Dad’s Garage to get scholarship fund

An emerging lighting designer will be chosen to work with Dad’s Garage t his summer through a scholarship honoring the memory of Conan Joshua Santamaria.

Santamaria died Feb. 10 at age 32 after a yearlong battle with lung cancer, a news release said.

“In Conan’s final year, every day he was healthy he would make his way back to Dad’s to design with lights , ” the statement said. “Conan never regarded it as work — lighting was his love.”

Sanatamaria grew up in Marietta as the “youngest of three brothers raised by a loving single mom,” the release said.

He went to Lassiter High School and got a lighting degree at Georgia College and State University.

Santamaria worked at Turner Broadcasting and Dad’s Garage.

Theater reviews from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described his work as giving “the lighting a sharp detail” and painting “it all with lovely light.”

The comedy theater recently announced a call for applications for the “Legend of Conan Lighting Scholarship,” named as a nod to Santamaria’s nickname due to his love of “The Legend of Zelda.”

The recipient will receive a three-month stipend to work with the Dad’s team on scripted plays, improv shows and videos.

Applications are due April 15, and an announcement will be made April 30.