Shirley Prendergast


Merris Shirley Prendergast was a theater lighting designer notable for being the first African-American woman admitted to the United Scenic Artists’ lighting division in 1969. She was also the first African-American woman lighting designer on Broadway in 1973. Prendergast designed lighting for Broadway shows such as Waltz of the Stork, Amen Corner, and the Paul Robeson one-man show. She designed lighting for fifty years, well into her mid-80s. One of her last productions was Zora Neale Hurston: a Theatrical Biography in 2016.

Early life

Prendergast was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dorita and Wilford Prendergast. She grew up in Boston and New York. She studied microbiology at Brooklyn College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954. She worked as a bacteriologist with the New York City Health Department and focused on her art when not at work. Prendergast took a lighting design class at the YWCA with Nicola Cernovich, a designer with Alvin Ailey's dance troupe. She then went on to study lighting at Lester Polakov's Studio of Stage Design.
One of her first jobs was as a lighting designer for the Negro Ensemble Company; one of their shows, The River Niger, went on to Broadway where she became established in her new career.

Awards and honors