Middle Tennessee State University’s campus has been bustling with creative activity this summer as almost 300 rising 11th and 12th graders from across the state showcased their artistic skills at this year’s recently concluded Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts.
Encompassing dance, music, visual arts, filmmaking, and theatre, the three-week program — celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer — allows highly talented, top-rated students to enhance their skills and abilities in their discipline.
“For a lot of our students, it’s the thing that tells them that they can do this in college and as a professional,” said Katie Goodwin, director of Governor’s School for the Arts and associate professor of theatre at MTSU.
Following a regimented schedule from Monday through Friday, their days officially began after breakfast, with classes starting at 8 a.m. and continuing on and off until 8 p.m. for most of the 293 students.
The camp lets students learn and practice in an environment full of other like-minded people their age. Jam-packed with classes, field trips, and group activities, the schedule includes enough information and activities for each area of study to fulfill the three hours of college credit each student receives.
Out of their comfort zones
From June 7-29, students learned and applied that knowledge to create a performance, artwork, or film for showcases during the last two days of the program.
Visual arts students had a range of choices to choose from for their classes. Set up in Andrew L. Todd Hall, they had access to 3D printers, welding materials, and printmaking tools, along with more common mediums like painting and drawing.
Some students chose mediums they are well-versed in, to further develop their skills. Others, like Sarah Ji, a rising senior at Valor College Prep in Nashville, chose mediums they don’t have access to at their schools.
Taking sculpture and photography as her chosen electives during the program, she wanted to explore other forms of art, branching out from her comfort zone of multimedia.
“The reason why I came here was to do something I had never really done before,” said Ji. “I’ve been taking advantage of what’s provided for me, for example 3D printing, which I’ve never had access to before.”
Each department of the program has a chair that creates the curriculum for the students to ensure they get the most out of Governor’s School.
Design students under the theatre program receive a well-rounded course load that covers all aspects of designing a play or musical through scenes, lighting and costumes.
‘Figure out what I like best’
Zoe Drumwright, a rising senior from Lausanne Collegiate Academy in Memphis, and fellow design student Liam Maxwell, a rising junior at Centennial High School in Franklin, were recently preparing for finale performances. In the costume room of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building surrounded by clothes and makeup piled on vanities, the pair were busy organizing costumes along racks for each theatre and dance set.
Design students oversaw costumes, lighting for the stage, and scene design. The entirety of the last week of camp was dedicated to dress rehearsals and performance runs to guarantee each costume fits well to allow ample mobility, the lighting was in place, and each design member had enough practice repetitions to be confident in their abilities for the showcase.
For Drumwright, the program has helped narrow down a potential career path.
“I’ve gotten to figure out what I like best, which is really cool,” said Drumwright. “I really like costuming and makeup, and I feel like I never would’ve discovered how much I like it if it wasn’t for Governors School.”
Before the camp, she was focused on stage management, but the creative design elements surrounding costumes and make-up drew her in as the three weeks went on, she explained.
Similarly, Maxwell enjoyed being exposed to all stages of the design process. “I was definitely considering doing freelance audio engineering,” said Maxwell.
During a class discussion, his professor explained the role of a production manager, handing out worksheets that fully described the position.
“This is like what I want to do, but like, better,” said Maxwell, “because it covers all the fields instead of just sound.”
As students across each discipline geared up for their performances and showcases, the college-aged student counselors in each department lent a supportive hand.
MTSU students lend a helping hand
Cameron Messerly, a rising senior and art education major at MTSU, acted as a dorm counselor and painting counselor for visual arts students enrolled in the painting elective.
As a dorm counselor, she watched over a group of students in the dorm, making sure the students were safe and following program rules. In her specialty, painting, she helped the instructor with tasks and answered any questions the art students had.
Messerly attended Governor’s School for the Arts in 2021, where she learned more about mixed media and printmaking. She has always enjoyed making art, from childhood to college, and being able to learn new techniques and be surrounded by other artists helped narrow down her field of study in college.
Returning as a counselor solidified her choice as a future art educator.
“I feel like it’s been a little bit of a practice, because I’m taking care of students and I also get to watch how Chris (Humble), the painting professor, and the other professors teach and learn from that,” said Messerly.
The performances and art displays shown for friends and family on June 27 and June 28 represented a culmination of weeks of work, classes, failing…and succeeding.
About GSFTA
In 1984, Tennessee established summer programs for young people in the arts, engineering and math, and international studies — one for each of the state’s three grand divisions — at the behest of then-governor Lamar Alexander.
Today there are 11 different Governor’s Schools across the state, ranging from agricultural sciences to Tennessee history to leadership to teaching, to immerse students in their chosen fields for three to four weeks.
MTSU’s Governor’s School for the Arts serves public, private and home-schooled high school juniors and seniors in music, theater, visual arts, dance and filmmaking. They apply or are nominated by their teachers, then audition or present portfolios of their work.
Learn more at https://gsfta.com.
— Jordan Reining (Jordan.Reining@mtsu.edu)
