College of Visual and Performing Arts

Young Alumni Commissioning Project Announces Recipients of Fourth Round of Funding

Emily Schneider — Tue, 31 May 2022 20:27:39 +0000

Young Alumni Commissioning Project Announces Recipients of Fourth Round of Funding Emily Schneider Tue, 05/31/2022 - 16:27

In This Story

George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the fourth round of its Young Alumni Commissioning Project Awards. Three alumni were chosen based on the artistic excellence, career impact, and feasibility of their proposals and will receive financial, marketing, and production support to have their projects presented by the College at a Mason venue during the 2022-2023 season. Two additional alumni were awarded an inaugural grant of financial support, designed to assist in the completion of their proposed projects, which were selected because of their timeliness and significance to the Mason community.

“In this fourth round of the Project’s commissions, we received proposals with uniquely personal and emotional perspectives,” said Rick Davis, Dean of Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

“Knowing the vital role of the arts in strengthening community in challenging times, we are elated that this program continues to support the visions of these young artists.” Davis continued, “In response to the great range of proposals, and in order to ensure that we are providing as much support as possible to our incredible alumni, we established an additional award this year, which provides a grant to help these artists take their project to the next level while removing the time frame for production or exhibition that is otherwise required. As usual, I can't wait to see what these great project ideas turn into once they’re fully developed.”

For consideration, applicants must have graduated from CVPA from the class of 2011 and after. Proposals could include original new work in any art form suitable for performance, exhibition, or screening in a Mason venue. The size, length, duration, magnitude, and content are at the artist’s discretion. Potential venues include Mason’s traditional theater spaces, galleries, and cinemas, but proposals for non-traditional venues, including digital spaces, were also considered.

The Young Alumni Commissioning Project is made possible by a generous bequest from the estate of Linda E. Gramlich for the support of young artists and by donors to Mason’s Giving Day, including Shugoll Research.

2023 Recipient of the Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award Including $5,000 in Commissioning Support
Juan Megna

Juan Megna

Juan Megna (Doctor of Musical Arts, 2021) received the Young Alumni Commissioning Award and $5,000 in commissioning support. In 2015, Juan started a master’s degree at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. In this city, he played with Phil deGreg group, Rusty Burge, Steve Alee, among others, and got the degree in 2017.

In 2017, Juan moved to Fairfax, Virginia to pursue his doctoral degree at George Mason University. Juan played with Wade Beach, Wayne Wilentz, and Steve Kirby in the Washington DC musical scene, among others. Also, he formed The Juan Megna Quintet. The repertoire is centered on a mix of Juan’s compositions, blended jazz, Argentinian and Afro-Brazilian rhythms.

At George Mason University he leads the Latin-American Ensemble. The DownBeat Magazine has awarded this group with the 42nd (2019), 43rd (2020), and 44th (2021) students awards as an “Outstanding Performance”.

As an active researcher, Juan performed a clinic at the Jazz Education Network, New Orleans 2020, entitled "The Brazilian 16th-note phrasing through Cabula rhythm, Samba, and Bossa Nova", focusing on developing Afro-Brazilian popular genres.

Megna's new project, which this award will fund, is titled Trailblazer, an album of original compositions that will build a dialogue between jazz and Afro-Brazilian genres. The concept for the project is inspired by traditional melodies and rhythmic patterns of Candomblé (a diasporic religion syncretized from traditional religions of West Africa and Roman Catholic Christianity). “It is a real honor to receive this generous award coming from my alma mater institution,” said Megna. “It will help me crystallize a project that I dreamed of for so many years.”

2023 Young Alumni Creative Development Award Winners Including $3,000 in Commissioning Support

Carlehr Swanson

Carlehr Swanson (vocalist, pianist, speaker) is a 1st year Ph.D. student at the University of Virginia. She is a graduate of George Mason University and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami with degrees in Jazz Vocal Performance. Before college, Carlehr accompanied and directed multiple church choirs. She credits this experience as significantly influencing her musicality. Upon entering college, she realized the absence of gospel music in higher education. Consequently, she co-founded and directed the Frost Gospel Ensemble. Her research interests include gospel music, Black studies, women's studies, and civic engagement. Giving back to her community and connecting with others has been an important theme in Carlehr's life, as she brings people together to serve a greater good. She is the founder and director of the organization, "Music is Unity," where she takes music performances to people who may not experience them otherwise. Throughout this year, she has planned and performed more than a dozen virtual events for the community.

