Announcing the 2026 Hemsley Lighting Programs Internship Recipients

	AJ Rose

The Hemsley Lighting Programs announces the recipients of the 2026 Hemsley Lighting Internship.

Ashley Christensen is a lighting designer originally from Portland, Oregon. She is an MFA lighting design candidate at Indiana University Bloomington (2026). Also a sound designer and musician, she strives to combine each of her backgrounds to find the richness where the three intersect. This pushes her to find innovative ways to communicate through light, helping her to find the beats in a moment onstage, the musicality in a transition, and to strengthen her collaboration with the sound or score of a work. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading, and playing harp. (sites.google.com/view/ashley-christensen)

Christensen will intern from July through February with the lighting departments of the San Francisco Opera, The New York City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

AJ Rose is a lighting designer originally from Michigan, finishing their MFA program at Texas State University in San Marcos. AJ is passionate about enhancing the artistry of the shows they work on with their lighting design. When not in a theatre, they enjoy reading, going to the movies, and hanging out with their cat, Celia. ajrosedesigns.com

Rose will intern under the guidance of Paul Miller on the Gene Kelly Awards, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and with Rob Denton at the Muny in St. Louis.

The Hemsley Lighting Programs, Inc. was established in 1983 as The Gilbert V. Hemsley, Jr. Internship in Lighting in honor of the late lighting designer. For over three decades, the programs, which now include The Hemsley Lighting Internship, The Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review, The Howell Binkley Fellowship, and the Independent Study Program, have been helping current students and recent graduates bridge the gap between the educational and professional worlds.