Variety show at UNCSA will benefit two non-profit organizations

Project Love, a benefit showcase curated and performed by students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, will be presented at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 20 in Gerald Freedman Theatre of the Alex Ewing Performance Place on campus, 1533 South Main St. No tickets are necessary, and donations of any amount will be accepted.

The event will benefit two organizations – Art4Purpose and the Woman in Pink, said Morgan Sellers, a student in the wig and makeup program of the School of Design and Production.

Art4Purpose, founded by two student scene painters at UNCSA, creates and sells original artwork to benefit different causes, the first being an elephant rescue organization. The scene painters, Laura Scheving and Emily Distante, will display some of their art during the event.

The Woman in Pink is a Gastonia, N.C.-based organization that provides wigs for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Sellers said the organization is close to her heart. “I’m from nearby Kings Mountain. Being in the wig and makeup program, it really hit home for me,” she said. “Over the summer, I got to meet the founder, and she is the most giving person I have ever met.”

Giving is important to Sellers and her peers, including Tareake Ramos, president-elect of the student body and founder of A.R.T.S. (Artists Reaching Toward Society) Initiative, a service organization based in New York with a chapter at UNCSA.  A.R.T.S. Initiative is a sponsor of Project Love.

Ramos, a contemporary dance student, said Project Love is completely student driven, from recruiting and curating the acts to logistics and technical support. “That’s what makes it so special,” he said. “It’s our voices as students and as artists, showing that we care about our society and our world.”

Sellers estimates that the variety show will include 10 to 15 acts displaying the multiple talents of the student body. “It’s cross disciplinary. For example, we have a high school student in Drama choreographing a piece for contemporary dancers,” she said.

In addition to raising money for their causes, Sellers said the performance is a way of giving back to those who support UNCSA. “We really hope that everyone who supports this school – the donors and volunteers – will see that we are giving back,” she said.

by Lauren Whitaker

March 16, 2016