RSA celebrates energy and potential in time of austerity

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

Rosebud School of the Arts welcomed 24 new and returning students, including seven new students, this fall. Five students are in their fourth and final year.
“The energy around here this week has been phenomenal,” said Paul Muir, the school’s education director, after the first week of classes. “The students are pumped.”
To celebrate the new year, various welcome events were held, including a mini-Olympics for students and staff. “Things like rolling a pop can across the lawn with your nose,” Muir said. “The energy is tremendous.”
This new school year began without a couple of key long-standing faculty members. David Snider is now leading off-site theatre workshops. Former managing director Mark Lewandowski, who came to RSA as a student and worked for the organization for 30 years, has moved on to a career in film.
But the school welcomed to the faculty Aaron Krogman, an RSA graduate who performed the role of Jesus for several years in the Badlands Passion Play.
“(Aaron is) really, really pumped to be here,” Muir said. “So pumped to dive in and integrate and invest. He believes in the mission and mandate of this place, and I believe that he sees himself as having something to offer. I do, too.”
But amidst all the excitement and energy, this year’s enrolment is significantly lower than the target of 30. That has a significant financial impact.
“We’re making little cuts and trims and looking for little economies in various areas where we can save, without compromising the quality of education,” Muir said. “We’ve found some ways to do that.”
Rosebud Centre of the Arts is also enjoying their new chef, Chef Mo, who arrived in mid-July.
“(Chef Mo) is fantastic,” Muir said. “He’s just so genuine. Not only does he love cooking, but he really values community and relationship. And he really seems to want to invest in all that Rosebud is.”
This summer, RSA also received four new scholarships, which will be given for the first time at RSA’s graduation and awards ceremony, the ROSAs, at the end of September.
And Muir said there’s a lot of new energy going into outreach and recruitment. Jeany Snider is “fuelling the recruitment department” with “amazing energy and new ideas,” he said. Her husband David Snider has also taken on a lot of outreach, meeting with drama teachers and leaders in drama education, “generating an awareness and cultivating an interest in Rosebud School of the Arts” around the province.
RSA is exploring the possibility of a musical theatre workshop with Cochrane High School students this fall, and next summer, they’re considering hosting a teen drama camp.
And between now and Christmas, RSA has a plethora of music events.
On Oct. 20, RSA students will participate in Hope Bridges’ Artists Among Us gala.
On Oct. 28, the 75-voice Alberta Youth Choir will give a concert in Rosebud Church, and two of Rosebud’s choirs, Rosa Cantorum and Rosebud Chorale, will also perform at the event.
On Dec. 2, RSA students will perform at Christmas in Alberta, an annual joint fundraiser for Heritage Park and Rosebud School of the Arts. Dec. 3, RSA students will perform at Brentwood Baptist Church’s Concert of Hope, and on Dec. 8 is Rosebud’s own choir concert, performed by Rosebud’s three adult choirs and youth ensemble.
Of course, there’s also a lot of theatre. The Mountaintop is being performed on the main stage this fall, and A Christmas Story, which Muir will direct, opens in November. In both shows, RSA students and graduates serve in numerous capacities.
RSA students have already begun rehearsing the Christmas musical, Dreams of Kings and Carpenters, which will open on the BMO Studio Stage in November.