the School is “a tie between seeing our Production 2 set, a train station waiting room, fully lit and ready to be filmed on, and then seeing my degree show set fully dressed beforehand.”

Keep up to date with Phoebe on Instagram: @plynch_designs and LinkedIn.

Find out more about The Northern School of Art’s BA (Hons) Set Design for Stage & Screen degree HERE.