Rosebud School of the Arts graduates six FRSAs

Laureen F. Guenther
Times Contributor

 

Rosebud School of the Arts hosted its annual ROSAs, Recognizing Outstanding Student Achievement, Sept. 25.
The graduation, award and scholarship event opened with a ceremony in Rosebud Opera House and culminated in an evening banquet in the Haskayne-Kenney Mercantile. Six students, who completed four years of courses and each produced and performed a Final Project, graduated as Fellows of Rosebud School of the Arts (FRSAs), the school’s highest honour.
Geordie Cowan, whose Final Project was the romantic play Letters in Wartime, graduated with an FRSA in Acting. Belonging to the community was the highlight of his time in Rosebud. “There are so many people who have helped me grow,” said Cowan in an e-mail. “Teachers, roommates, classmates, girlfriends, mentors, directors, even fellow actors and guest actors. But a big thing that has helped me grow is just the desire to do so, to take my criticism when I need to and apply it constructively.”
Cowan plans to travel and explore life, while auditioning for acting roles.
Stuart Giesbrecht, who wrote and performed The Court of My Heart as his Final Project, graduated with an FRSA in Theatre Arts.
“Rosebud made me see the mask I was wearing, made me confront and break out of the lie of who I thought I was and grow into the man I was meant to be,” Giesbrecht e-mailed. “The one-on-two acting coaching was some of the most intense and challenging work I’ve ever had to do. The teachers really push you to your limit and beyond.”
Giesbrecht wants to connect with people, sharing pain and joy.
“Story, theatre and poetry are sure to be involved somehow,” he said.
Caleb Gordon, whose Final Project was the one-man House, graduated with an FRSA in Acting.
“I truly enjoyed getting to know Brad G. Graham (in Rosebud), and his amazingly open heart,” he said in an e-mail. “He’s one of the reasons that my Final Project, House, went so well. He knows his craft, but he’s humble about it. It’s inspired me to do the same.”
Gordon is currently acting in Richard III with Calgary’s Shakespeare Company, will perform in Miracle on 34th Street in Rosebud this Christmas, and has several upcoming Calgary performances.
Meghan Hanet graduated with an FRSA in Acting. In her Final Project, Rilla of Ingleside, an adaptation of a Lucy Maud Montgomery story, Hanet played Rilla, a dream-come-true role.
“My four years at Rosebud have been a time of deep personal growth as an actor, singer and performer, but also in who I am as a person,” Hanet wrote in an e-mail. “I have made wonderful friends, grown in my faith in God through the challenges, and got to put my love for acting into practice.”
She’s playing Sheila Birling in Rosebud Theatre’s An Inspector Calls.
Jocelyn Jay, who wrote and performed Girl Unspoken, Woman Unbroken for her Final Project, graduated with an FRSA in Theatre Arts. Performing roles like Esmerelda the witch, a fairy and the lynx spirit dancer was a highlight of her Rosebud years, she said, but the friends she made are even more important.
“Fellow students and instructors alike have become dear to my heart, and I am thankful for their support,” she e-mailed. “I have learned something from everyone in Rosebud, either on a personal level or in relation to theatre.”
Jay is auditioning for various productions, and taking an aerial acrobatics class.
Kaitlyn Sloboda wrote her Final Project, Take My Hand, and graduated with an FRSA in Theatre Arts.
“I wouldn’t trade them for the world,” Sloboda e-mailed about her Rosebud years. “I can’t imagine myself studying art, music, acting, storytelling and movement anywhere else. The instructors who have become my dearest friends are what made the experience. I was known to them and they were lovingly invested in my journey as a Christian and as a theatre artist. It was all part of shaping me and my perspective, and how I communicate my inner thoughts and creativity.”
Sloboda is actively writing plays, novels and short stories in pursuit of her writing career.
At the ROSAs, 10 students also graduated with a one-year Certificate in Theatre Foundations, and six students received the two-year Diploma in Acting or Theatre Arts. Students also received approximately $47,000 in scholarships and bursaries.