Mason Arts Board Minutes - November 2023

Mason Arts Board November 8, 2023 8:30-10:15am

Open the pdf (with Financial Report)

Center for the Arts

Attendees:

Annie Bolger, Gardner Gillespie, Steven Golsch, Molly Grimsley, Colette Loll, Victoria Salmon, Mark Shugoll, Jay Speer, Rose Mary Flores Troche, Jennifer Disano, Rick Davis, Whitman Brown, James Casey, Susan Graziano, Rachel Ingle, Setarra Kennedy, Mary Lechter, Linda Monson, Sang Nam, Emily Rusch, Emily Schneider, Julie Thompson

Zoom attendees:

Mike Brown, Laverne Chatman, Linda Harber, Kelly Harms, Charniele Herring, Laila Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, Paulette Miller, Ida Portland, Anika Tené, Isaac W.K. Thweatt, Mary Zigo, Jenna Day, Djola Branner, Zoe Charlton, Niyati S. Dhokai, Kirstin Franko, Cynthia Fuchs, Adrienne Bryant Godwin, Linda Harber, Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, Emily Robinson, Lauren Wagner

Regrets:

Robert Golden, Jolanda N. Janczewski, Nancy Jean-Louis, So Lim, Kimberly Macedo, Val McWhorter, Willy Meaux, Bob Purks, Edward Weiner, Jonathan Goldman, Janice Sutera Wolfe, Karalee Dawn MacKay, Michael Nickens, Karen Reedy

Welcome

Steven Golsch, Chair

Chair Steven Golsch opened the meeting by highlighting how be became involved in Mason Arts. He was introduced to ARTS by George! by friends and has become increasingly involved ever since. One of his priorities moving forward is getting the Board more engaged with students. He asked that everyone fill out the survey that was included in pre-meeting emails and to take the time to consider the questions about their level of involvement. Dean Davis noted that there’s nothing better than a personal invitation for a friend to engage in what CVPA does. Members were encouraged to attend performances and exhibitions and to invite contacts to events. Please contact Emily Rusch if you need assistance purchasing tickets.

Committee Reports

Audience Engagement – Paulette Miller, Chair

The description of the Audience Engagement Committee from the meeting materials was read. Paulette Miller noted that, as Board members, you can’t promote what you don’t know.

Members were encouraged to attend events and to join the audience engagement committee.

Finance – Annie Bolger, Treasurer

The description of the Audience Engagement Committee from the meeting materials was read. Paulette Miller noted that, as Board members, you can’t promote what you don’t know. Members were encouraged to attend events and to join the audience engagement committee.

Rentals are currently trending $71k above last year’s rentals which continues the trend reported at the last board meeting.

Preliminary course credits numbers were reported at the last meeting. Since then, there has been some decline that is natural as part of the course withdrawal process. CVPA Fall credits are up 2.8% for Fall 2023. That makes CVPA one of the highest growth colleges at Mason.

Ticket sales are up $150K over last year. Hylton Center foot traffic is up 26% and CFA foot traffic is up 6% from this time last year.

Quality faculty are the key to any successful academic program and there is no shortage of that at CVPA. As enrollment grows, the number of faculty should see a similar trajectory. CVPA has seen a steady increase in faculty headcount year over year for the past 9 years. This speaks to the continued investment in quality educational programs.

Mason Community Arts Academy has an 11% increase in enrollment this fall while Mason Game and Technology Academy has seen a steep decline. MGTA’s enrollment drop is largely associated with a decline in grant-funded students from Prince William County Schools. PWCS usually sends 30 students per class and this year it was closer to 20 per class.

ARTS by George!– Steven Golsch and Annie Bolger, Co-Chairs

Annie Bolger noted that this year’s event was the best she’s attended and there was an excitement among the attendees. Board members agreed that Renée Elise Goldsberry was an ideal headliner for the event. Board members were thanked for their support of the event, which surpassed its goal by $25K.

Development – Victoria Salmon

Vicki Salmon, the new chair of the Development Committee, reported since the last meeting, the Hylton Performing Arts Center received a major anonymous gift and Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts made a gift to support four student scholarships. She also noted that her work on the Development Committee will foster a culture of philanthropy on the Board. She and Susan Graziano will gladly meet with board members and prospects to discuss how donors can best help CVPA achieve its goals.

