JEA Crake Internship Follow-Up: Three Students Awarded Creative Internships

In mid-October, the JEA Crake Foundation awarded three students with $1000 internships. “They were wonderful applications, really exciting, very diverse and lots of different disciplines that were being connected,” said Dr. Glen Nichols, the chair of the committee that awarded the internships. The recipients are Ashlyn Skater, Chloe Mantrom and Megan Glauser. 

Ashlyn Skater, a second-year Drama Studies student, is working on an after school program for students interested in drama: “My inspiration for this project comes from the program I helped my drama teacher with in Grade 11 and 12: Middle School Drama Club. My program is basically the same idea but over Zoom. I really enjoyed helping with this club, so I wanted to do it myself. I have been thinking about doing this for a while.”

Her program is available for students from grades 5 to 9 on Tuesdays from 5-6pm. “There will be a warm-up, followed by various exercises/games, and discussions during our meeting time.”

Ashlyn plans to work in education in the future and she has nine kids signed up for her program already. “The next step for my project is to begin brainstorming themes for the meetings between now and Christmas. I will be starting the program next Tuesday (Nov 10) so we will begin by meeting everyone and the following week we will get into programming. I think the first theme is going to be theatre basics.”

 “I am honoured to have been awarded this internship and I am looking forward to working on this project and exhibiting my results.” Said Megan Glauser, a fourth-year BFA student. Her project involves theatre lighting, and she has two main goals:

“The first is to expand my knowledge about theatrical lighting by experimenting and working through how different set-ups can achieve different results. The second is that I will work in two different formats, digital and Polaroid photography and use them to showcase the theatre in different ways” said Glauser.  

“My inspiration for this project really came from the early stages of COVID when everything was uncertain. It felt like everyone was living moment to moment and everything was turned upside down. I want to capture how these extraordinary circumstances have changed how we work day to day in the theatre and how it is used.”  

 This relates to work that Glauser has done in the past and will help expand her knowledge of this field. “Currently, I am the General Student Technician in the Motyer-Fancy Theatre. I have been learning about photography and theatre work for years so this was the perfect opportunity to combine them.”

The third recipient, third-year BFA student Chloe Mantrom said: “I had decided to apply to the internship after seeing the poster this year. I had already wanted to make this sculpture before the semester, however I did not have the funds, so the Crake came to me as a sign to pursue it.”

“My project is going to be a large, white, spherical sculpture that you can enter. The goal of the piece is to be inside and then connect to the outer world, in whatever way makes the visitor most comfortable,” said Mantrom.

“I was inspired to make this project after a dream I had in the summer—it really influenced me. In it, I was walking through a forest and chanced upon all my loved ones dressed in white. Behind them was a little sphere, big enough for maybe two people? And as soon as I caught up to them, my loved ones all went inside and beckoned me to follow. It was a pleasant moment of connection and after having that dream, I want to share it with others for real.”

Due to COVID-19, the committee expected less applicants this year than years prior, especially since there has been a decreasing trend in applicants over the last few years. However, the committee was satisfied with the turnout this year:“I think given the fact that we have restrictions on campus and the difficulties students are facing with the way the year is unfolding that perhaps we actually did better in some ways than previous years,” said Dr. Nichols.

Now that the internships have been awarded, the committee disassembles and the students work alone with their mentors. At the end, the students write a report for the JEA Crake Foundation that will be submitted in April.

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