The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts

GSA Alumni Highlight: Jason Newsom, living/working as an actor in NYC

 

Name: Jason Newsom

Year attended GSA: 2005

Discipline: Drama

College: Otterbein University Class of 2010

Degree: BFA Acting

Current home: New York, NY

A recent Otterbein graduate, Jason Newsom packed up his bags two months ago to take on the theatre world of New York City.

"If you would have told me on the first day of GSA that in 5 years I would be hold a BFA in Acting and live in the best city on this planet (NYC), I would have told you that you were crazy.  When I was younger, I had no plan and no aspirations as to what I wanted to do with my life.  I knew I wanted to go to college, but I did not know why or what I wanted to study." 

"People say that GSA helps you decide if you want to pursue the arts or not.  For some, it puts a fire in your heart and under your butt.  I am one of those people."  

"I thought that I was hungry for the arts before I went to GSA, but you should have seen me when I was done.  I couldn't get enough.  In the weeks following GSA I was UNSTOPPABLE.  I started reading new plays, writing my own plays, seeing every minute of theatre I could, and I also started looking at colleges." 

"I auditioned everywhere that I could afford the application fee.  I got into or was wait-listed at every school I auditioned for, but eventually settled on Otterbein. I have also been an RA at GSA for the past 3 summers - they were the best summers of my life.  I thought attending GSA was fun and rewarding, but to have a hand in making 250 kids dreams come true - there is seriously nothing like it in the world."

"So here I am, in New York City, trying to 'make it' as an actor.  It feels like it took me forever to get here, but the time really has gone by quickly.  After about a month of living here, I finally got a job in the mail room of an awesome advertising agency.  Also, I just started rehearsals for a show I was cast in.  There is no better feeling than booking your first show in New York.  I'm auditioning a lot and just trying keep myself busy.  It’s definitely not time for graduate school just yet, but I do think that it is somewhere in my future."

"Speaking of futures, at GSA we were asked to write down "Where you will be in 5 years" – and everything I wrote down has come true.   I said I wanted to go to college for acting, I wanted to move to either New York or L.A., and I wanted to be working as an actor in that city.  But now that I think back on those little writing exercises where you have to predict your own future, I wish I would have worded it differently.  As I realized at GSA, I am not just an actor.  I am not just a performer.  And I am certainly not just a comedian.  I am a true artist.  I am an artist in every sense of the word.  And so are all of my fellow alumni."

His commercial - Jason gave us a link to a pretty funny commercial he was in. His cameos are at 0:15 and 0:21: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CllK7Nccqx0

Learn more about The Kentucky Center's Governor's School for the Arts by visiting the GSA website.

GSA Alumni highlight: John Austin Clark, founder of Bourbon Baroque

 

Name: John Austin Clark

Attended GSA: 2000

 Discipline: Vocal Music

 Colleges: Oberlin College Conservatory of Music (Cleveland, OH); McGill University (Montréal, Québec)

 Years Attended: 2001-2005 (Oberlin); 2005-2007 (McGill)

 Degrees: Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Oberlin); Master of Music in Harpsichord Performance (McGill)

 Current Home: Louisville, KY

 A Louisville native, John Austin Clark has settled back in his hometown as a performer, vocal coach, accompanist, and co-founder of Bourbon Baroque, Louisville’s period instrument ensemble (for more on Bourbon Baroque, visit www.bourbonbaroque.com).

 “It has been an honor and privilege to return to my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to start a dream that was planted during my studies at Oberlin. While at Oberlin, I fell in love with the organic sounds of period instruments, a pre-industrial sound that evokes a pure tone more in tune to the rhetoric and affect of the Baroque genre. The concept of music pervading a society with composers, dancers, court and church musicians bustling about excited me, and I thought, "Why can't we recreate the application of this acoustical sound in the gardens and structures of modern day Louisville, a city steeped in history and artistry?"

"My business partner, baroque violinist Nicolas Fortin from Québec, Canada, and I have jointly created a collective of musicians from around the world who come together throughout the season to create historically informed music that is seldom performed and therefore rarely heard. The baroque era certainly embraced the concept of inter-related arts experiences for all of society. This "melting pot of art forms" idea has always intrigued me, and I think experiences like GSA created this intrigue."

"Much like the baroque, GSA embraces all art forms. You are among dancers, painters, actors, and musicians while studying at GSA. Your art form becomes one of many voices in the language of creative thought. This communal experience reminded me that we are all keepers of fine expression. To immerse oneself in an environment like GSA was an opportunity that I will always cherish. As a professional artist, it is now my responsibility to carry the torch and be an ambassador of the understanding that like the arts culture, we are all filled with talent and together we can create something beautiful.”

You can learn more about The Kentucky Center Governor's School for the Arts at www.kentuckygsa.com.

 

Video: The Kentucky Center celebrates "Arts in Healthcare" month

 
Watch video!

November is the first-ever Arts in Healthcare month! To celebrate, Tom and Kristen recap recent activities in our community by The Kentucky Center's Arts in Healing program. In October, The Kentucky Center took dancers and acrobats from Diavolo to Kosair Children's Hospital and the Our Lady of Peace Children's Peace Center.

You can learn more about our Arts in Healing program here.