Governance – Steven Golsch

The Governance Committee is recruiting new members. The Board needs to continue to grow as current members rotate off the Board. Please contact Steven Golsch or Susan Graziano if you would like to join this committee.

Center for the Arts Report – Mark Shugoll

Mark Shugoll reported that $12.4M has been raised towards the Concert Hall renovation campaign. Since the last meeting, Christine O’Hare has named an orchestra seat and Annie and John Bolger have named the Friends reception area through a planned gift. Mark noted that we would like to see 100% Board participation in the campaign for this important priority.

Around CVPA – Please see Program Directors’ written reports in the meeting packet.

Dean’s Report – Dean Rick Davis reports on Mason/CVPA

Rick Davis spoke about the recent Silk Road Ensemble artistic residency and the intensity of art making and sharing that came with it. This transformational residency included work with Dean Davis’s Honors College class titled The Silk Road and the Railroad.

While the ensemble was on campus the class had the honor of watching them make a piece of music in rehearsal.

Presentations

George Mason University’s budget and its impact on CVPA

Slides from CVPA’s Chief Business Officer Whitman Brown’s presentation on the university’s budget and CVPA’s place within that budget are included in the meeting packet. There is currently a $41M budget shortfall at George Mason University, which is primarily tied to faculty and staff compensation. For many years Mason offered below-market competitive salaries for all levels of faculty and staff. The university is now more competitive; however, the increases have caused the shortfall. To put the $41M into perspective, that number is only 3% over the university’s full budget.

In order to mitigate the shortfall, the university is slowing the hiring process and subjecting each open position to a critical vacancy review process. There are also budget reductions and long-term efficiencies and policy changes that have been put into place. University-wide 6% budget cuts are planned. CVPA will need to cut $1.6M by June 2025, which is manageable but far from easy. Enrollment strategy is a big piece of CVPA’s plan. More students equal more money, but the college cannot grow beyond faculty capacity. Major initiatives will need to be put on hold, including a college-wide accessibility plan.

State appropriation per student for Mason are still lower than peer institutions. Board members were encouraged to contact their Virginia representatives to advocate on behalf of Mason.

Rick Davis closed the presentation by stressing the importance of the arts. What CVPA does makes the world a more beautiful, humane place.

Computer Game Design Demonstration

Sang Nam, director of the Computer Game Design Program, started the presentation by pointing out that in the beginning Game Design didn’t feel as though it belonged in CVPA, however it is the perfect home for the program. He feels that the CVPA environment is great for encouraging the program to do its best.

James Casey, director of the Virginia Serious Game Institute and Computer Game Design Assistant Professor, demonstrated a virtual reality program that they developed for Mason’s Forensics department. Forensics has a full crime scene facility on Mason’s west campus that they use to train students, however it is time consuming to set up and reset after each use. A three-dimensional scan was made of the training space that was used to create a virtual, interactive space. The user can examine the entire room and interact with evidence using different tools.

VSGI developer Clark Smiley demonstrated a mixed reality application that he is working on for the Inova hospital system. Similar to the forensics program, Inova has a training room for trauma care that has to be reset for every training. This mixed reality training can be set up anywhere. It can also be used in the training room because it overlays on the training equipment. It does not require controllers, only the user’s hands. It uses a story-based narrative and the user can interact with the patient, EMS driver, or nurse.

The meeting adjourned at 10:20 am.

Next Meeting: February 14, 2024

Mason Arts Board November 8, 2023 8:30-10:15am

AGENDA

  1. Welcome – Steven Golsch, Chair
  1. Updates – Steven Golsch, Chair
    1. Description of morning’s activities
    2. Website link – Mason Arts Board | College of Visual and Performing Arts
  2. Committee Reports –
  1. Audience Engagement – Paulette Miller, Chair
  2. Finance – Annie Bolger, Treasurer
  3. Arts by George! – Steven Golsch and Annie Bolger, Co-Chairs
  4. Development – Vicki Salmon
  5. Governance – Steven Golsch
  6. Center for the Arts Report – Mark Shugoll
  1. Around CVPA –Please see Program Directors’ written reports
  2. Dean’s Report – Dean Rick Davis reports on Mason/CVPA
  3. Presentations – George Mason University’s budget and its impact on CVPA & Computer Game Design Demonstration
  4. Open Discussion – Comments/Questions
  5. New Business/Announcements --
  6. Adjourn

Next Meeting: February 14, 2024

Mason Arts Board: Committee Service

Audience Engagement Committee: (no specific language in the Operating Practices)

As explained in the Expectations and Responsibilities of Board Directors (March 2020), the Audience Engagement Committee encourages Board members to attend at least one special event, such as Arts by George!, Dance Fête, or Hylton Gala. The committee promotes professional events and performance – The Great Performances at Mason and/or Hylton Presents series – which is vital to supporting the mission of the College.

