More than\u00a040 southern Colorado community college students and their faculty will visit UCCS and Colorado Springs Saturday.<\/p>\n
But this is no ordinary field trip.<\/p>\n
Instead, the \u201cFuture in Klieg Lights Tour\u201d will expose students to the benefits of a four-year degree and to the possibility of working in the arts by giving them hands-on lessons and behind-the-scenes peeks at academic and professional theater.<\/p>\n
Students from Otero Community College, Trinidad State Junior College, Pikes Peak Community College and Pueblo Community College will tour the UCCS theater program before participating in workshops focusing on improvisation, comedy and the technical aspects of theater including stage design. Later, they will tour the Pikes Peak Center before returning to campus to see a\u00a0 Theaterworks performance of \u201cI am Nicola Tesla.\u201d\u00a0 The day will conclude with a private question-and-answer session with the cast and crew of the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know when I was a student at Pikes Peak Community College, it was a big mental hurdle to go to a four-year school,\u201d CU Regent Stephen Ludwig, a co-organizer of the event, said. \u201cWe want to open doors to the idea of continuing past a two-year degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Ludwig joined with the Colorado Community College System to organize a tour of northern Colorado-based university theater programs for interested community college students. Building on that success, this year’s effort\u00a0\u00a0 focuses on the southern part of the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to bring awareness to the different occupations in the arts,” Jennifer Jirous, STEM, Arts and Information Technology program director, Colorado Community College System, said. \u201cThere are many occupations in the arts that students simply have not thought about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cFuture in Klieg Lights\u201d tour is sponsored by the Colorado Community College System which provided funds for the students\u2019 travel and meals.<\/p>\n
And what\u2019s a Klieg light?<\/p>\n
The term is synonymous for the bright lights of movie-making and traces its roots to inventor John Kliegl who, in the early 1900s, created the first intense light sources. That lesson, and many more, will be part of the technical workshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"