ACES program opens creative career doors for teens
Clip | 4m 41sVideo has Closed Captions
The Overture Center youth program takes teens on field trips to discover arts careers.
Teens' idea of an arts career may be limited to what they see on stage or screen. Young people, especially students of color, too often don't see this work. Through the Overture Center's Arts Career Exploration Spotlight (ACES) program, students discover the "full ecosystem" of arts careers — from costume design to music therapy.
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Wisconsin Life is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family, Obrodovich Family Foundation, Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW...
ACES program opens creative career doors for teens
Clip | 4m 41sVideo has Closed Captions
Teens' idea of an arts career may be limited to what they see on stage or screen. Young people, especially students of color, too often don't see this work. Through the Overture Center's Arts Career Exploration Spotlight (ACES) program, students discover the "full ecosystem" of arts careers — from costume design to music therapy.
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Wow, fancy!
Cameras, ooh, fluffy thing.
Okay, my name is Deayjah.
- My name is Jonathan.
- My name is Martin.
- Angela Fitzgerald: These teens... - My name is Yeislin.
- Lia, L-I-A.
- Angela: ...are seeing... - My name is Ami.
- Angela: ...behind the scenes.
- You know, learning the magic.
- How the magic works.
Who helps with the magic.
[students talking] - You guys can come up close and take a look at these.
When I close these, they look antiquey, but they have snaps, 'cause it's theater and you gotta be fast.
- Angela: The group is getting to go backstage... - He's made of plasterform, so he's super light.
- Angela: ...above the stage, and all around the building... - Vomitorium is Latin for "hallway."
- Angela: ...at UW-Madison's theater department through a program called ACES.
- You are having to problem-solve and think on your feet, and those are huge skills that you can take to wherever you're going.
- ACES is the Arts Careers and Exploration Spotlight program, which was started in 2019 at Overture Center.
- Angela: Madison's Overture Center is the program's creator and home base.
But on-site learning happens on field trips like this.
- My favorite thing about ACES is getting to explore the arts and learning that there are more positions in art that you get to learn about.
- In addition to doing this, I'm also the operations assistant, so I do a lot of logistical planning.
I plan all of our in-state tours and things like that.
- Allowing students to see that full breadth of careers that create an arts organization allows students to be able to continue to explore, and also advocate for being able to stay creative and in these creative spaces as well.
[drumming] - There's this whole, like, ecosystem of careers that you could do that are involved in the arts.
[gentle piano music] - Angela: Heavyn Dyer-Jones is an ACES counselor.
As a recent UW grad in piano performance, exploring arts careers has immediate resonance.
- I wish that I had a program like ACES when I was in middle or high school to, like, all the little, like, subgenres of careers that you could even have.
- Angela: While Heavyn has the talent and the training to be a professional musician, she's not sure that's the life she sees for herself.
- I also have had a growing interest in psychology, sociology, things like that, so I think I'm gonna go to grad school for music therapy.
[applause] Everyone find C, middle C. Put a finger up when you've found it.
- Heavyn can use her gifts and her love of the arts to continue to help people.
- Yep, that's your next one, and then this is your last chord.
It's right next door.
- The counselors, they're really passionate about the arts.
[gentle flute music] - You have very impressionable youth, particularly youth of color, who might not see themselves represented in the arts in the ways that these amazing counselors, you know, have.
- Everyone, take a moment, come gather 'round me please.
- Angela: Hands-on opportunities led by working artists also add color to the ACES experience.
- I'm gonna wanna put stars in the background.
- It can let them imagine and really let them dream what it could be.
- Ooh, that one's a little star.
This one looks like art.
- They give us a really good opportunity to be able to see inside the arts.
- You can always add more.
It's a little bit harder to take away.
- We got to really meet cool people.
- Cute!
- Oh, that's so smart!
- So I think meeting those people and seeing how inspired they were, I think is really one of my favorite parts of the program.
[applause] - It kinda changed my perspective.
- Definitely gave me a different perspective.
I'm a lot more interested in the arts.
- Angela: From a different perspective, new possibilites come into view.
- Just really helped broaden my eyes to different jobs in the arts that I could be included with to help the magic.
- Camera Operator: Thanks a lot.
- Yeah, thank you.
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Wisconsin Life is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family, Obrodovich Family Foundation, Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW...