Visual and Performing Arts News

Tag: sound design

VPA Students win awards at Kennedy Center ACTF Regional Conference

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This January, Michigan Tech Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) students presented their work in the Design, Technology, and Management (DTM) Expo at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Region 3 Conference, hosted in Madison, Wisconsin.  

VPA Sound Design and Audio Production & Technology students, along with their faculty mentor Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood, received the Don Childs DTM Cross-Discipline Collaboration Award for demonstrating an exceptional level of collaboration on the recent Michigan Tech Theatre production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by Assistant Teaching Professor Nich Radcliffe.  These students include Madison Brown, Ronan Higgins, Sam Matlak, Katelyn Roblee, Evan Meyer, and Aidan Sanders, who were members of the sound design and music composition team for the production.  

In addition to presenting in the DTM Expo, VPA students also competed in the Tech Olympics competition.  VPA Theatre and Entertainment Technology student Isaiah Hilkemann received the Fastest Knot Tying Award, and set the new all-time KCACTF Region 3 record at 20 seconds.  

As part of VPA career development and professional presentation travel courses, students have an opportunity to attend and present at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 3 Conference led by VPA faculty.  As part of the curated study away experience this year, Associate Professor Kent Cyr and Assistant Professor Terry Jachimiak also arranged facility tours, site visits, and industry professional meetups in the area.  

Our VPA students also worked as Conference Student Assistants, and our VPA faculty participated in the planning and execution of the conference.  Associate Professor Kent Cyr, serving as Festival Technical Director for the past seven years, provides support to the invited theatre productions from colleges within the region who attend and perform on the festival stages.  Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood currently serves as Co-Vice Chair of Design, Technology, and Management of KCACTF Region 3 and assists with the preparation and organization of the DTM program areas.  Assistant Professor Terry Jachimiak currently serves as the Region 3 Webmaster.  Professors Cyr, Jachimiak, and Sherwood also presented several workshops at the conference to numerous students from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio.  

Congratulations to our Huskies and their well-deserved recognition of excellence. 

Katelyn Roblee Presenting
Katelyn Roblee Presenting
Ronan Higgins Presenting
Ronan Higgins Presenting
Tech Olympics - Lighting - Marshall Huberts
Tech Olympics – Lighting – Marshall Huberts
Don Childs DTM Award Winners
Don Childs DTM Award Winners
Tech Olympics - Isaiah Hilkemann
Tech Olympics – Isaiah Hilkemann
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Career Week for Michigan Tech’s Visual and Performing Arts Students

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For most students at Tech, Career Week means ”Lights! Camera! Action!” To prepare, students need to research the roles they are interviewing for and the companies they will be interviewing with. They rehearse responses to typical interview questions and dress appropriately for the interview. The typical Career Fair experience for Visual Performing Arts (VPA) department students is no different.

Just as the giants of the automotive, chemical, consumer products, and other industries converge on Houghton to hire outstanding engineers, so do the major players in arts and entertainment.  They are looking to hire full-time employees and this summer’s interns. It all kicks off this week with virtual presentations from half-a-dozen companies. Each will present what makes them unique, why students should work for them, and which jobs they are hiring for. Most presentations are led by Tech alums, which gives students a unique insight into how to be more successful when competing for jobs at their company. 

VPA Students Have Skills and Potential

“Students from Michigan Tech not only engage in areas of study that are applicable to our industry, but more importantly they have the potential and capacity to expand their knowledge and learn what is required to contribute to the services we offer based on that core education. We are a niche company providing a unique set of services, and it is more important to have the ability to learn new skills quickly and easily than to already know a particular skill,” said Jason Pontius of Smart Monkeys. Smart Monkeys build some of the most technologically advanced entertainment systems in the world for clients including Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Gardens, and Universal Studios Orlando.

“Tech students are grounded in physical sciences and math, and those are quite important for the work that we do (design consulting for performing arts facilities). We need young candidates who have exposure to a wide variety of entertainment practices, and one of the strengths of Tech’s VPA programs is that it doesn’t pigeonhole students in the way that a lot of programs do. As a result, they are ready to consider things outside of one track of experience, and that’s a valuable skill for design consultants in my world to have,” Josh Loar, Senior Consultant (AV) of Charcoalblue LLC., a consulting firm working on everything from concert halls to theme parks. 

Recruiting Companies at Michigan Tech During Career Week

This week’s visitors and their presentations include:

Lighthouse Productions, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a full-service production company offering sound, lighting, roof systems, staging, and related services to clients across the Midwest. They are hiring for their 2023 Production Training Internship Program which runs from Late May through August.

Feb. 14, 12:15 pm Walker 210 and Google Meet 

Sante Fe Opera, located in New Mexico, offers a top-notch production environment with artisans of all stripes.

Feb. 14 @ 2:25 pm Walker 210 and Zoom

McKay Conant Hover is an acoustical and AV consulting firm designing concert halls, educational facilities, theatres, and more. Join their live session to learn more about consulting as a career.

Feb. 15 @ 2 pm Walker 212 and Zoom

Charcoalblue is a consulting firm working on everything from concert halls to theme parks for clients across the globe. Theatre, acoustic, project management, and digital design runs in their blood.

Feb. 17 @ 4 pm Walker 210 and Microsoft Teams

8th Day Sound, located in Cleveland, OH, is one of the largest live concert tour companies in the world. They are looking for team-oriented professionals who are passionate about sound and seeking to begin their careers in touring audio. They offer a 12-week paid internship and hires have worked on tours for Kendrick Lamar, MonstaX, and Stray Kidz to name a few.

Feb. 20 @ 1 pm, Walker 210 and Zoom

Smart Monkeys build some of the most technologically advanced entertainment systems in the world for clients including Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Gardens, Universal Studios Orlando, the Smithsonian, and the Big-O experience in South Korea. 

Feb. 20 @ 5 pm Walker 210 & Zoom

Contact Christopher Plummer For More information

Need more information, please contact Christopher Plummer, Distinguished Professor, Visual and Performing Arts at cplummer@mtu.edu or 906-487-3282

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