Stephanie Perez-Telon What is your major, and where is your hometown? My major is theatre with a double minor on French and Psychology. I had two hometowns which are San Juan, Puerto Rico which is where I was born and resided for 13 years, and Buford, Georgia which is the place where I finally felt like I found a home when I moved to Georgia. What inspired you to become a theatre major? I started theatre in my sophomore year of high school and I really just fell in love with it, but...
Like the Grinch who stole Christmas—COVID-19 produced particularly dreary headlines in early 2020. The Washington Post declared “The Nutcracker” nationwide had become the “latest casualty” of the coronavirus. By October, it reported numerous cancellations of the ballet were hitting “dance companies hard.” In places like Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas, virtual performances were announced. But in many others like New York City, Atlanta and Macon, the much-beloved holiday classic...
In many places, the performing arts have shut down—snuffed out, it seems, by a virus. Even Broadway is closed. Stages are dark. Actors can’t rehearse safely together. They can’t perform in front of live audiences. Big-name plays can’t be performed, because royalties exclude permission for virtual acting. Tickets can’t be sold for locally-scripted productions that are largely experimental. Going online is costly, too, requiring specialized video equipment and training. These challenges...
Senior Alecea Housworth’s whole outlook on life has changed since becoming a rhetoric major and learning the art of persuasion. But it’s her minor in dance that helps her convey meaning in ways words cannot. The Covington, Georgia, resident recently used dance to express her feelings on current events. Using screen-dance skills learned in “Modern Workshop” class—Housworth choreographed and produced a polished video supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The unassigned project...
Student instructors from dance pedagogy are using online tutorials to continue teaching their young community pupils in the Georgia College Community Dance program. Meanwhile, senior dance instructor Natalie King continues her classes live and in real time via WebEx and ZOOM. She encourages dozens of tiny moving figures on her computer screen, while also homeschooling her daughter.
(See bottom of story for update.) Doing her part by staying at home didn’t seem like enough. Cathleen O’Neal wanted to do more to help her neighbors and the world get through the COVID-19 crisis. As Georgia College’s Costume Supervisor—charged with making costumes for productions performed by the department of theatre—O’Neal put her sewing skills to good use. In less than a week, she constructed and donated 30 surgical and N-95 masks for hospitals in Atlanta. Working on her next batch...
A passion for helping others through the arts at Georgia College runs in Paul Guy Accettura’s family. His mother, Mabel, “Mabs” sacrificed her own needs by placing others first. She was also a strong advocate of education and the arts. So much so, that Paul provided a scholarship for students enrolled in the Georgia College Theatre and Dance Department. Now—during her birth month of March—Paul and his wife, Dr. Karen Berman, theatre chair and artistic director of theatre and dance...
