cvpa staff

Getting a creative career boost through CVPA’s Young Alumni Commissioning Project

Shayla Brown — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 17:16:15 +0000

Getting a creative career boost through CVPA’s Young Alumni Commissioning Project Shayla Brown Mon, 06/26/2023 - 13:16

In This Story

Filmmaker Kyle Finnegan thinks monosodium glutamate, more commonly known as MSG, is misunderstood.

“I was so fascinated by the idea that so much culture and history could be contained in a tiny little grain,” said Finnegan, who graduated from the ��AV’s Film and Video Studies program in 2017. In fact, Finnegan was so intrigued by the ingredient that he decided to make a documentary about it.

CVPA Dean Rick Davis, alum Kyle Finnegan, and associate professor Cynthia Fuchs at the film screening. Photo by Emily Schneider.

“Chef Tim Ma defying the negative stigma of MSG and sharing his culture was really inspiring to me, so I was happy that he trusted us to tell that part of his story,” Finnegan said.

Finnegan’s short documentary film “MSG: Mysterious Savory Grains” was partially funded by Mason’s Young Alumni Commissioning Project (YACP) and was recently screened at the Johnson Center Cinema.

The YACP is a program that provides recent College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) alumni with grants between $2,500 and $5,000 to support the creation of new work.

“‘Young’ in this case refers to how long a student has been out of Mason,” explained Rick Davis, dean of CVPA. “If you graduated within the last 10 years, you can apply. It doesn't matter how old you are.” Sixteen alumni have received awards since the program began in 2019, producing musical works, narrative and documentary films, photography, dance, and more.

“It can be hard to get started in the arts, especially with original creative projects,” said Davis. “A lot of artists get hired to do work for other people, and that's great. If you wanted to do something that's truly your own vision and your own voice, it’s hard to get started until you have a track record.”

Adrienne Godwin, director of programming at CVPA, oversees the project.

“An artist can't just be excellent at their craft and expect to make it today,” Godwin said. “Artists are now having to be marketers, business managers, and have a keen awareness of how to speak about themselves in a way that engages with different audiences. I think one of the great things about this grant is that it gives alums the opportunity to hone in on those skills.”

Even with the support of the YACP, creative work still has its challenges. Finnegan shared some of his at the June screening, where he discussed how his production team still had to troubleshoot various situations during the filmmaking.

“Mason filmmaking has such a spirit of DIY, and we will do what’s needed to get the shot, and that was the spirit every day during this production,” said Finnegan, who works at 522 Productions directing branded documentaries.

Kyle Finnegan and Cynthia Fuchs during the Q&A portion of the film screening. Photo by Emily Schneider.

He gave an example of when the team conducted a remote interview with an MSG expert who lives in Toronto. “We couldn't travel to Toronto, so we did a Zoom recording,” which was fine until the video feed stopped working, Finnegan said.

“I asked myself ‘What feels right for the time we’re drawing inspiration from—the late 60s, early 70s.’ The tape recorder that we bought came out the same year that [there was a significant rise in] stigmatizing MSG. This felt like the right time period, so we filmed with the recorder running and used her audio over top of it,” he explained.

“For me, MSG makes food delicious, and delicious foods bring people together,” said Finnegan. “If I can communicate that through this film, hopefully people walk away wanting to try it for themselves.”

The YACP program is accepting applications through September 8, and all qualified CVPA alumni are encouraged to apply.

“I've written a lot of grants and I've done a lot of interviews throughout my career, and even if you don't win the award, it's great to get your work in front of this panel because in addition to their work as Mason faculty, they are out working in the field,” said Godwin. “You never know what could come from someone seeing your work, even if you don't win one of the awards.”

Topics

Alumni

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

Young Alumni Commissioning Project. alumni support

cvpa staff

Amanda Snellings

Pam Muirheid — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 15:33:49 +0000

Amanda Snellings Pam Muirheid Wed, 01/18/2023 - 10:33

Assistant Director of Development, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax
Mail Stop: 4C1
Email: asnelli@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-1593

Biography

Amanda Snellings joined ��AV in 2021. As the Assistant Director of Development for CVPA, Amanda secures philanthropic support for scholarships and academic programs related to the School of Theater, School of Dance, and the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music. She is the liaison to community volunteer Friends groups for those academic units and leads fundraising efforts for the Dance Fête signature event.

