McCollam Showing Students the Transformative Power of Art

News Around Campus McCollam Showing Students the Transformative Power of Art

Missy McCollam, a renowned figure in the local, regional and national theatre and arts communities has now taken the lead as coordinator of the President’s Initiative on Community and Immersive Learning (ICIL). This initiative is an important component in identifying prospective students considering majors within the creative arts and creating internship and other experiential opportunities for students in those areas of study. McCollam will also teach some select courses and aid in scheduling programming for the newly expanded Myles Center for the Arts and Harper-McNeeley Auditorium. An additional component to the President’s ICIL is the new minor in preart therapy. Established within the Division of Creative Arts, the program will allow students to explore the connection between art and healing while opening opportunities to work in health care and in the arts. Students pursuing a pre-art therapy minor will study art courses exploring traditional artforms and emerging digital forms of creative expression, as well as methods for teaching art, psychopathology and life span development. The minor will benefit a variety of students, especially those in the human services field, creative arts and education. Students will be required to participate in a pre-art therapy internship seminar that will allow them to individualize their education and ensure they get a comprehensive view of the field of art therapy. McCollam has led The Old Brick Playhouse team in the field of art therapy for nearly 30 years and will share those practices with D&E students in hands-on learning experiences. The transformative power of art has been paramount in McCollam’s work ranging from workshops with children whose parents were deployed to Afghanistan to students who dropped out of school, and from children experiencing grief to residents at elder care facilities and families trying to weather a global pandemic “We have seen the magic of a non-verbal resident join in a sing-along, to an inmate composing redemptive poetry,” McCollam said. “Art therapy is not only cathartic for participants; it’s rewarding for the teaching artists as well. It is imperative for students in the arts to understand that it is possible to couple their talents in the arts with helping others. The Old Brick Playhouse team is exemplary in harnessing a person’s inner creativity and assisting them in finding their best selves. We are thrilled to share this with D&E students.” Alumna Katie Varchetto ’18, left, a McCollam received full-time team member at The Old her B.A. in theatre/ Brick Playhouse, and Missy McCollam English from James prepare an art therapy session for Madison University in Elkins Rehabilitation & Care Center Harrisonburg, Virginia, residents that will incorporate music and her M.F.A. in acting and puppetry to tell stories. The and directing from puppets were created by D&E alumnus Virginia Commonwealth Jacob Currence ’17, a former member University in Richmond, of The Old Brick’s art therapy program. Virginia. Throughout her 35-year career, she has performed at hundreds of venues, co-penned more than 20 original musical comedies for children that have been merited at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. and the Edinburgh (Scotland) Fringe Festival. McCollam continues in her roles as executive director of The Old Brick Playhouse and executive director of The New School OBP, both in Elkins. During McCollam’s tenure, The Old Brick earned recognition for Arts Leadership from the National Endowment of the Arts, The Susan Landis Leadership Award from the WV Department of Cultural and History, The Governor’s Fellowship Award for playwriting and Non-profit of the Year through the Chamber of Commerce. In 2009, The Old Brick Playhouse received the Coming Up Taller Award as one of the 15 top arts education programs in the nation from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, The Old Brick was among three companies nationwide to be selected to participate in Broadway at the White House, a televised program in partnership with The Learning Channel.

The Black Student Union hosted a Paint & Sip event, complete with R&B music, in the art studio in Myles Center for the Arts. Students had the opportunity to relax, get in touch with their creative side and make art to take home with them.