Senior Stage: A Celebration of Creativity and Collaboration
Most majors at SCAD build up to a final project demonstrating a student’s understanding of the knowledge and techniques developed over the course of their undergraduate education. Film and television majors have their capstone film. Fashion majors have their senior collection. Graphic design majors create their professional portfolio. But ask any SCAD acting major what their final project is and their answer will be some variation of “I don’t know.”
One might argue that the annual SCAD Acting Showcase fills this role, but there are several reasons that this is not the case. A final project is an assignment that all graduating seniors within a particular major must complete. The showcase does not fit this criteria. There are a limited number of spots available each year and an audition process for acting students interested in the opportunity, many are not selected to perform. This year, only 19 acting majors were selected.
Additionally, this is an opportunity limited to graduating seniors pursuing an acting major on SCAD’s Savannah campus, despite the showcase being a digital collection of scenes rather than an in-person event. Students from the Atlanta campus do not have an equivalent, leaving them without any sort of final performance.
This year, the SCAD Atlanta acting department is trying something new with the intention of showcasing the talents of its graduating class. On Thursday, May 28, The SCAD ATL Casting Office will present Senior Stage, a night of scenes, monologues, and music featuring 13 senior acting majors.
This event is unique because it has been designed by acting students for acting students. Senior Stage has been organized and led by Lina Apicella and Celine Vo, both senior acting majors and interns in the campus casting office. The two began planning in winter quarter of this year, and by spring they were creating the run of show, leading rehearsals, and spearheading promotion for the show.
“The casting office has always wanted actors to have opportunities to workshop their talents and continue growing into the performers they strive to be,” Apicella said. “More than anything, [Senior Stage] is a celebration of the hard work, creativity, and individuality that the graduating seniors have developed throughout their time at SCAD.”
The casting office sent an email on Tuesday, March 31, encouraging “all seniors who are able to participate to join us in creating one final, meaningful experience together as a class.” The response they received was overwhelmingly positive, with students saying they were excited to share one final performance with their classmates.
When asked why she wanted to be a part of the event, Madison Nicole Butler Williams said, “I joined Senior Stage as a way to truly say goodbye to the thing I love most in the world with my fellow actors, whom I’ve grown to care for and love so much they’ve become family. I’ve been able to act with most of them during my time at school, but to end on stage with all of them has always been a dream and Senior Stage made that possible.“
In addition to celebrating their accomplishments with their peers, some of the actors chose to use the event as a way to continue challenging themselves and growing in their craft.
“[I wanted] to end my SCAD acting career with a performance that I would feel proud of,” said Jahi Gooding, “doing scenes that excite me and challenge me while also being pieces of media I dream of performing like ‘Angels in America’ … Senior Stage for me is as close to an Acting Capstone I’ll ever have.”
While this is the first event of its kind for acting majors studying at the Atlanta campus, The SCAD ATL Casting Office hopes it will become an annual affair moving forward. “We totally understand if that doesn’t happen, as planning and leading this has been an enormous task for Lina and I,” said Vo. “However, it’d be great to have it recurring so that every graduating class has one last thing to look forward to.”