Additional Language: The Audience Engagement Committee works to engage the Board through hosting occasional events.

Governance Committee: (Article 5, Operating Practices)

The Governance Committee shall:

  • Vet proposed candidates
  • Propose new directors for the Dean’s and Chair’s approval
  • Distribute to the Directors a self-assessment based on the Expectations and Responsibilities of the Board document.

Additional Language: The Governance Committee works to recruit and nominate new candidates, review bylaws and recommend revisions, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the group, and facilitates self-assessment.

Development Committee: (no language in Operating Practices)

The Development Committee works to nurture a culture of philanthropy on the Board. Although the actual task of fundraising belongs to the full Board, this committee strategizes and supports the Board in its role of giving and getting necessary resources for the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Finance Committee: (Article 4, Operating Practices)

The Treasurer shall work with the CVPA Director of Finance/CFO to assure that all funds raised by the Mason Arts Board are properly segregated and accounted for. The Treasurer shall provide periodic reports to the Board on the status of the CVPA’s finances.

Additional Language: The Treasurer and Finance Committee analyze the ongoing financial health of an organization. Members review budgets, cash flow, statements of financial position and the statement of financial activities.

Ad Hoc Task Forces are created by the Board as needed to address a specific issue addressing the College. Once the Task Force completes the assignments, they normally disband.

Source: Susan Schaefer and Bob Wittig; Nonprofit Board Service for the Genius; Genius Press; 2015.

Mason Arts Dashboard as of Sep 20, 2023

Program Reports

Arts Management

General Program Updates:

  • BAM Recruitment: Working with CVPA Academic Affairs to implement a new accelerated degree communication plan to shepherd prospective students through the application AMGT is the first in CVPA to implement a BAM communication plan.
  • MA Recruitment: The program is changing our graduate MA admissions to Fall only starting Fall 2024; ensuring students continue to have the best classroom experience, graduate on time, and support BAM students' entry into the

Students:

  • Working inthe Arts: TheLegendary Ingramettes, a career panel moderated by AMGT adjunct professor and Associate Director at the Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Josh Kohn, focused on the strategies The Ingramettes used to make the transition to larger stages, challenges of presenting spiritual music to secular audiences, and the challenges the group has endured over its history. Organized as part of AMGT alumna and Hylton Performing Arts Center’s Education Coordinator, Marit Majeske’s Artist Residency program (Oct 30).
  • Beyond the Note, AMGT BAM student Darren Badley joins Silkroad Artistic Director, Rhiannon Giddens, Artist Mazz Swift, and fellow BIPOC CVPA students for a roundtable discussion on the successes and challenges experienced by BIPOC musicians and artists (Nov 5).
  • AMGT hosted a Public Speaking Workshop for students, with Shelby Broberg, Director of Mason’s Communication Center. Sudents worked to improve vocal and nonverbal communication skills, refine an elevator arts career pitch and how to work through communication anxiety (Nov 5).
  • Capstone presentations: Five MA students will complete the inaugural Portfolio option for Capstone and graduate from the Taught by AMGT Adjunct Professor, Dr. Vicki Salmon, students work on assembling, reflecting, and assessing their time in the program to prepare for a competitive job market (Friday, December 1st starting at 9:30am via Zoom).

Faculty:

  • Professor Carole Rosenstein has submitted the second edition of Understanding Cultural Policy to Rutledge with publication expected March 2024. This book is utilized in multiple arts policy graduate courses around the nation.
  • Adjunct Professor Khady Kamara, Executive Director, opened the multimillion-dollar Perelman Performing Arts Center in
  • Adjunct Professor Niyati Dhokai is producing several events around Veterans Day for the Veteran and the Arts Initiative, including The S. Army Band Star Spangled Spectacular.

