ANNA KING
Assistant News Editor
Just weeks after graduation from Pepperdine in 2002, Hilary Rushford found herself living her dream while most graduating seniors were still moving out and putting their careers in order.
“Within weeks I was incredibly blessed to be cast in the first National Tour of ‘42nd Street,’” Rushford said. “After touring the country for a year and a half, I left the show when I was cast in the ‘Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes’ as a singer and dancer.”
It was through her training in theater throughout her years at Pepperdine that Rushford said she was able to channel her interests and combine that with her talents and her knowledge into a career that most fine arts students aspire to have.
“Majoring in the fine arts allows you to take the most courses and get the most training in the classroom setting,” Rushford said. “Even if you don’t get a part in the main-stage show one year, if the shows one semester simply don’t have roles that are right for you, you can still be strengthening your skills in the classroom and taking every opportunity to grow and use your talents.”
The Fine Arts Division at Pepperdine offers five bachelors degrees in studio art, art history, music, theater and television and theater.
Students can also receive a secondary teaching credential in any of the areas of study.
It is through these degrees that the Fine Arts program provides for their students a wide range of opportunities and experience.
Seniors participating in the studio art degree program are given the opportunity to showcase their best work from their portfolios in the Senior art exhibit at the Weisman Art Museum at the end of the spring semester.
Students who are majoring in art history have found that the location of Pepperdine has allowed them to maximize their opportunities in the art world, according to Dr. Cynthia Colburn, art history professor.
“The Art History major at Pepperdine benefits greatly from our close proximity to Los Angeles with its many museums, galleries and auction houses,” Colburn said. “In fact, many of our students have taken advantage of opportunities to intern at places such as Christie’s in Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Center.”
Theater majors are also given the opportunity to showcase their talents by participating in one of the four stage performances produced each year.
These performances allow students to not only learn how to perform, but to become accustomed to behind the scenes procedures through building sets and working the sound booth.
“Pepperdine’s theater program interested me because not only do they have classes based on acting, but also in dance and vocal,” said freshman Theatre major Casey O’Neill. “It is encouraged that a theatre major be proficient in all three areas in order to perform on Broadway, something that has always interested me.”
Similarly, students who choose to major in music are given numerous opportunities throughout their four years in order to perform with choral, instrumental and vocal ensembles.
These programs are offered to students as both classes required for their major, or simply as extra-curricular activities.
However, some students said the programs offered at Pepperdine can always be improved on in the future.
While sophomore Ryan Crane said he believes the Fine Arts programs are preparing him for the future, he says there is always room for change.
“Bringing a little bit more musical theatre and contemporary music would be beneficial to the program,” Crane said.
Similarly, sophomore Jesse Nordstrom believes that the multiple opportunities for students to attend performances and learn from other students is beneficial to the program. He believes the university could help the program become stronger.
“Putting more funding into the fine arts division, such as the building and the equipment, would be nice,” Nordstrom said.
Another Pepperdine alumna, Jessica Rivera, who graduated in 1996 with a degree in music voice, said her education continues to help her throughout her career.
As an award-winning opera singer who has performed on stages all over the world, began her training at a place most singers are not able to achieve until their graduate years.
“I chose Pepperdine because I wanted the opportunity to gain performance experience in operas and musicals as an undergraduate, which is not the case in most conservatories where the major roles go to the graduate students,” Rivera said. “Many of the roles and repertoire I learned I subsequently performed at the graduate and professional level.”
Rivera said she can attribute her success directly to her professors at Pepperdine.
“My music professors and voice teacher actively worked to provide me with performance opportunities that helped me gain experience and grow as a performer,” Rivera said.
Rivera suggests that anyone interested in the performing arts needs to learn how to be prepared for anything that the business throws at you.
“The biggest break in my career was going on as an understudy at Los Angeles Opera as Susanna in ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ with only two hours notice,” Rivera said. “I was ready because I had done my homework, something I got a lot of practice doing while in college.”
Rushford has also found that her experiences at Pepperdine have helped prepare her for the business and life in general.
“Being at a liberal arts school rather than a conservatory allowed me to be involved in to many different aspects on campus, creating that reality that I was not defined solely as a performer,” Rushford said. “It gave me the desire when I graduated to remain involved in multiple things outside my performing career.”
Now living in New York City, Rushford occupies her time between performances and castings with various projects involving the arts.
She has taught, danced and choreographed with a ministry called “Project Dance,” taught at the non-profit “Groove With Me” in Harlem and also taught for “Broadway Bound,” the company of Pepperdine alumna Erin Glass.
Rushford said that while performing might be one of the most difficult professions, it definitely has its benefits.
“Performing is something we were all begging someone to let us do for free throughout school, and suddenly it’s possible to get paid for doing what you love so much,” Rushford said. “In other ways though, the exciting things are also the challenging ones. Your life is always changing, exciting and you never know what’s coming next.”
02-06-2006