As a staff member in the Fine and Performing Arts department at the Emilson Y, I always take pride in the programming we offer, whether I am involved in said program or not. Recently I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a Cork and Canvas event offered by our Fine Arts Coordinator, Beth Gilmore, and I was simply blown away.

Having known Beth for a number of years, and even sharing an office since the opening of Laura's Center for the Arts about a year ago, I knew that Beth was both an accomplished artists and a thoughtful, articulate educator. Having seen her working with the campers, students and community members that participate in our classes and events I thought I knew what it would be like to be on the other side. My expectations were far exceeded.

If you are unfamiliar with our Cork and Canvas events, the basic idea is wine and painting.  The instructor walks the class through recreating an original painting step by step. I do not have any painting ability and I certainly didn't leave with a museum worthy work, but let me tell you, my mother wants in hanging in her living room! 

During our first break to allow the paint to dry!

One of the most amazing things was walking around and seeing the way the other people in the class interpreted the same instruction. There was no pressure to be right, and when that pressure was eliminated it made it easy to sit back, enjoy a glass of wine, and have a blast.  Beth's cheesy jokes and effortlessly casual demeanor made it feel like everyone in the room had known each other for years, providing the perfect environment to allow our muses to mingle.

The finished product

It was amazing to be on the other side of a class, especially with someone who I have spent so much time working and growing with.  We even had a chance to snap a great picture.

It MAY be good enough for a museum...What do you think?

When I was in college I studied music.  About a month into my senior year, the tech director for Dever Stage (an on campus theatre) approached me to see if I would be interested in doing an internship with him.  I took a minute to think about it;  I was a music major with a concentration in performance.  Why would I want to do a technical theatre internship?

I said yes anyways.  It was 12 credits to spend time with friends in a theatre I basically lived in, the internship just meant I had to be there and that I got keys.  Keys that meant responsibility and responsibility that meant adulthood.  So with adulthood looming just two semesters away I figured I better get started.

I learned something hugely valuable with that internship.  It wasn't about music, or theatre, or even how to use the recording equipment (which I did learn, even though it terrified me).  What I learned was that you can't make yourself versatile enough.

It isn't enough to have our students be involved with the acting on stage in our productions.  If that is where they are comfortable that is fine, but so many of our students are like me: they don't even know that they would love being involved in a myriad of other aspects of the production too.  Our students have the great opportunity to paint, create, and learn from a team of professionals that include teachers, directors, musicians, artists, and performers.

Today we had a chance to work with the actors involved in our upcoming production of Annie Jr. on how to paint a stage- something that to me has become commonplace and simple task, but after the first child "boxed them self in" with paint I realized just how much they had to be taught! Along with those kids on the stage, we also had a team in the house working on costumes and set design.  They learned about how we organize our costumes on racks and how we select who wears what.  They even helped to design the back drops for our windows with Beth!  She worked with them on how to design the "window scenes" that will changed depending on the setting.

 

 All in all it was an awesome set build and a fun day.  We only left with a few socks painted black and a lot of smiles.