On the Horizon for Spring:

  • Fundraising Strategies in the Arts Panel, a forthcoming conversation with fundraising expert Laura , author of The Ask, moderated by AMGT Adjunct professor Eileen Kennedy.
  • AMGT Dance Business Panel, a discussion on the pandemic pivot, lessons learned and how dance organizations are moving forward in their respective business Confirmed guest expert: Julie Nakagawa, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of DanceWorks Chicago with two additional guest experts. (Monday, January 22nd from 5:30-8pm via Zoom)

Please feel free to join us at any upcoming events by contacting AMGT Director Dr. Karalee Dawn MacKay

School of Dance

The School of Dance is buzzing with excitement this fall. We hit the ground running this semester with classes, auditions, rehearsals, and visiting guest artists. Our exceptionally talented young artists continue

to move and inspire. Each week has provided numerous opportunities and special events – it has been quite a whirlwind of creativity!

Thank you to all who joined us for ARTS by George! On September 30. Inside the de Laski studio, the School of Music and the School of Dance shared a lively collaboration between Dr. William Lake, Jr. (Music) and Professor Lawrence Jackson (Dance). Come Sunday was met with a standing ovation! Just down the hall, two casts of Karen Reedy’s In Memory performed the work side by side, sharing insight into the musicality and individual play among the dancers. We love sharing these behind the scenes looks into our artform.

This past weekend, November 3rd and 4th, marked our inaugural performance of Fall: New Dances in the CFA Concert Hall. This concert included inspiring work by faculty and students. Assistant Professor Christina Robson shared a new work titled The space between parts, and the evening closed with a premiere by Shaun D’Arcy titled AURORA, choreographed for the entire sophomore class. Thank you to all who joined us for the concert and the pre-performance reception!

We have more performances to come this fall. Please join us! Our majors have been hard at work in the studio, creating and dancing in the new works being prepared for our numerous fall performances.

December is rich with performances of Fall: Dance Innovations and the Studio Series, showcasing our talented Senior and Junior choreography.

Please be sure to mark your calendars:

Fall: Dance Innovations

December 1, 2, 2023 @ 8pm

Studio Series

December 5, 2023 @ 6pm and 8pm

Alongside rehearsals for fall concerts, preparation is underway for our 2024 Mason Dance Gala Concert. Auditions have commenced and we welcomed our first two guest artist residencies of the year with Rena Butler’s This, That and the Third, and Susan Shields’ Visions and Miracles. Dancers are looking forward to the January residencies for works by Kyle Abraham and Martha Graham! We hope you will join us for our Mason Dance Gala and Dance Fete!

Save the Date!

2024 Mason Dance Company Gala Concert and Dance Fete!
Saturday, March 23, 2023, 5:30PM-10PM

Computer Game Design

As one of the largest game design and development degree programs in Virginia's public state universities, the Computer Game Design Program has offered various outreach activities to meet with the local high school students, interested in STEM education. Prof. Josiah Lebowitz visited with students at Fairfax Academy on October 19th and discussed the career paths in game design and development while sharing his creative work in the field. Also, Director Sang Nam visited Alexandria City High School on October 26th as part of a high school career path exploration program of Campagna Center, a local non-profit organization. Director Nam discussed how STEM education intersects with game design and development while sharing his applied research projects using serious games and game technology.

On October 28th, the Computer Game Design sponsored HashTag Con: Indie Series hosted by HashTag Gaming Arena, Herndon, VA. The Computer Game Design faculty discussed various game-related topics as a guest lecturer and/or a panelist as the following (https://hashtagcon.com/panels/):

Prof. Eric Piccione - "How I got my first job in the industry, and what made the difference" Profs. Jacob Enfield & Stephanie Kane - "Serious Games & Applied Research Using Games" Prof. Robbie Dieterich - "What it's like to publish a game, and things to know beforehand" Profs. Sang Nam & James Casey - "A view of AR and how it could change games of the future"

Also, the Computer Game Design Program showcased games created by students and alumni games (https://hashtagcon.com/showcase/).

Kyle Bishop (BFA, Computer Game Design '13) was recognized as the CVPA Thomas W. Iszard IV Distinguished Alumni Award at this year's Celebration of Distinction on October 20. Mr. Bishop started his career as an associate interactive producer at Discovery Creative before he co-founded Little Arms Studios. He now has more than 10 years of experience developing and deploying mission-critical, B2B, enterprise, and commercial-grade platforms, including the Zephyr Drone Simulator, the interactive virtual incident simulator, and two published mobile applications in support of government and commercial clients. Mr. Bishop has a foundation background in programming and strong technical skills in game development, serious games, gamification, simulation, and user interface (UI) development, which are complemented by project management and team leadership experience. He also volunteers time and resources toward helping various communities through STEM education, fundraising, and support.

