Audience development and arts education are the primary objectives that drive the educational outreach component of the CES program. Building audiences that will understand and appreciate the arts now and in the future is critical to our program mission. Our goal is to inspire our audience to take performance experiences beyond the stage and into their lives.
CES prides itself on offering FSU students and members of the surrounding community the opportunity to grow and expand through a variety of experiential learning opportunities.
COMING NEXT
LIVE! at StarScape LUCIANA SOUZA AND ROMERO LUBAMBO: Brazilian Duos
Saturday, April 20, at 8:00 PM
Alice R. Manicur Assembly Hall
FSU Lane University Center
THREE PHANTOMS IN CONCERT™
Friday, April 26, at 8:00 PM
Pealer Recital Hall,
FSU Performing Arts Center
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
GOAL:
CES prides itself on offering FSU students and members of the surrounding community the opportunity to grow and expand through a variety of experiential learning opportunities. Cultural Events Series fosters skill sets in various areas of performance production. This form of experiential education allows participants to gain experience in the areas of artist relations, box office operations, front of house, marketing, and technical requirements of each performance. This professional exposure to event management and production industry skills integrates FSU students into the campus and local community as well as prepares them for future employment beyond their university life.
Students that have worked with Cultural Events Series in the past state that the skills of organization, communication, time management and collaboration have allowed them to secure employment in careers of their choosing.
85% of the student production team maintained a GPA of 3.0 or higher at the end of the Spring 2012 semester. Each of our students is required to maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Kendra Emery
Artist Relations Hometown: Baltimore, MD Major: Psychology Minor: Sociology Graduation: Spring 2013
Jenae Perkins
Box Office Hometown: White Plains, MD Major: Early Childhood Education Graduation: Spring 2014
Samantha Flowers
Artist Relations/Intern Hometown: Frostburg, MD Major: Music Education Minor: Dance Graduation: Spring 2013
Andrew Rollins
General Production Hometown: Frederick, MD Major: Athletic Training Graduation: Spring 2015
Andie Gambrel
Box Office/Front of House Hometown: Lavale, MD Major: Early Childhood Education Graduation: Spring 2015
Caitlin Taylor
Artist Relations Hometown: Waldorf, MD Major: History Minor: International Studies Graduation: Spring 2016
Ashley Hosselrode
Educational Outreach Hometown: Cumberland, MD Major: Mass Communications Graduation: Fall 2012
Volunteer Opportunities
We welcome volunteers to assist Front of House staff in welcoming Cultural Events Series patrons to our performances. Volunteers help CES patrons to have a pleasurable arts experience. Duties may include taking tickets, distributing programs, or acting as ushers to ensure that each patron is seated in his or her ticketed location. Once the lobby is clear, volunteers are stationed at visible locations within the venue in order to be available to patrons during the performance.
Volunteers are typically asked to arrive one hour prior to the start of the performance in order to receive instructions from our Front of House staff. This ensures that they feel fully prepared once the venue doors are opened thirty minutes prior to the performance.
Please note that CES cannot guarantee that volunteers will be able to view an entire performance; our first priority is to guarantee that patrons are provided with clear information as well as a safe environment in which to enjoy the arts.
Cultural Events Series Internships Summary/Responsibilities
For more than five decades, the Frostburg State University Cultural Events Series has united performing artists and audiences to experience and celebrate the arts. Each season, more than 7,000 patrons attend a diverse schedule of events that commences early in September and concludes in mid-May. A typical CES season includes an eclectic array of nearly fifteen performances that range from classically-trained musicians to Broadway musical theatre.
CES interns are actively involved in various aspects associated with planning and facilitating CES’ three main components: experiential education, educational outreach, and the presentation of live performance. Consistent exposure to these three core areas prepares interns for executing a wide range of tasks that are associated with presenting live professional performances. This includes active participation in the following: artist accommodations, artist hospitality and catering, box office/ticket sales, inventory and supply management, technical services, competitive grant writing, and print and social media marketing.
Fall semester interns are required to attend an extensive three-day training program that educates them about college, program operations, and the importance of leadership development. Itinerary topics often include: familiarizing oneself with colleagues and building relationships, strategies to hone the attributes of a successful leader, what a tour rider is and how to comprehend its contents, how to make the artist feel welcome, and the importance and value of teamwork.
RESPONSIBILITIES
CES interns must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, must be highly dependable and self-motivated, must possess excellent time management skills, and must practice exceptional verbal and written communication abilities. The Cultural Events Series student production team is extremely collaborative. Accordingly, the ability to thrive in a team environment is required.
A CES intern’s responsibilities may include but are not limited to the following tasks:
the preparation of handouts for training programs and/or weekly production meetings
the creation of supply/packing lists for artist hospitality and catering
the preparation of backstage signage for artist and non-local production crews
the completion of errands both on campus and amongst the local community
the creation and modification of documents with Microsoft Office (excel, word and publisher)
the composition and distribution of professional correspondence
the execution of room and equipment reservations
the procurement and distribution of parking passes for/to event personnel
the processing of student timesheets
the reservation of photographers for each performance
the monitoring and updating of social media websites (Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Constant Contact)
the monitoring of post-performance evaluation feedback
the creation and updating of contact lists of teachers and patrons in the surrounding areas
Interns are required to attend all weekly production meetings and are expected to participate in all season productions.
Interns work closely with the Director of the Cultural Events Series, the Assistant Director of Production Services, the Educational Outreach Coordinator, and the Box Office Manager.
Cultural Events Series offers both paid and unpaid internship opportunities.
Grad Coordinates Kennedy Center Events
ALUMNI IMPACT Diana Ezerins
THEN: Programming Assistant/ General Production NOW: Programming Coordinator, Millennium Stage The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
When Diana Ezerins ’03 worked as the programming assistant for the Cultural Events Series at FSU, she got a bit of advice that she still follows to this day in her job as a programming coordinator at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. “I was told, ‘Don’t get on the [tour] bus,” laughs Ezerins. “If you do, it crosses a line and you’ll be gone forever.”
Ezerins is now in charge of booking acts for the daily Millennium Stage performances at the Kennedy Center. It’s a great fit for the music management major who spends her free time touring festivals, visiting band Web sites and reviewing publicity materials to discover new acts.
While at FSU, Ezerins was dubbed “The Queen of Signage” at CES. It’s a title she still holds. “I still do signage today. People need to know where they’re going backstage.” One time when a Russian dance company came to FSU, Ezerins “loosely” translated the signs into their native language. Luckily, no one got lost.
“I got this job, 100%, because of my CES experience.’‘
— Diana Ezerins ‘03 John F. Kennedy Center Programming Coordinator
Ezerins says she was lucky to work with CES and credits her time with Student and Community Involvement as the catalyst for getting her the job at the Kennedy Center in 2004, only a few months after her FSU graduation.
“I got this job, one hundred percent, because of my CES experience,” she says, as she waits to put on an evening performance of the Mark Twain Prize for Comedy honoring actress Tina Fey. “If it wasn’t for the Cultural Events Series, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
The Cultural Events Series is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive, and is sponsored in part by the Allegany Arts Council with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
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