Wayne State trains Detroit's next generation for stage and screen
www.modeldmedia.com - Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Curtains up. Take a bow, Detroit. Encore, encore. The city's creative industries -- theater, film, dance, music, art, design -- are more than holding their own in a rapidly changing regional economy: they are taking a leadership role. One institution helping to move things along is Wayne State University's College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts Department.
The academic and performance history runs deep at Wayne and its venues of international renowned -- the Hilberry, Bonstelle and Studio theaters. The college boasts equally stellar programs in music, art and dance and has a list of impressive alums to rival any school in the country. It makes perfect sense that WSU would be an ideal partner for the state's fledgling film industry, which has found talent galore creeping beneath the floorboards of historic Old Main and throughout its sprawling urban campus.
The roster of WSU alums in Hollywood is impressive. The list includes Tom Skerritt, Lily Tomlin, Jeffrey Tambor, and Ernie Hudson. S. Epatha Merkerson from the class of '76 is best known as Lt. Anita Van Buren in the long-running TV series "Law & Order." Merkerson won a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild award in 2005 for her work in fellow WSU alum Ruben Santiago-Hudson's HBO movie "Lakawanna Blues," which also featured Hudson.
To get a perspective on creative energy being generated on the WSU campus, we talked to Steve Peters, rofessor of theater and associate dean of academic affairs for the fine arts college -- which was established in 1986 and now serves over 2,500 students majoring in 16 undergraduate and 12 graduate programs. He is an arts administrator, theater educator, advocate and artist.
Nice to meet you, Steve. Can you break down for us why WSU's performing arts program plays such a key role in Detroit's creative community?
The college's sheer size and diversity make it a major force in the life of Wayne State University and the Detroit metro area. Its location offers students easy access to the very best of the cultural riches of the area: museums, galleries and professional performance venues. Students benefit from internship opportunities in industry, advertising, public relations and national broadcast network affiliates.
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Wayne State Trains Detroit's Next Generation for Stage and Screen
Curtains up. Take a bow, Detroit. Encore, encore. The city's creative industries -- theater, film, dance, music, art, design -- are more than holding their own in a rapidly changing regional economy: they are taking a leadership role. One institution helping to move things along is Wayne State University's College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts Department.
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