Director Sang Nam will collaborate with Pink Space Theory (a non-profit in Woodbridge, VA) and Dr. Michael Hisao of Virginia Tech to start a Computer Science enrichment program for students at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, VA, using Game Changineer, an AI-powered toolkit teaching computer science to kids from November 14th for 10 weeks.

Director Sang Nam & VSGI Director James Casey will visit Korea to attend G-Star 2023 (https://www.gstar.or.kr/eng), a global game exhibition, which is equivalent to the combination of E3 and GDC in the US. Directors Nam and Casey will discuss the founding of the Korea Serious Game Institute with Mason Korea and its Inudstry-University Collaboration Foundation and meet with various game companies for external support - they will meet with NC SOFT (https://www.plaync.com/en-us/index), WeMade Entertainment (https://www.wemade.com/), Unity Korea (https://unity.com/), Inven Global (https://www.invenglobal.com/), Tencent Korea (https://www.tencent.com/en-us/about.html), and so on. Also, they will meet with the Hospice Center at Ajou University Medical Center to further the applied research using games as digital therapeutics. Furthermore, they will give a special lecture and a seminar at the Department of Comics and Animation at Chosun University, Seoul Digitech High School, and the Base (Blockchain and Software Engineering) Lab at Sogang University.

Film and Video Studies

Directing and Screenwriting Professor Nikyatu Jusu appeared on President Gregory Washington's Access to Excellence Podcast in August. They discussed her Sundance Grand Prize-winning film, Nanny; her ongoing efforts to "elevate the horror genre"; as well as their shared backgrounds in fields of engineering. Nanny will be released by The Criterion Collection on October 31.

Student news:

Film at Mason student Natalia Melnikova’s “Why Women Shouldn’t Make Music,” screened in

the Global Girl Media Film Festival in September. The film analyzes the treatment of women and femme musicians and concert-goers in the music industry. The film was made in FAVS 367 Radical Camera, taught by Professor G. Chesler.

Faculty news:

Cinematography Professor Hans Charles was the cinematographer on Wake, a feature fiction film directed by Erik White, shot during the spring and summer of 2023, now streaming on BET+. In August 2023, Professor Charles hosted a panel discussion at the Martha’s Vineyard Black Film Festival, following a screening of Listen to Me, codirected by Stephanie Etienne and Kanika Harris. The documentary traces the stories of four women who stand at the frontlines of the Black maternal health struggle as birth workers and public health experts. In addition, Professor Charles presented opening remarks at a MasonExhibitions screening of 13th (Ava DuVernay 2013), in October.

Directing and Screenwriting Professor Nikyatu Jusu

Screenwriting Professor Peter Kimball's new short documentary, "Deaf Giants," explores the unique moment in the early 1900s when the New York Giants baseball team included three deaf players at the same time. Screening at festivals in Argentina, Poland, Australia, Canada, and Spain, the film is exposing new audiences to little known aspects of deaf and baseball history. As well, Professor Kimball’s dark comedy faux-documentary, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, is entirely in American Sign Language and intentionally silent. It’s available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Professor KJ Mohr was the Director of Programming for the 34th Annual Tampa Bay International Gayand Lesbian Film Festival (Nov 3-5, 2023). Professor Mohr is also the new Director of Programming for the Maryland Film Festival, scheduled for May 2024.

Adjunct professor and staff member Anjuli Singh, with military historian Blane Ampthor, presented a talk on the life and cinematic portrayal of George S. Patton in "Patton: The Man and the Movie" on October 11th at Cascades Library in Potomac Falls.

Alumni news:

Kwanza Gooden’s (’13) documentary series Black Beauty Effect is streaming on Netflix. Featuring appearances by Meagan Good, Amber Riley, and others, the series explores how Black professionals in the beauty industry challenge and redefine standards around their representation.

Tony Marquez’s (’12) short film FilAM is on the festival circuit, recognized at Studio City Film Festival, Awesome Con Short Film Festival, Columbia Film Festival, Canadian Film Festival Cinematography Awards, Hollywood Blvd Film Festival, and Big Sur Film Festival.

Visiting Filmmakers Series Fall 2023:

The Visiting Filmmakers Series this semester included a collaboration with the College of Science, a screening and discussion of Woman in Motion on Oct 16.

