Spark of creativity

By cultivating young artists and providing them with pathways to careers, MSU Denver faculty and staff set the stage for Colorado’s thriving arts community. BY

LAURA MILLER AND STAFF

Early in his acting career, Bill Murray suffered a crisis of confidence. A terrible experience on stage led him to believe he might not want to live anymore. He walked toward Lake Michigan, thinking he would throw himself in, but found himself instead at the Art Institute of Chicago.

“I just walked right through (past a person soliciting donations) because I was ready to die,” Murray later told an interviewer. At the museum, he saw Jules Breton’s 1884 painting “The Song of the Lark,” in which a barefoot woman holding a sickle stands in a field at sunrise.

“I saw it that day, and I thought, ‘Well, there’s a girl who doesn’t have a whole lot of prospects, but the sun’s coming up anyway,’” Murray said. “And she’s got another chance at (life), and I think that gave me some kind of feeling that I, too, am a person and get another chance every time the sun comes up.”

Stories such as Murray’s aren’t uncommon. Art connects people and, for many, gives them a reason to go on.

The evidence isn’t just anecdotal. According to the article “What Is Art Good For? The Socio-Epistemic Value of Art,” published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, arts engagement enhances cognitive abilities, emotional expression and social skills. The article also highlights the arts’ role in improving academic performance, reducing stress and fostering creativity.

“A lot of really important skills come from studying art,” said Cecily Cullen, director of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Center for Visual Art. “Seeing possibilities, being creative and developing critical thinking are all things that come from studying art, and those skills can be applied in a lot of different careers.”

Cullen is among a cadre of faculty and staff members at MSU Denver working to develop the next generation of artists, musicians and theatre professionals in Colorado. Through its community programs, the University awakens hundreds of young people to their artistic potential while also offering innovative degrees that prepare them to put their skills into practice.

A Home For Young Musicians

At the tail end of Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District stands a modest building whose exterior belies the incredible performances happening inside. This site, known as the Kalamath Building, serves as a satellite location for MSU Denver’s Music Department and supports partnerships with local nonprofits, offering opportunities for middle school, high school and college students to share their love of music.

The MSU Denver Foundation purchased the building this year.

Shane Endsley, a lecturer in MSU Denver’s Music Department and building coordinator, said the University saw even greater potential in the site’s resources, equipment and unique space. He credited Peter Schimpf, former chair of the department, and the late Ron Miles, who taught in the department for two decades, with developing partnerships that have made the building into a community arts space.

Miles, founder of MSU Denver’s Jazz and American Improvised Music program, facilitated a partnership between the University and the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts. The organization recruits students from local schools that don’t have jazz bands and gives them a space to practice.

“Initially, we worked out of the founders’ basement,” said Jonathan Zimny, CCJA program coordinator. “But MSU Denver gave us a place to call home.”

Paloma Ress, a Music student at MSU Denver and former CCJA participant, saw the success of the partnership firsthand. She serves as a mentor for high school and middle school students.

“The best part is watching their confidence grow,” Ress said. “They start out shy and introverted, but then they develop friendships and start taking risks with what they’re playing, which is a big part of jazz.”

Zimny said the Denver-area jazz community is stronger because of this unique partnership.

Creative Careers Beyond The Studio

Katie Taft, education manager at MSU Denver’s Center for Visual Art, has been a teacher, studio artist and hot-dog vendor while pursuing her artistic endeavors. For the past six years, she has been running the CVA’s Art + Action Lab Teen Internship program, which lets high school students learn about arts careers and participate in skill-building workshops.

“We want to give the teens a wide understanding of what’s in Denver, as well as personal connections to actual individuals who are doing the work that they might want to be doing,” Taft said.

Taft offers the students a chance to connect with many kinds of creative professionals. Guest speakers have included a tattoo artist, a filmmaker and a creative services manager. Many of the guests are people Taft has known for years. She tells the students candidly how she and the artists have helped one another personally and professionally. Taft draws heavily on her career journey to show students what is possible when you consider your passions and connect with other creative individuals.

As Kelley describes it, designers come in with big ideas of the worlds they want to portray on stage, but the technicians have the hands-on skills to execute the design.

“So it’s still an artistic endeavor,” Kelley said. “The goal is, I think, to immerse people in the story, and we’re all just kind of helping push that story forward.”

That ensemble spirit was what attracted Kelley Reznik, an alumna of the BFA program, to the field.

Reznik, an assistant stagehand at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, considered studying Astrophysics when she started at MSU Denver. She decided to take an Intro to Stagecraft class for fun and knew within five minutes that she was in the right place.

“I found that theatre really pulled out my gregarious, authentic self,” she said. “And I found a community in theatre that I just had not really found in any other studies.” opposite: Music students practice together after a jazz ensemble workshop in MSU Denver’s Kalamath Building. above: Students make a short film in the CVA’s Art + Action Lab, which offers in-depth programming for teens interested in creative careers. below: Work-study students hang lights for a production of “Footloose.”

Whether mentoring young artists or teaching new skills to theatre professionals, faculty and staff members at MSU Denver know how crucial it is for artists to bring stories to life. Without good mentors, Breton might not have painted “The Song of the Lark” and, consequently, the world might never have known the talents of Bill Murray.

And a world void of Bill Murray — and artists like him who inspire others to pursue their passions — isn’t a world anyone should have to endure.

For MSU Denver student Astrid Wenham, a former teaching apprentice in the program, the chance to connect with near-peers was eye-opening.

“Everyone comes in so shy, especially me,” Wenham said. “I feel like working with a group of younger people was amazing for me to break down my walls and learn how to engage with strangers.”

Setting The Stage For Success

When you hear the word “theatre,” you might not think about lighting technicians, makeup artists and props artisans. Yet these members of a theatre crew are essential to any performance’s success.

MSU Denver’s Department of Theatre and Dance has built a reputation for nurturing professionals for these often-invisible roles.

“I think one of the most interesting things about working in the field (of technical theatre) is that when you do your job absolutely correctly, almost nobody notices that you’ve done anything,” said Professor Brian Kelley, the department’s technical director and coordinator for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program in Applied Theatre Technology and Design. “They just buy it as part of the environment of the show.”