I think the OP (having no electronics experience) would have already partnered with an engineering student if that were possible.
Also, most professors put strict limitations on what you're allowed to use if the objective is to demonstrate the ability to use uCs to implement some project because it would be defeating the purpose of the assignment (unless the laptop was "in addition to" the uC). I think DMX is used in professional theater lighting control consoles. I worked on theater lighting gel scrollers and those used DMX. I used to design and fabricate custom lighting controllers for Sam Salde when he did movie star parties in Hollywood in the
early 80's. (Sight & Sound Entertainment) . Frank Sinatra's birthday party (Dean Martin was there), President Reagan's Innauguration banquet, the Hi-roller's New Year's Eve party (2200 people) in Ceasar's Palace Coliseum banquet room. Sam was the lighting designer, (like you in this project) and his client's chose the theme and just turned him loose. He cooked up a plan and then came to me and said "ok, here's what I want to do. I need you to build a controller that can reproduce the light sequencing pattern of the Tropicana Club in Miami where the client proposed to his wife 50 yrs ago. I'll build the light's , you make them flash like the sample video we have. So your first job is design the lighting display using whatever colors you want, come up with a flashing scheme and then design the electronics to make it work. It sounds like you're really not ready to talk about electronics yet. You need to design your light display first before you ask how to make it work