Mason students use digital storytelling for community change

Shayla Brown — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 20:29:30 +0000

Mason students use digital storytelling for community change Shayla Brown Thu, 02/16/2023 - 15:29

In This Story

Video Production for Social Change students in the field. Photo provided.

When ��ӽ紫ý students sign up for Video Production for Social Change, they won’t just learn in a traditional classroom setting, they’ll make an impact in their community.

“It's such a unique experience as a student, particularly a production student, to get hands-on, real-world experience working with a client,” said Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and Mason adjunct professor Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, who taught the Film and Video Studies (FAVS) course in Fall 2022.

The course is open to everyone, said Wingert-Jabi, and no prerequisite courses are required. The class works with a different local partner each semester, and students create videos based on their organization's mission statement. Their most recent partner was the nonprofit organization Cornerstones, which serves families and individuals in need of housing, food, finances, and childcare assistance, among others.

“I'm just really proud to know that Mason students within this department are community advocates by heart,” said Margaret Anne Lara, Cornerstones vice president of marketing and communications.

Video Production for Social Change students in the field. Photo provided.

“The students came at the project from such a professional point of view. They carefully crafted storyboards that truly brought to life the importance of community connection,” Lara said. “Each production spotlighted an emerging challenge faced by families living along the Dulles corridor region— affordable housing, food insufficiency, economic security, and resiliency for children and families—as well as how Cornerstones’ faith-based community partners make a meaningful impact through their support of our organization.”

“I was also impressed with the technical expertise of these talented young filmmakers. It was clear they had excellent training through their GMU studies. The final products were well received by our Board of Directors and staff, and have already been used as part of our fundraising and communications and marketing outreach.”

The course consisted of four student groups, each of which took on a different aspect of Cornerstones' mission for their videos.

“[The course] was incredibly valuable; filmmaking is often a teamwork experience and the students really saw the value of that,” said Wingert-Jabi. “A student bought in her conflict analysis perspective and a native Spanish speaker in her group conducted field interviews in Spanish.”

Junior film and video studies major Olivia Williams previously worked with the media crew for her church, in Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her group members had a faith-based angle to their video.

“We tried to show the importance of not just one, but all faiths, and how Cornerstones is here to help everybody. The most rewarding part is just being able to share their stories,” said Williams.

Video Production for Social Change students in the field. Photo provided.

Two Mason students got hired as Cornerstones interns, and will continue to work with Lara and the rest of the Cornerstones team.

“The responsibilities of this internship are much greater than anything I've had prior to it, but after taking this course I'm ready to take on those responsibilities,” said senior film and video studies major Blake Smith. “It was incredibly beneficial, not only for developing my own professional skills, but also knowing what is expected of me from employers."

“I recommend this course to students who want to know more about filming documentary style content, and who want to work in film or maybe even start their own production company one day,” said Smith.

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Tech Talent Investment Pipeline (TTIP)

Off the Clock: Amanda Snellings is the artistic director of City of Fairfax Theatre Company, a community theatre group

Shayla Brown — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 20:55:53 +0000

Off the Clock: Amanda Snellings is the artistic director of City of Fairfax Theatre Company, a community theatre group Shayla Brown Wed, 01/11/2023 - 15:55

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Life is much more than time spent on the clock. In this series, we highlight the unique hobbies and volunteer activities of Mason's talented faculty and staff.

Amanda Snellings, assistant director of development at the College of Visual and Performing Arts, has been at ��ӽ紫ý for just over a year.

Outside of work, Snellings volunteers with the City of Fairfax Theatre Company (CFTC) as the artistic director. Many of her Mason peers have also participated in productions by CFTC. “We had a professor direct our show a couple of years ago, and it was really great. Students and alumni have performed, and we’ve even had some Mason theater students teach at our camp,” Snellings said.

Amanda Snellings performing on stage. Photo provided.

How did you first get involved with local theater?

I’ve been doing community theatre since I was 11. My first show was Oliver, playing one of the orphans. I’ve had the theater bug ever since. I studied theatre in college and pursued freelance directing while working in arts management at professional theatre companies to stay connected to my passion, most recently at Shakespeare Theatre Company in D.C.

I returned to community theatre to get involved in productions creatively while advancing my development career. My passion and experience in performing arts made my role at Mason working with donors to the Schools of Theater, Music, and Dance a perfect fit.

What is the time commitment?

By far the busiest time of year is the summer. I direct the big summer musical with 50 people of all ages in the cast and another 50 involved between all the technical elements and live orchestra. It’s our biggest as far as set design, costumes, and lighting. We plan the production elements in January, hold auditions in May, and perform in July. The rehearsals span 10 weeks for about 12 hours per week. During the two weeks leading up to the show, I am at the theater every evening right after work until 10 p.m. and all day/evening on the weekends. It’s a lot of work but everyone is excited to be there together.

A performance of Beauty and the Beast by the City of Fairfax Theatre Company. Photo provided.

What has been the most meaningful or memorable experience you’ve had in this volunteer work?

The first musical I directed with CFTC was Beauty and the Beast. It was a huge technical challenge to figure out special effects like the enchanted rose petals falling at specific moments and the Beast’s magical transformation within 30 seconds without the audience seeing it. We also built a rotating cube set with four different scenes painted on the outside walls that then opened up into a huge castle interior. We were nominated for nine awards and won Outstanding Cast and Outstanding Set Design from the Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH) organization.

How has COVID impacted CFTC?

We were in the middle of rehearsals for a production of True West meant to open in April 2020 with the Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts Festival when COVID hit. We were finally able to do the show in April 2022. In late March 2020, we started using Zoom and Facebook to keep our volunteers and audience engaged, doing online play readings and classes. We started an outdoor Shakespeare program to replace our summer musical when we couldn’t be indoors. The first was A Midsummer Night’s Dream staged with the actors always staying six feet apart as part of the storytelling. We spray-painted the lawn, creating household seating boxes 10 feet apart.

A performance of Shrek the Musical by the City of Fairfax Theatre Company. Photo provided

What has been one of your favorite productions from your time with CFTC?

This summer we put on Shrek the Musical. I always say the songs from that show are so much better than you’d think they would be for a musical based on Shrek! There were a lot of challenging technical demands that the script set out for that show, but all the technical elements like costumes, hair, makeup, sets and lights really brought the story to life. It was such a beautiful final product and we were really proud of it.

What do you tend to enjoy most of the production process?

I love directing because I am deeply involved in all aspects of the entire production; I get to be the guardian of the vision for the show everyone is working hard to achieve. I really enjoy working with the multigenerational casts and seeing everyone learning from one another, especially the younger kids. We always have a few families that participate together, sometimes even three generations in one show. My role doesn’t usually involve performing, but each fall we do a cabaret of musical theater songs, and that's the one night a year that I always get to perform—which I love, too.

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Faculty and Staff News

Off the Clock