On November 15, at 4:30pm, Visiting Filmmakers Series presents the Sundance Special Jury Awardwinner, Bad Press (2023), with filmmakers Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler and subject Angel Ellis. The film shows the Muscogee Nation’s against its tribal government's revocation of its Free Press Act in advance of an election. It's as urgent a cautionary tale as it sounds. Our host will be documentary filmmaker and Film at Mason Professor Rebekah Wingert-Jabi.

We invite you to join us for tremendous music featuring our Dewberry School of Music students. We welcome your presence and support at these marvelous upcoming concerts:

Dewberry School of Music

Mason Jazz Ensemble Concert

Thursday, November 9 8:00 PM | Harris Theatre

The Mason Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jim Carroll, performs its Fall 2023 concert.

In this concert we will bring attention to this famous quote by John Steinbeck with selection from the rich tradition of jazz improvisation and composition.

Mason Symphonic Band Concert

Wednesday, November 29 8:00 PM | Concert Hall

The Mason Symphonic Band is excited to present its second concert of the 2023-24 performance season presenting traditional and contemporary works for wind bands composed by a variety of composers.

This ensemble is comprised of both music majors and non-majors from a myriad of academic disciplines. Conducted by Director of Concert Bands, Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., and Graduate Conducting Student, Mr. Derik Wright, this concert will be both inspiring artistically and entertaining.

Mason Wind Symphony Concert

Thursday, November 30 8:00 PM | Concert Hall

The Mason Wind Symphony concludes the Fall 2023 portion of the 2023-23 season with Edward Elgar’s beautiful yet mysterious composition, Enigma Variations, transcribed for wind band. In this work, Elgar included a theme that he referred to as the “enigma” theme, which he never revealed its title. He offered several clues and hints over the years; however, despite numerous attempts, the mystery melody remains unsolved. The Mason Wind Symphony will complement this work with a premiere of Hilary Purrington’s latest composition, and Florence Price’s Adoration, transcribed for wind band by Sheldon Williams.

Mason Opera

Friday, December 1 | 8:00 PM

Saturday, December 2 | 8:00 PM Hylton Performing Arts Center

The Dewberry School of Music’s Mason Opera presents its Fall 2023 performance (an evening of Gilbert and Sullivan operattas). Featuring Mason’s talented vocal students in collaboration with an instrumental chamber ensemble, these live, in-person performances will showcase great vocal skill and dramatic ability and deeply immerse the audience in the action of the story.

Mason Symphony Orchestra & Choirs Holiday Concert Sunday, December 3

7:00 PM | Concert Hall

Showcasing Mason’s Symphony Orchestra and Choirs, this evening will feature holiday favorites and festive new works performed by extraordinary student artists.

School of Theater

On the heels of The Originals! which featured student written and directed plays, and 9 to 5: The Musical with music by the iconic Dolly Parton, we are in the final stretch of rehearsals for the production, fallen. This devised adaptation of Euripides’ The Trojan Women was conceived and directed by faculty member Theresa Ohanian and runs November 16-20 in Theater Space, and promises to be an exciting, thought-provoking evening of theater. We round out the fall semester with a staged reading of La Belle Indifference by faculty member April Brassard, on December 1 at 2pm in the Johnson Center Bistro. There is one showtime only for La Belle… so be sure to mark your calendars.

Our community event, ‘Cultivating 21st Century Audiences’, a collaboration with CVPA’s Office of Diversity featuring artistic and managing directors from DMV theaters including Maria Manuela Goyanes of Woolly Mammoth, Serge Seiden of Mosaic Theater, Naysan Mojgani of Round House and Adrienne Bryant Godwin of Hylton Center for the Performing Arts, centered around an amazing panel discussion on strategies for developing diverse audiences.

Thanks to our talented CVPA Digital Production Team, The Originals! and ‘Cultivating 21st Century Audiences’ are up on Mason Arts Amplified. 

Upcoming events include Mason Cabaret, featuring the music of legends Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald and Barbara Streisand, which will run January 26-February 2 in Harris Theater, followed by Twelve Ophelias, a play (says playwright Caridad Svich) “with broken songs in which Shakespeare’s Ophelia rises out of the water dreaming of reclaiming her life. She finds herself in the neo-Elizabethan Appalachian setting where Gertrude runs a brothel, Hamlet is a Rude Boy and nothing is what it seems.” Twleve Ophelias runs February 22-26.

