Playing the Art

Well, this is it. You’re in college. You can design your own schedule, choose your own classes, and if you’re an English major you can breathe a sigh or relief and know that calculus homework is a thing of the past. Future doctors can revel in the joys of pre-med biology, archaeologists can brush the dust from their first prehistoric discovery, and computer scientists finally have a place to dismantle all those circuits and wires. But what if you don’t want to be a doctor or a computer scientist or anything else in the business world? What if you want to create a work of art, direct your own movies, perform on Broadway or write a novel? You can major in fine art, drama, film or creative writing, of course, and you probably know what programs your college offers. But if you’re really serious about becoming the next Kevin Smith or William Faulkner, you’ll want to get some hands-on experience as well. But where should you start? In pictures A good place for film buffs to get their feet wet is Film Nashville, a nonprofit organization for professional and amateur filmmakers. Film Nashville works with everyone from middle school students to Riverbend Maximum Security inmates. They even convinced Hustle and Flow director Craig Brewer to teach inner-city kids how to write and direct their own films. But their biggest project, and one that is open to college students, is the annual 48 Hour Film Project. Teams write, direct and edit their own short films in 48 hours. To keep things fair and prevent people from planning ahead, teams draw a movie genre out of a hat at the start of the contest. The resulting products are screened at the Belcourt Theatre and awards are given to outstanding achievements. Participants range from Nashville high school students to seasoned Hollywood professionals, so even if you’re an 18-year-old college freshmen, you won’t feel out of place. A good place for film buffs to get their feet wet is Film Nashville, a nonprofit organization for professional and amateur filmmakers. Film Nashville works with everyone from middle school students to Riverbend Maximum Security inmates. They even convinced Hustle and Flow director Craig Brewer to teach inner-city kids how to write and direct their own films. But their biggest project, and one that is open to college students, is the annual 48 Hour Film Project. Teams write, direct and edit their own short films in 48 hours. To keep things fair and prevent people from planning ahead, teams draw a movie genre out of a hat at the start of the contest. The resulting products are screened at the Belcourt Theatre and awards are given to outstanding achievements. Participants range from Nashville high school students to seasoned Hollywood professionals, so even if you’re an 18-year-old college freshmen, you won’t feel out of place. If you prefer the screenwriting side of the movie industry, check out the Tennessee Screenwriters Association, a group of aspiring and accomplished Nashville screenwriters. The TSA meets Wednesday nights at Watkins School of Art & Design to read and critique members’ works in progress. Meetings are open to the public, although only TSA members can have their writing workshopped. And, of course, there’s the Belcourt Theatre. If you’re from Nashville, or have spent any time in the city, you probably already know about Nashville’s only independent movie theater. But the Belcourt does more than simply show Casablanca and the latest socially conscious documentary; the theater is also very involved in local cinema. There’s also the annual Nashville Film Festival, open to anyone with an independent film in search of an audience. Next year’s official call for entry and submission deadlines will be posted in September on www.nashvillefilmfestival.org. In print Female mystery writers will want to investigate the Nashville chapter of Sisters in Crime, a national organization of authors, publishers, agents and readers dedicated to supporting women who write mysteries. Sisters in Crime holds open monthly meetings at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in The Mall at Green Hills. For information, visit www.sinc-midtn.org. The Tennessee Writers Alliance holds frequent events and workshops for the aspiring writer in need of a venue to read his or her works. There’s also the Writer’s Loft, a certificate course in creative writing at MTSU. The grandfather of all Southern literary events is the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, held every July at the University of the South. Supported by the estate of Tennessee Williams, the conference is the premier place for aspiring writers to read and workshop their stories and for contemporary authors to prove they’ve made it by teaching or lecturing at the conference. Entrance is by admission only; visit www.sewaneewriters.org for more information. Onstage Even Bette Davis had to start somewhere, and in Nashville, there are quite a few local theater groups in which to hone your skills. ACT 1 (Artists’ Cooperative Theatre) regularly stages classic and modern performances at the popular Darkhorse Theater. Its open-call auditions are posted at www.act1online.com. People’s Branch Theatre pushes the boundaries of experimental theater in Nashville. With everything from zombie-musicals to a “funkadelic adaptation” of Alice in Wonderland under its belt, you know that anything it tries will be original. The American Negro Playwright Theatre stages productions at Tennessee State University. The organization also holds classes, workshops and other performance sessions for aspiring actors. Boiler Room Theatre in Franklin produces almost exclusively musicals and is a good place for young singers to look for work. Need to brush up on your acting chops? Bill Feehely teaches the Actors Bridge Ensemble’s conservatory program, which focuses on an acting style developed by Sanford Meisner, similar to Method style. If improv is your thing, you’ll definitely need to experience Improv Nashville, a local troupe that performs Whose Line Is It Anyway?-esque skits and games around town. Of course, you can’t talk about live theater without mentioning Shakespeare. If you need a healthy dose of “dost thous” and “betwixt thines,” the Nashville Shakespeare Festival stages free, professional productions during the summer in Centennial Park. You can even audition for a role. In a gallery Untitled Nashville’s quarterly unjuried art shows are probably the easiest way to get your visual-art foot in the door. As long as you pay the entrance fee (around $15), Untitled will let you exhibit one piece of artwork in its show. You can even choose an asking price and see if your work sells. Untitled shows are always well attended, and exhibiting artists range from first-timers to tenured arts faculty at local colleges. Nashville has a number of progressive art galleries and, thanks in large part to the fine arts students at Watkins College of Art & Design and Vanderbilt University, there are tons of events, programs and artist groups for college-aged students. Untitled Nashville’s quarterly unjuried art shows are probably the easiest way to get your visual-art foot in the door. As long as you pay the entrance fee (around $15), Untitled will let you exhibit one piece of artwork in its show. You can even choose an asking price and see if your work sells. Untitled shows are always well attended, and exhibiting artists range from first-timers to tenured arts faculty at local colleges. Another venue willing to give inexperienced artists a chance is the Downtown Presbyterian Church, which hosts themed exhibits in spring and fall. There’s also Off the Wall, an artist group featuring seven of Nashville’s stronger young artists who throw one-night-only art exhibits around town. It isn’t looking for new members, but its shows provide a good launch pad for someone interested in the young, contemporary art crowd. A recent development on the Nashville arts scene has been the growth of the arts district around Fifth Avenue downtown. Last fall, Dangenart Gallery opened on the second floor of the Arcade building, bringing a little bit of the New York art scene to Nashville. Twist, a new gallery owned by Beth Gilmore and Caroline Carlisle, followed the Arcade trend in August. And TAG Art Gallery moved out of The Arts Company’s upstairs space and into its own across the street. The galleries are still hashing out the details, but arts patrons should expect coordinated opening nights, maybe even a dual exhibit. And there you have it, your very own guide to the creative scene in Nashville. Once you start exploring your area of interest, you’ll find dozens of other local organizations and groups. Nothing can guarantee you success or fame, but with a little bit of luck, you might just catch a break. If not, there’s always that accounting major to fall back on.