Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Allison Sommers grew up in New York City, the product of a theatrical family. Leaving Vassar after a year in the late 1970s, she went on to become an Equity stage manager for 35 years, working on and off Broadway, in music, dance and regional theater and on tours both here and abroad.
Then she discovered virtual worlds. She obtained a B.A. in digital arts from SUNY Empire State College in 2012 and is now a first-year grad student in Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center.
Ms. Sommers, 53, of Lawrenceville hopes to turn her newfound skills in studio and digital art into the creation of virtual theater, "in whatever form it may reveal itself," she said.
3 comments:
I found this article interesting because a lot of people who came here considered a career in Stage Management to find out they also were artistically inclined. Sommers mentioned how she had always painted and things of that nature and is now taking a career path change. I think this is a great thing to do regardless of age. I found some of the questions interesting but rather off topic and detracted from the article.
This article reminds me why I love the Design/Production curriculum at CMU. I find it so thrilling and inspiring to learn about all aspects of theatre. Almost everyone in my class has been exposed to an area of theatre that they had never encountered beforehand. Because of that, we are able to be honest with ourselves about our interests and passions. This woman seemed to figure that out a bit later in life, but I was so impressed by how enthusiastic she seemed in the interview. I could really tell that she is excited about where her career is headed. I wonder if her career in stage management helped at all to lead her to her realization for another path in the art form. That is a question I'd be eager to learn the answer to. I also wish she talked more about her idea for "virtual theater."
I really appreciate that Ms. Sommers has been able to spend a long time doing stage management before switching to something tangentially related. It demonstrates that with a rounded education and experience, flexible career moves are very doable. I very much admire her for going back to school so late in her career and diving into it with zeal. I imagine that this colors her work in some interesting ways (see the Women's Interactive Game idea) that will be valuable contributions to the industry.
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