The Burry Fredrik Foundation Announces 2026 Burry Fredrik Design Fellowship

The Burry Fredrik Foundation has announced scenic designer Jessie Baldinger as the recipient of the 2026 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 Geffen School faculty selects one graduating scenic, costume, lighting, projection, or sound designer as the Burry Fredrik Design Fellow, who receives a cash award.

Baldinger is a third-year M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama. Select credits include Hedda Gabler (Yale Repertory Theatre), Metamorphoses (the Geffen School), Iolanta (Yale Opera), Pride of Doves (Yale Cabaret), As You Like It (Nashville Shakespeare Festival),Homofermenters (Ars Nova ANT Fest), and assistant set designer on JOB and I Need That (Broadway). Baldinger grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is a graduate of Northwestern University.

"It is such an honor to be selected as the 2026 Burry Fredrik Fellow," Baldinger says. "I am grateful to the mentors, colleagues, and collaborators who made this possible, and to the Foundation for its support of my work. I look forward to the opportunity to continue working in Connecticut's vibrant theatre community."

"The Trustees of the Burry Fredrik Foundation are delighted to continue the legacy of Burry Fredrik through the awarding of the Burry Fredrik Design Fellowship to a deserving graduate from the David Geffen School of Drama," says Barbara L. Pearce, chair of the Foundation. "Burry, who began her theatrical career as a designer, left her entire estate to further the aims of Connecticut professional theatre as well as to support the development of new design talent for the theatre."

In addition to the annual Design Fellowship, 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 theatres, for their first production at the theatre, the Burry Fredrik Foundation will award that theatre a grant in an amount equal to the customary and usual fee paid to the graduate for their design.

"On behalf of David Geffen School of Drama, we are grateful for the Foundation's visionary support which provides our entire class of graduating designers with opportunities to showcase their artistry at theatres throughout Connecticut," says design program co-chairs Riccardo Hernandez and Toni-Leslie James.

Last year, the Burry Fredrik Foundation underwrote a record 19 designer fees for productions at Goodspeed Musicals, Hartford Stage Company, Ivoryton Playhouse, Legacy Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Playhouse on Park, TheaterWorks Hartford, and Thrown Stone Theatre Company.

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; scenic designer Marcelo Martínez Garcia, 2023; scenic designer Omid Akbari, 2024; and costume and scenic designer Arthur W. Wilson, 2025.

A theatre 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 theatres in Connecticut. To fulfill its mission, the Foundation provides support for developing new works and audiences for Connecticut professional producing theatres with national import and fosters the development of young theatre designers.