Swanson receives the Creative Development Award for Growing Pains, an extended play record of original music, combining the styles of jazz, R&B, and gospel, exploring love, loss, faith, and hope along the transition to adulthood.

Kyle Finnegan

Born in the same place as American cinema (the great state of New Jersey), Kyle Finnegan is a filmmaker living in Alexandria, VA. He graduated in 2017 with a BA in Film and Video Studies. After shooting and editing for several years, he currently works at 522 Productions with a focus on directing branded documentaries. His work won him a DC TIVA Peer award in 2021 and he’s interviewed all four of Time Magazine’s heroes of 2021. He has created short documentaries exploring subjects ranging from car hackers in Seattle to an artsy coal mining town in Utah. Whether it’s a film, a website, or a delicious meal, he aims to create something every day.

Finnegan’s award will support his new documentary film, exploring the complicated role of MSG (monosodium glutamate) in the United States, as influenced by pervasive misinformation and the uniting love of food across cultures. "I'm excited to have received a grant from the institution that has supported so much of my development as an artist," said Finegan. "I'm looking forward to making a mouthwatering film about the complex world of MSG."

2023 Young Alumni Artistic Support Grant Winners Including $2,000 in Unrestricted Support

Mohammed Saffouri

Mohammed Saffouri is an award-winning Palestinian-American filmmaker based in Fairfax, Virginia. Saffouri distinguished himself early on in his film career by earning a Capital Emmy for his debut documentary film, The First. His next film, Touchline, was recently selected to participate in Tribeca Film Festival. Touchline will be the first Jordanian film to be screened at Tribeca, and Saffouri will be the first alumni from George Mason University to have a film screened at Tribeca in the festival’s history. Saffouri graduated from George Mason University in 2020 with a degree in Film and Video Studies and a concentration in Film Directing. Throughout his eight years in the film and media industry, he has directed three films, produced four films, written three films, and created more than ten promotional videos for companies and non-profits. His work has been screened at such festivals as the Washington DC International Film Festival, the Virginia Film Festival, the Malmo Arab Film Festival, and others. Saffouri is currently developing his first narrative feature film.

Saffouri’s award will support the development of his first narrative feature film, a deeply personal story about the experience and perseverance of a Muslim-American immigrant woman in the United States. "I'm always happy and thankful to see how George Mason University is the first to support its alumni and students," said Saffouri. "This is the first grant I get into this project, and I'll make sure to make them proud when this project is done."

Left to Right: Meagan Arnold, Hannah Looney, and Mike Rose

Meagan Arnold (Film, 2018), Mike Rose (Film, 2016), and Hannah Looney (Film, 2018) began collaborating on creative projects together as students in the Film and Video Studies program at Mason. Over the past 6 years and alongside Film at Mason alumnus Jason Cortez (BA, 2015), the group has produced numerous fashion, narrative, and music video projects. Often working under the alias ‘negativs,’ their recent project FLORENCE toured internationally at the Sarajevo and Croatia Fashion Film Festivals.

Arnold, Rose, and Looney receive the award to assist in the creation of Momentum/Memoriam, an experimental music video that explores and contextualizes the group’s grief over the loss of their late collaborator and Mason alum, Jason Cortez (Film, 2015).

"Jason Cortez was an award-winning filmmaker and a 2015 graduate of the Film and Video Studies program at Mason. He lost his life on September 10, 2021, at the age of 29. Momentum//Memoriam is an experimental, fashion music video honoring Jason’s legacy as an artist, as well as the impact he left on his closest artistic collaborators," said Arnold.

"We are at the beginning of a long process in creating art for, and posthumously with, our dear friend. Jason left behind many projects unfinished, and we bear a responsibility to complete his life’s work. We have several projects planned in the coming years to celebrate Jason and to continue his artistic vision. Momentum//Memoriam will be our first venture into creating art as a collective since he passed."

Information about the next round of applications will be announced at a later date. Details on previous year's recipients and criteria for consideration can be viewed on the Young Alumni Commissioning Project website.

Topics

Young Alumni Commissioning Project. alumni support

alumni

College of Visual and Performing Arts

College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

Dewberry School of Music

Student film productions

Film

Film at Mason

latin-american ensemble

Mason Jazz

Get to Know Shá Norman, CVPA’s Director of Diversity

Emily Schneider — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:40:43 +0000

Get to Know Shá Norman, CVPA’s Director of Diversity Emily Schneider Fri, 02/04/2022 - 15:40

Shá Norman (They/She) joins George Mason University with over ten years of experience in program administration in education non-profits and higher education institutions.

While teaching students performing arts and creative writing across the Chicagoland area, they became deeply aware of the inequities students with marginalized backgrounds faced in education systems. This led to their passion for not only the work of advocacy for equity in education but also administering the programs and supports that insulate marginalized students and educational opportunities that support the professional development of administrators, faculty, staff, and program instructors.

To help the CVPA community get to know Shá, we asked them about their goals at Mason, their art, and the best advice they have received. Read on to learn more and help us offer Shá a warm welcome!

Shá Norman (They/She), the Director of Diversity for the College of Visual and Performing Arts, joins Mason as of February 7, 2022.

What attracted you to Mason and this role within Mason in particular?

As a creative and educator, the opportunity to dialogue and be in community with creatives and educators through the implementation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility supports and resources can only be described as purposeful for me. I was drawn to the position because it marries my passion for DEIA in higher education with my passion for the arts and working with artists/creatives. While going through the interview process, my awareness deepened of how special the GMU CVPA community is and how committed CVPA is to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am very excited to begin this collaborative adventure with each of you.

Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

bell hooks. My understanding of myself and my place and purpose in society flows from the wisdom of bell hooks. Much of my methodology toward DEIA comes from bell hooks offerings such as Teaching to Transgress and Teaching Community to name a couple.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about your position?

A good amount of my past experiences in equity work is ‘fixer’ or reacting to harm internal and external to the organization/institution through education interventions, programs, and initiatives. I’ve noticed an absence of proactive dialogue and intentionality in responding to harm. I believe more dialogue centering how to be in community with one another through the lens of our experiential knowledge can assist in creating a culture of inclusion and belonging that uplifts us all. I believe each of us holds a piece of the answer to our collective institutional and societal challenges, and it is our social responsibility to work toward inclusive freedom through inclusive practices.

What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

I think of advice as insights. The best insight I’ve been given is the insight of interconnectedness from Thich Nhat Hahn. If you have a conversation with me long enough you will most likely hear me talk about interconnectedness. It’s very easy to ‘other’ in our society. We ‘other’ difference whether that difference is identity, ideology, cultural norms, etc. However, when we understand that all things are interconnected, we can see difference through the lens of appreciation and extended wisdom; then those differences become more valuable to us as a collective community.

What are some topics or conversation starters you love that will help people get to know you?

My answer may be a bit polarizing; on one hand, I enjoy a good philosophical conversation about life, love, and all the in-between, while on the other hand I also really enjoy a good conversation dissecting the latest episode of Real Housewives of Potomac and other such reality tv shows.

What kind of relationship do you have with the arts? What are you looking forward to exploring about the arts within CVPA?

Being a creative is a salient identity for me and much of how I approach life, through the lens of curiosity. As a practitioner, I am a percussionist and writer. I was absolutely a choir, theater kid. I’ve had the opportunity to do some improv and acting across Chicago, primarily through working with Playmakers Laboratory Theatre. In my everyday life, creativity is how I approach my work and grounds my ability to be flexible and adaptable. I also really enjoy cooking and cultivating a good food experience.

I am most excited to experience the artistic work of CVPA faculty, staff, and students. I’ll be on the lookout for those galleries, theater, and concert invitations.

Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies?

I love humor and I’ve been told I’m funny. It’s also worth knowing that I laugh at 100% of my own jokes. Additionally, during the pandemic, I discovered my deep joy for puzzles.

Topics

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Director of Diversity

Introduction

Djola Branner is the New Director of the School of Theater

Emily Schneider — Thu, 20 May 2021 15:01:09 +0000

Djola Branner is the New Director of the School of Theater Emily Schneider Thu, 05/20/2021 - 11:01

In This Story

Rick Davis

George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts announced artist educator and co-founder of Pomo Afro Homos Djola Branner will be the next Director of the School of Theater.

Branner starts July 1, transitioning from his most recent role as Professor of Theater at Hampshire College. With Branner’s upcoming arrival, Interim Director Kevin Murray announced his retirement at the end of the spring semester, closing out roughly 30 years of teaching at Mason. Murray, who led the School of Theater during an extensive Director search following Ken Elston’s departure in 2019, looks forward to pursuing even more professional acting opportunities in retirement.

“We are beyond excited to welcome Djola Branner to the School of Theater,” shares Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “He is an artist of wide professional accomplishment who has made a real impact on the American theater in the course of his career as a playwright, actor, and director. And he has an equally strong investment in teaching, with a focus on empowering students from diverse backgrounds to tell their own stories. His background as a higher education administrator is similarly impressive, and I look forward to working with him closely as we think about the future of not just the School of Theater but our College as a whole.”

Regarding the opportunity Branner shared, “I’m excited to join the talented faculty and staff in the School of Theater, to build upon their track record of artistic rigor and excellence as we forge a theater that represents the diverse range of identities and experiences which is 21st century America.”

A theater artist and educator who gives voices to individuals historically absent from the stage, Branner works with the integration of music, sound, and light as theatrical language. Co-founder of the award-winning performance group Pomo Afro Homos, he toured nationally and internationally with their shows Fierce Love: Stories from Black Gay Life and Dark Fruit, and has performed in regional theaters across the country. Branner’s interdisciplinary work has been supported by Creative Capital, the Jerome, McKnight, and Bush Foundations, and published in numerous anthologies including Black Gay Genius, Colored Contradictions, Voices Rising, and In the Life. His first book of collected plays, sash & trim and other plays, was nominated for a Lambda Literary award (in 2014). His seminal writings and performances have been permanently archived at the Schomburg Center for Black Research, and the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library.

Branner’s creative practice has been defined by a passion for scripting, staging, and performing original drama, and that passion has defined his pedagogy as well. He has taught dance and theater at City College of San Francisco, Stanford University, University of Minnesota, Macalester College, American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Amherst College, Brown University and Hampshire College where he was a full professor of theater. Branner holds an MA in Creative Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies from San Francisco State University, and an MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School/New School for Drama.

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

College of Visual and Performing Arts

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Theater

College of Visual and Performing Arts

Young Alumni Commissioning Project Announces Recipients of Fourth Round of Funding

In This Story

2023 Recipient of the Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award Including $5,000 in Commissioning Support Juan Megna

2023 Young Alumni Creative Development Award Winners Including $3,000 in Commissioning Support

2023 Young Alumni Artistic Support Grant Winners Including $2,000 in Unrestricted Support

Topics

Get to Know Shá Norman, CVPA’s Director of Diversity

Shá Norman (They/She) joins George Mason University with over ten years of experience in program administration in education non-profits and higher education institutions.

To help the CVPA community get to know Shá, we asked them about their goals at Mason, their art, and the best advice they have received. Read on to learn more and help us offer Shá a warm welcome!

What attracted you to Mason and this role within Mason in particular?

Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

What’s the biggest misconception people have about your position?

What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?

What are some topics or conversation starters you love that will help people get to know you?

What kind of relationship do you have with the arts? What are you looking forward to exploring about the arts within CVPA?

Do you have any hidden talents or hobbies?

Topics

Djola Branner is the New Director of the School of Theater

In This Story

Topics

2023 Recipient of the Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award Including $5,000 in Commissioning Support
Juan Megna