Becoming Woman is a GSA favorite—I can remember being extremely affected by it when I came through the program in 2004, and it has made me laugh and cry every time I’ve seen it since. Becoming Woman is a duo show written and performed by Alecia Whitaker and Creative Writing faculty member Ellen Hagan. Both women are graduates of the Governor’s School for the Arts in Creative Writing, and the show is a combination of monologues and spoken word that chronicles the difficult process of growing up and becoming a woman. Through humorous tales of bad hair, sports bras, and first kisses, and through deeply personal stories of trauma and grief, Becoming Woman can move any audience. The power of the show is in the truth of shared experiences that speak to audiences no matter what decade’s styles or songs they remember from their own adolescence.

Today the Creative Writers went to Squecial Media, a Lexington original store, for some inspiration and to Pazzo’s Pizza for, you guessed it—pizza! Mary Henderson Stuckey taught a Masterclass for the Vocal Music students.

Tonight the students showed each other what they had been working on all three weeks through Student Performances and Exhibit Tours. The evening began with performances by the Instrumental Musicians who played modern Latin songs to get everyone moving in their seats—at times it was hard to hear the music because the students were all cheering so loudly for their friends! The pianists also took the stage and bumped each other off of the piano bench in swift succession, a creative way to allow all students a chance to perform but to keep on schedule so that all nine disciplines could get the attention they deserved. The Creative Writers had a similar plan, and they all lined up on the stage in Carrick Hall behind two microphones. As one student finished reading or reciting their poem on one microphone, the next would begin on the other mic—it was an intense presentation that showcased the individual voice of each writer while at the same time unifying the class as a whole. The Vocal Music students performed some selections from their choral ensembles, small ensembles, and a solo, and several of the faculty members commented on how mesmerizing it was to watch Vocal Music faculty member A. T. Simpson conduct his students.

We all moved to Haggin Auditorium for the Dance performances which were all choreographed by the students themselves and the musical accompaniment was composed by the Instrumental Music students who performed on stage with the Dancers. The Drama students performed one-minute samples of the scenes they had been working so hard on which ranged from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neil. The Musical Theatre students performed several large chorus numbers that showcased their entire class but also focused on some spectacular solos. The New Media students showed the short films they had worked on which drew upon their own sculptural skills, music composition, and in some instances, the acting skills of fellow GSA classmates!

After the performances it was time to see what was up for display in the New Media, Visual Art, and Architecture exhibits. The Morlan Gallery had been transformed into a truly dynamic space full of the Visual Artist’s sculptures, prints, paintings, drawings, and everything in between! The New Media students’ photography was up for show in their gallery along with the sets for the claymation films that had been shown earlier in the evening. The Architecture students had four whole rooms filled with their drawings, experiments with sections, and models of the performing arts centers they designed.

Although I have been visiting the different studios during these three weeks, I was amazed by the quantity and quality of work each discipline displayed tonight.

Until tomorrow, this is GSA ’08 intern Laura Lamping Greenwell signing off.