“Rise and Shine” for the College of Arts & Lettersfeatured

I recently wrote and produced a video about Missouri State’s College of Arts & Letters (COAL).

We approached this piece with two big goals in mind:

1. Highlighting the importance of arts and letters to campus life as a whole
2. Connecting COAL programs to valuable professional skills like collaboration, persistence and adaptability

Visual representations of the arts

I addressed the first goal through visuals, by scripting scenes of arts and letters students engaged in their crafts in iconic locations around campus.

For example, instead of calling for dancers on stage or in a rehearsal hall, I scripted them dancing at the Missouri State fountain, a popular (and cinematic) spot.

I joked that this was the “magical realism” element of the piece, and I believe it was successful in visually representing the critical importance of the arts to any beautiful, stimulating environment.

Workforce development

There’s a lot of discussion in higher ed right now about workforce development. And there should be. A fulfilling career is an important component of a happy life.

Sometimes, though, this conversation seems to focus on a limited scope of skills, like specific software programs. And — keeping it real — people can attain such proficiencies through things like YouTube tutorials. So this seems like an odd scope for something as comprehensive and life changing as a college education.

As a manager of employees, I find abilities like critical thinking and creativity most valuable overall — and much harder to teach on the job. I can train employees to edit photos; it’s tougher to teach them to collaborate effectively.

But these are the types of skills a good liberal arts education can impart, and in “Rise and Shine” I highlighted this relationship thematically.

From my own experience: I graduated college with an arts degree, and I use it all the time — though not necessarily in obvious ways. For example, I’m a good interviewer, and I believe much of this is traceable to my training as an actor. It just made me a better listener.

“Rise and Shine”

So that’s how it started. I was lucky to have amazing partners to bring this concept to life.

I worked with Springfield-based production company Locke + Stache (all COAL grads). These guys are the best, and working with them is one of the things that made this a dream project.

Plus, we had amazing support and leadership from Shawn Wahl, COAL’s interim dean, and a crackerjack team of contributors.

Check it out. Rise and shine.