Amanda has previously worked with the National MS Society, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and NextStop Theatre Company in development roles as well as Forum Theatre, the Berkshire Theatre Group, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and the Virginia Theatre Association in arts administration roles.

Amanda participates in volunteer community theatre in Northern Virginia as a director, producer, and performer. She has been the Artistic Director of the City of Fairfax Theatre Company (CFTC) since 2018. In 2019, she was nominated for a WATCH Award for Outstanding Direction of a Musical for CFTC’s Beauty and the Beast, among two wins and seven additional nominations for the production.

Degree:

BA, Theatre and Dance, James Madison University

ARTS by George! Returns, raising nearly $250,000 to support students in the arts at Mason

Emily Schneider — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 20:55:40 +0000

ARTS by George! Returns, raising nearly $250,000 to support students in the arts at Mason Emily Schneider Tue, 10/04/2022 - 16:55

In This Story

Rick Davis

Kristin Chenoweth (right) stands backstage with Dean Rick Davis of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at ��AV. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

“The full-scale return of ARTS by George! was a joyous experience from top to bottom,” exclaims Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

ARTS by George returned on Saturday, September 24, 2022, following a two-year hiatus, hosted by the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at ��AV. The event gave students and faculty from each discipline an opportunity to pull back the curtain and present behind-the-scenes showcases, film screenings, performances, and interactive experiences. Stations of exquisite cuisine and beverages were available to guests while attending exhibits across ten open studios and rehearsal halls on Mason’s Fairfax Campus.

In a truly special start to the evening, students from the School of Theater were able to join the event’s headliner, Kristin Chenoweth, for her soundcheck in the Concert Hall of the Center for the Arts, prior to their own performances in the evening’s showcases. The Tony and Emmy Award winner welcomed them with open arms, remarking “These are my people! I’m your people and you're my people, and I'm so excited to have you here tonight!”

Students from the School of Theater perform selections from the upcoming production of Head Over Heels at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

During the evening’s showcases, guests flowed in and out of three buildings on the Fairfax Campus: the de Laski Performing Arts Building, Harris Theatre, and Horizon Hall. Inside de Laski, students from the School of Theater dazzled the crowd with their powerful voices and clever choreography as they previewed songs from their upcoming production of Head Over Heels. Just down the hall, the emerging professionals of Mason’s School of Dance performed to packed houses, and graciously responded to questions from the audience after each performance. The Dewberry School of Music didn’t stop the beat all night, with talented instrumental and vocal musicians presenting piano, jazz, and opera selections during the two and half hours of student showcases.

Students from the School of Dance perform during a showcase at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

As guests made their way out of deLaski across the Johnson Center Plaza, they were enticed into Harris Theater by the resonant sounds of Mason’s Symphony Orchestra. Alternating their time on the Harris stage, students from the Film and Video Studies program screened their films, offering guests a sneak peek into the revolutionary stories crafted at Mason. More music flowed from the amphitheater space between Harris and Horizon Hall, where the Spirit Drumline, the 8^th Green Machine Regiment Band, and the Green Machine Pep Band kept toes tapping as guests ambled along the walkway into Horizon Hall.

The Mason Symphony Orchestra performs on the stage of Harris Theatre during ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

Members of the Green Machine Pep Band perform outside Horizon Hall at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

Inside Horizon Hall, staff and students from Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) spoke about the impact of having such incredible arts programs available in our community from such a young age, and performed vocal and instrumental music for the assembled crowd. Offering a hands-on exploration of their disciplines, the Film and Video Studies program and the Computer Game Design program created mini studios inside the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX), where guests explored a change of scenery via the green screen demonstrations and virtual reality headsets. Also in the MIX, the School of Art gave guests a chance to play with printing, personalizing a postcard they could take with them as a memento of their experience, while elsewhere in the room, students chatted with guests while demonstrating the capabilities of the 3D printers.