More information and tickets

Hope to see you at one of our shows!

Green Machine Ensembles

On October 13th, the Green Machine Pep Band,Emerald Desire Dance Team,GMU Winter Guard, and Spirit Drumline performed at Mason Madness, the official “kick-off” event of the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball seasons! In addition to the expected energetic and entertaining performance from the bleachers that the Green Machine is known for, the department came out in full force alongside the Masonettes and Mason Cheerleaders to perform a dazzling floor show, choreographed to a Michael Nickens arrangement of the Smashing Pumpkins song, “Tonight Tonight”. Be sure to catch the Green

Machine at every home basketball game in EagleBank Arena. The games and times can be found on our calendar at https://www.greenmachine.gmu.edu/calendar.

The Ice Hockey Band will be performing at the Prince William Ice Center for GMU hockey games on December 2nd (1:40pm vs. Canisius) and December 8th (8:00pm vs UMD).

GMU Winter Guard and GMU Indoor Drumline have both set their membership for the upcoming 2023- 2024 competitive season. Be sure to follow both groups on social media to stay up to date with their upcoming competitions!

The Patriots Fife and Drum Corps and the 8th Green Machine Regiment Band will be performing at the annual Green Machine Historical Showcase on Saturday December 9th at 7pm in the Johnson Center Cinema. This program will include a diverse selection of composers and repertoire performed on period instruments. The regiment band will also be performing on November 11th at 11am at the Manassas National Battlefield for the annual Veterans Day Ceremony.

Be sure to follow Doc Nix and the Green Machine on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to be kept up to date with all the ensembles’ performances! For a full list of upcoming performances, visit: https://www.greenmachine.gmu.edu/calendar

Hylton Performing Arts Center

This Veterans Day, the Veterans and the Arts Initiative at the Hylton Performing Arts Center will be sponsoring two exciting performances. On November 4th, The U.S. Army Band Star-Spangled Spectacular with Christopher Jackson will present a sold-out performance on the Merchant Hall stage and from November 9th to 11th, Manassas Ballet Theatre will present Colin: Son, Marine, Hero. Both performances are supported by the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, with a limited number of free tickets for Colin to be provided for Veterans and Servicemembers.

The holidays are right around the corner at the Hylton Center! The Holiday Series starts on Sunday, November 26th with A Canadian Brass Christmas followed by the Sunday, December 3rd performance of Artists-in-Residence The Legendary Ingramettes. The series continues with American Festival PopsOrchestra: Holiday Pops on Friday, December 8th and wraps up with Vienna Boys Choir on Sunday, December 10th.

Planning for the 14th Anniversary Hylton Center Gala is underway with sponsorship availability to be announced later this year. Be sure to mark your calendar for Saturday, April 27th, 2024 to join us at this exciting celebration of arts and community that supports the Hylton Center’s many artistic programs including the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, educational outreach, and the Hylton Center’s endowment. Come visit the Hylton Center this Season and take part in everything we have to offer!

Marketing

The ‘22–’23 CVPA annual reports have arrived! Please grab a physical copy at the in-person meeting and enjoy the great summary of activities and achievements across Mason Arts.

Digital versions of the CVPA annual report as well as unique reports for the Center for the Arts and Hylton Center will be available on the respective websites soon.

Our Digital Venue Mason Arts Amplified has recently released new content! Explore the offerings including last season’s Indigenous Enterprise Artists in Conversation event and the recent Cultivating 21st Century Audiences Panel.

Performing Arts Center Marketing Update:

Overall ‘23–’24 ticket sales for both venues continue to pace well-ahead of last season. As of 10/30/23 reports, the Center for the Arts presented performances are at 54% of revenue goal and Hylton Center presented performances are at 50% of goal for the entire season. The Center for the Arts has had a strong subscription renewal campaign and has welcomed at least 245 brand new subscriber households, putting our total subscriber household count at 144% compared to this week last season. The Hylton Center is growing back its subscriber base as well, and it is at 103% of subscriber totals comparative to this week last year.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals – Both performing arts centers will offer deals during the weeks of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This season, we will be doing a strategic lead generation campaign to encourage sign up to increase our email lists. Those signed up for our lists in time will have access to a Presale prior to the public.

Support Mason Arts by coming to a holiday performance, getting tickets as a gift, and sharing the word. Information will be on the venue websites and social media channels.

