STUDENT PROFILE
Graduate student wins prestigious national directing fellowship by
F
Brittany Sturek
or the second time in three years, a Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s graduate student in the Directing for Stage and Screen program has received a prestigious national fellowship. In April, Lincoln native Shannon Cameron was awarded the 2010 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Directing Fellowship. Only two students from the nation were chosen for the award. Cameron participated in the Region V Festival, which includes other universities in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The regional competition was the first step to getting the award. After writing an artistic statement and sending in her resume and letter of reference, she was one of 12 students selected from the region to participate. Each student had to choose a scene from five selected plays and direct it for the festival. “I chose the Second Movement from Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice” because it felt like the most theatrical out of the five pieces and the most difficult,” Cameron said. “I won the regional competition and was awarded participation in the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C., all expenses paid.” The festival, which took place from April 12-18 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., included workshops and performances for 10 regional winners throughout the country. Cameron spent the week attending classes and performances and preparing several things, like a director’s concept of the opening scene of Macbeth. While in D.C., Cameron was able to work with leading individuals in the field. “I attended master classes with incredibly inspirational people, including playwright David Ives, directors Aaron Posner and Libby Appel, and many other master teachers,” Cameron said. “It was a life-changing week.” At the end of the week, it was announced that Cameron won the fellowship.
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As part of the fellowship, Cameron became an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. She was also given $1,000 to help offset the costs of a new career opportunity for next summer. The fellowship further reinforced what Cameron had known all along: that she belonged in theatre. “My interest in the arts started at age three when I began dancing, but it wasn’t until eighth grade when I won a leading role in a junior high play at Lincoln East did I get bitten by the theatre bug,” Cameron said. “I found a wonderful second family in theatre, and I felt I finally found my niche.”
Shannon Cameron
After high school, Cameron attended Webster Conservatory in St. Louis, Mo., for a little over two years. But that wasn’t quite the right fit for Cameron. However, after studying abroad in London for a semester and seeing a performance of “Mnemonic,” Cameron again fell in love with theatre. “‘Mnemonic’ blew my mind,” Cameron said. “I had no idea theatre could be like that. I was hooked all over again.” In 2001, she graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in theatre education. While in Boston, Cameron worked with several non-profit organizations to develop drama-based curriculum for the Boston Public Schools. A few years later, Cameron moved back to Nebraska and worked as the theatre director at Hastings Senior High School for
four years. Cameron said the best part about working in a high school setting was the students. Cameron’s students respected her just as much, as she was nominated twice for Nebraska Theatre Teacher of the Year. Now, as a third-year Master’s of Fine Arts candidate in Directing for Stage and Screen, Cameron is working as a graduate teaching assistant and an adjunct professor at Doane College. If that’s not enough, Cameron is also developing a theatre company with other UNL students called Jesters & Prophets. “We hope to produce an original piece in Lincoln next spring and then relocate to New York City in the fall of 2011,” Cameron said. “My hope is to produce my own work while assisting other professional directors, therefore continuing my schooling in the professional theatre.” Cameron’s mentors are confident that she can excel in her career. Paul Steger, Director of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, said he knew right away that Cameron had serious skills. “In her first semester of the M.F.A. program, Shannon served as my Assistant Director on a University Theatre production of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It,’” Steger said. “When one of the actors had to step out of a supporting role, I asked Shannon to step in. She handled the pressure easily and excelled in the role. I knew at that point, she was a true talent.” Virginia Smith, head of the directing program at UNL, said Cameron is a dedicated worker who gets along well with others. “Shannon is very focused, and she works very hard,” Smith said. “She has really pushed herself to take on challenging projects, and she’s been a great leader and role model for our undergraduates.” Cameron views theatre as an important way to make a difference in her community. “Theatre has an inherent power to get people to feel something, and feelings often lead to action,” Cameron said. “My goal is always to make a show that is talked about for a while after the performance. To stay in the audience’s head, make them think, feel and dialogue.”
University of Nebraska–Lincoln