College of Fine Arts and Production

The famed works of playwright William Shakespeare make their way into Ethington Theatre every year, but the production of “The Tempest” features a few new wrinkles by the play’s director, College of Fine Arts and Production Dean Claude Pensis. For one thing, it’s a modernized version. For another, it is the first time real water is part of the set. And the lighting features an uncommon method of pixel mapping.

Film students were given the opportunity to hear words of wisdom and encouragement at this semester’s Digital Film Production Alumni Panel. Alumni Maya James, Sam Erdmann and Athena Bates shared their experiences with the next generation of GCU film students and gave some advice on how to make it in the business.

There was no shortage of Christmas cheer last week for the residents of the Arizona Training Program in Coolidge as well as the students of Sierra Academy of Scottsdale, as GCU’s Critical Mass used their voices to serve students and adults with special needs. Critical Mass member Sam Brown, whose older brother, Hunter, is a student at the Sierra Academy of Scottsdale, says it brought a lot of smiles to the faces of his brother and his classmates. “It was honestly such a beautiful experience seeing all these children, who are special needs, and just how happy they were,” he said.

The Senior Design Showcase on Tuesday night featured 33 students, many of whom have been active in obtaining internships and several who already have received employment offers. Sheila Schumacher, Director of the Digital Design program, said GCU graduates are making an impact in Arizona but also are taking their skills to other parts of the country.

College of Fine Arts and Production Professor Alison King always had an interest in writing, and when the brand 180 Degree Design + Build asked her to help them make their dreams of making a book a reality, King didn’t hesitate to give it a shot. “Making Architecture,” King’s collaboration with the architecture brand was recently self published and is being carried at Changing Hands bookstore.

There was no shortage of Christmas spirit at Andre’s House of Hospitality when Tim Haas and a group of GCU clarinet students and alumni performed a set of Christmas music for the homeless while they ate dinner Sunday evening. “When you get students that do these kinds of things, nothing’s better than that,” Haas said. “They touched people’s lives on Sunday night, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Dance Director Susannah Keita is passionate about exposing students to dance education and their options in dance outside of just studio classes. That is why she and senior dance students Justine Bach and Carissa Eubank presented their work in the Arizona community through the Elementary Dance Tour program at this year’s National Dance Education Organization conference in Miami. “It was exciting to see different ways to incorporate other subjects into dance but also maintaining the integrity of dance and what you have in your classroom,” Eubank said.

Halloween is right around the corner, which means it’s the perfect time to get in the spirit with “The Addams Family” at the Christian Youth Theater, where a group of GCU alumni are doing the creative and technical work. Alexandra Biggs called CYT “a natural fit” for all the GCU alumni and added, “I think that CYT’s mission aligns really well with GCU, and it’s nice to be working for a company that is kind of a ministry opportunity for alumni as well.”

Student’s choreography is taking the stage within Thunderground to showcase their talent and hard work for their peers to see. The Fall Student Spotlight Concert is a student choreographed and performed show and will showcase a number of different styles of dance. “It definitely gives students a vehicle to experiment with what they’re interested in and grow their choreography skills with the help of the faculty,” Senior Jessica Symmes said. The concert will take place on October 15 and 16.

References to the Ethington Theatre’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” last year will have to be amended — now you can say it was an award-winning production. GCU’s Theatre Department took home four ariZoni Awards for “Starcatcher” — best overall production, Megan Sutton for Actress in a Supporting Role and Michael Kary for Director and Fight Choreography. “Winning at all now is really hard because it’s so big,” Assistant Dean William Symington said of the ariZonis, the state’s version of the Tony Awards.