Mason Community Arts Academy

Fall is in full swing for MCAA! Enrollment is strong, with 398 students in our group classes and 386 private music lesson students.

Our Arts, By GEORGE! presentation featured nine young performers from our Acting for Young People program, one of whom is also an MCAA piano student. Their ensemble number from the upcoming production of Newsies, Jr. and piano solo performance were delightfully performed, and well received by audiences! We also participated in Mason’s annual “Trunk or Treat” event, giving us the opportunity to meet over 500 community members and share information about the Academy.

Our Marketing Coordinator Regina Schneider created an updated Annual report, with copies provided for you at our November 8th meeting.

Spring class enrollment will open soon, and Summer program plans are well underway! Registration is scheduled to open on January 16, 2024. Working with Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., we are pursuing sponsorships and scholarship funding for our second annual Mason Summer Band Camp. We are also working with Professor June Huang to enhance our Strings program offerings. Due to popular demand, we are planning programs for expanded age groups in our Acting specialty weeks which focus on musical theater and improvisation.

This fall has also included our first theater offering in our wonderful collaboration with the Veterans & the Arts Initiative: Improv for Military Kids. Taught by three School of Theater alums, the four-week program has provided these students with a creative outlet that works well in an online learning environment. We will collaborate on another session of Songwriting for Military Kids in early 2024, taught by School of Music alums.

Our fall season will wrap up with several opportunities for our students to show and take pride in their accomplishments:

Saturday, November 11, 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon: Visual Art Showcase (Buchanan Hall atrium) Saturday, December 9 & Sunday, December 10, various times from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.: Music Recitals and Acting Showcases (deLaski Performing Arts Building)

Please stop in if you’re on campus! We’d love to share our students’ work with you. More information.

Veterans and the Arts Initiative

In honor of Veterans Day, the Veterans and the Arts Initiative is proud to sponsor The U.S. Army BandStar-Spangled Spectacular with guest Christopher Jackson (11/4) and American Roots Series’ SevenVoices – A Tribute to Patsy Cline (11/12). The Initiative will also support Hylton Center Arts

Partner Manassas Ballet Theatre’s Colin: Son, Marine, Hero (11/9–11/11). Join us at the Hylton Center for these special performances as we honor our community’s Veterans through the arts.

Learn more about 2023–2024 Veterans and the Arts Initiative events and workshops. Registration for early spring 2024 workshops is now available, including a new virtual writing workshop for women veterans, our ever-popular guitar workshops, and our songwriting series for military kids which is in its sixth year!

One of the hallmarks of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative is its research arm. In October 2023, Dr. Niyati Dhokai, Research Associate Professor and Program Director for the Veterans and the Arts Initiative, traveled to Ottawa, Canada to present research titled, “Supporting the Community-Based Researcher: Identifying and Coping with Secondary Trauma.” This work advances the field of arts in health by discussing crucial elements of implementing and sustaining long-term arts interventions and research protocols.

We wish all of you a Happy Veterans Day! The Veterans and the Arts Initiative staff – and all of Mason Arts – is honored to serve our military-connected community through the Veterans and the Arts Initiative throughout the year, and we are grateful that you are part of our community.

Virginia Serious Game Institute

At the Virginia Serious Game Institute (VSGI), we are just finishing our Fall program for Mason Game and Technology Academy (MGTA). We ran a number of classes at multiple campuses and they filled up very fast. Looking for similar strong support in the Spring.

On the research side of things, our cross campus collaborations are continuing to come along well. Continued support for our projects with Forensics, Kinesiology, and INOVA hospital are still going well. We have begun work on two 4-VA related projects in collaboration with professors here at GMU and other universities in Virginia. We are currently talking to a few additional folks about grants and future projects and will keep folks informed as they come to fruition. If you are interested in learning more about the projects or have ideas for future collaborations, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Finally, our resident companies are continuing their good work at the VSGI. The Historical Movement Archive has been presenting to folks internally and externally to get funding. Scrypted has been working on cutting edge implementations of generative AI to create content for games and the meta-verse.

Finally, our latest company in our incubator called Great Victory Legends is showcasing a VR based remote robotic project allowing users to operate robots anywhere in the world.

Lastly, we have continued to provide outreach to local schools, conferences and the like. We have plans to visit Mason Korea with Computer Game Design this month and our partners in the UAE in the new year.

All in all, the core tenets of the VSGI are being represented well and we look forward to continued success as this year continues.