The Green Room is the University Center for the Arts’ online magazine. 

December 2016: As I put keyboard to paper this month, my first thought is “Wow, I’ve got nothing…”

As I stare at this practically blank page, I realize that this way of thinking is not only inaccurate, but diminishes the value of a whole lot of time and effort, both mine, and everyone else at the University Center for the Arts.

This semester, I’ve watched the comings and goings of over a 1000 students who spend a portion or most of their day at the UCA each week; I hear a satisfying cacophony holistically emitting from 50 practice rooms at the south end of the building, no matter the time of day; I smell wood being cut in the scene shop as that delicious scent wafts down the hall; I hear the crunch of the ice machine as a dancer fills an ice pack the end of a grueling rehearsal; I see Poudre School District buses pull up in front and little kids holding hands as they wind their way into the museum; and I hear the rhythmic chug of our large color printer churning out programs and posters for hours at a time.

I could go on and on…and easily fill ten pages, but that’s simply a glimpse into a few elements comprising the learning and creative process that took place at the UCA during the 2016 fall semester, and all the semesters before that. And it’s precisely the ten pages’ worth of activities, events, tasks, and exercises that initially left me with nothing to say.

Don’t we all do this though? Pour everything into our art, or whatever else we are dedicated to, until we are depleted and imagine that we have nothing left. But in truth, we have everything, it’s all around us, reflected in our satisfaction with a performance or research project, the photos, and videos taken at events, and in the memories our immense efforts created.

This issue of The Green Room shares some of those captured moments and foretells of projects that will be memories soon. After that, the UCA will pause and rejuvenate until classes resume later in Jan. Until then, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Take care,
Jennifer Clary Jacobs
Director of Marketing, University Center for the Arts