Alumni
Alumni Opportunities
YoungArts Astral Award
The YoungArts Alumni Astral Award is part of our commitment to explore and develop programs that enhance the opportunities available to promising artists. This Award provides financial assistance for a specific project that will enhance an individual’s artistic and professional growth. NFAA awards two Alumni Astral Awards up to $2,500 each during the given award period. Awards are NOT rewarded for living expenses, travel, or further studies.
Resident Advisor
Resident Advisors play an integral role in the quality of YoungArts Week. They are directly responsible for supervising and guiding the YoungArts Week participants through their week’s activities while monitoring their behavior and whereabouts at all times. It takes exceptional people to fulfill the many roles of a Resident Advisor and therefore, we take special care in selecting individuals with potential to develop leadership skills and grow within the YoungArts community.
If you are interested in applying, please review the Resident Advisor Job Description and Guidelines below and submit a completed Resident Advisor Application to alumni@youngarts.org for review and consideration.
2011 Deadline: Friday, September 17, 2010 at 5 p.m. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Resident Advisor Job Description and Guidelines
Mentor
Mentors are YoungArts alumni that make a commitment to connect with a recent YoungArts finalist at least once a month, to answer questions, get-to-know each other and form a support system within the YoungArts community. The program was formed to create bonds between established YoungArts alumni and the next generation of YoungArts alumni that engage the younger set in their personal and vocational spheres as artists. It takes exceptional people to fulfill the role of Mentor and therefore, we take special care in selecting the individuals who will perform this role.
If you are interested in applying, please review the Mentor Application below, including the Purpose and Commitment sections, and submit a completed application to alumni@youngarts.org for review and consideration.
2011 Deadline: Friday, September 17, 2010 at 5 p.m. Late submissions will only be reviewed on a rolling basis, as needed.
Congratulations to the 2009 Alumni Astral Award Winners, Jill Penney and Michael McElroy!
Read below to find out about their Astral Award projects and where they are now.
Michael McElroy
1985 winner in Musical Theater
Michael has spent the last 19 years successfully establishing himself as an actor and music composer. He has played roles in 8 Broadway shows, various off Broadway shows and national tours. Furthermore, he has been nominated for several awards including a Tony award for best supporting actor in a musical and a Grammy award for best orchestrations with a choir. Michael is currently developing a musical with book, lyrics and music called The Light. The Astral Award will fund the creation of a CD of all the music from the production. The unique mix of jazz and gospel tonalities is a combination of sounds that Broadway has not experienced since the late 80’s.
“Being a part of that experience Young Arts Week opened my eyes to the talent and opportunities available in the arts. I came into contact with students from around the country and had workshops with amazing artists. My ARTS experience was a great part of my decision to pursue a career in the arts.”
– Michael McElroy
Jill Penney
2001 winner in Visual Arts and Presidential Scholar in the Arts
Jill is an accomplished visual artist who specializes in contemporary doll art. Ms. Penney works with a range of media including clay, fabric, yarn and various found objects. Her passion for doll art evolved into a focus on puppetry and stop motion animation and her work has been shown all over the world, including Washington D.C., Spain, Australia, and Sweden. The Astral Award will fund her project, Bailey and The Bats, an original poem written by Penney that she will transform into a stop motion animated film tha
t conveys a wonderful message that we must all learn show respect for one another and embrace our differences in order to peacefully coexist.
“My YoungArts experience was a unique opportunity for growth and inspiration where art and its creators were not only valued but also supported. In that fostering environment I felt appreciated, felt the value of my artistic contributions to the world and was able to see potential and possibility in myself and the world around me that I had not seen before.”
– Jill Penney
View Jill Penny’s Astral Award winning submission Bailey and the Bats
American Ballet Theatre Internship Program
ABT is seeking YoungArts scholars from the New York City are to join the ABT family as interns. ABT interns gain invaluable work experience in the areas of Development, Education, Artistic and Production. Click here [link to PDF document] for more information on how to apply.
YoungArts Alumni Award
The Alumni Award was established in 2006 in celebration of YoungArts’ 25th anniversary and is particularly significant because of YoungArts’ dedication to supporting talented young artists. This ongoing commitment is now yielding fruit, as demonstrated by the increasing number of alumni who are attaining professional recognition and success in their chosen art form. The annual award is granted to a YoungArts alumnus/a in recognition of significant contributions and professional success in his/her chosen art form. This annual YoungArts Alumni Award carries a $5,000 stipend to the charity of the award recipient’s choice. Past award recipients include: Desmond Richardson (2010), Raul Esparza (2009), Rachel Moore (2008), Allegra Goodman (2007), Vanessa Williams (2006).
Do you know about an internship or fellowship in your discipline that could benefit YoungArts alumni? If so, please e-mail alumni@youngarts.org