Faculty from the School of Art walk guests through the interactive printing station in the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX) at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

A guest poses in front of the green screen during a demonstration by the Film and Video Studies program at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

A student from Mason Community Arts Academy performs a song on her violin at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

Guests test out the virtual reality demonstration with the Computer Game Design program at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

After the showcases, everyone flowed down the hill and into the Center for the Arts Concert Hall for the live auction, followed by the headlining concert. Guests were welcomed to the auction by Mason President Gregory Washington, who remarked, “Tonight, we celebrate the excellence of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and the vibrant cultural offerings it provides to our campuses and wider community. The arts are one of the front doors to the university and attract visitors of all ages and backgrounds. We’re pleased that so many of you have found your way through our door to become involved with CVPA and Mason. Your generosity supports student scholarships and helps ensure that talent meets opportunity, and that budding artists can develop their gifts and pursue their passions here at Mason.”

President Gregory Washington Addresses the Crowd at ARTS! By George 2022. (Photo by Cable Risdon Photography)

The auction items and the Fund-A-Student opportunities, which directly contribute to the scholarships available to CVPA students, raised more than $23,000. Taking the stage after the auction, Rick Davis expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the full house, saying “As I’m sitting here, knowing the students that these contributions support, many of them personally, many of them in my classes, knowing what it does for our College’s ability to grant the opportunity of a first-rate education, not just in the arts, but a first-rate university education, knowing what we have accomplished here tonight in just these 27 minutes or so, is personally very, very, very gratifying, so thank you all so very, very much. . . Some of you know me well and you’ll know that when I say I’m almost speechless, you’ll know that that is a significant accomplishment!”

Capping off the evening, Kristin Chenoweth performed a concert from her album For The Girls, a tribute to prominent female singers throughout history. After the show, Chenoweth and Davis ended the night with a champagne toast on stage.

The annual philanthropic event raised approximately $250,000 for student scholarships in dance, theater, game design, film, music, visual arts, and arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

See more images from the event by clicking here!

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Sharon O'Boyle

Pam Muirheid — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:56:15 +0000

Sharon O'Boyle Pam Muirheid Mon, 06/13/2022 - 16:56

Audience Development and Insights Coordinator, CVPA

Contact Information

Email: soboyle@gmu.edu

Biography

Sharon O’Boyle has had an extensive career in data analysis, technical writing, research, and software development. Prior to coming to CVPA, she had worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Global Information Manager and then in Mason’s Provost Office as an Enrollment Management Data Analyst.

Degrees

MS Computer Science/Statistical Science, University at Buffalo
BA Mathematics/Computer and Information Systems, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
BA English/Writing and Rhetoric, ��AV

Laura Mertens

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 05 May 2022 16:18:50 +0000

Laura Mertens Pam Muirheid Thu, 05/05/2022 - 12:18

Director of Diversity, CVPA

Biography

Shá Norman (They/She) joins ��AV with over ten years of experience in program administration in education non-profits and higher education institutions. While teaching students performing arts and creative writing across the Chicagoland area, they became deeply aware of the inequities students with marginalized backgrounds faced in education systems. This led to their passion for not only the work of advocacy for equity in education but also administering the programs and supports that insulate marginalized students and educational opportunities that support the professional development of administrators, faculty, staff, and program instructors. Joining the Office of Equity at Northwestern University at the beginning of 2020, they have facilitated workshops for over 4,000 faculty, staff, and students at Northwestern University in various offerings including Bystander Intervention, Identity and Interrupting Microaggressions, Cultivating Positive Sexuality in student organizations, and Equity 101: Navigating Responsible Employee with Empathy and Care. Prior to joining Northwestern, Shá served as the Interim Executive Director and Program Director of PlayMakers Laboratory Theatre, an arts education non-profit teaching creative writing and turning the student’s stories into an original show performed by professional actors and musicians at the end of each residency. Shá received their BA in Communications from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and their Master of Education – Higher Education from Loyola University of Chicago.

Degrees

Master of Education Higher Education - Loyola University of Chicago.
BA in Communications - University of North Carolina at Charlotte