While university is mainly a place for learning, it can be difficult to occupy your free time when all you do is academic work. This can feel especially worse if you have interests in performance-based activities like drama, music, and improv but are not studying these art forms. Well, worry not, Mounties! Multiple clubs on campus offer creative programming and are a great way to get involved with the Mt. A. and Sackville communities. I interviewed several of these club leaders to hear about their experiences and why they think students should get involved.
The first club representative I interviewed leads Mt. A’s very own recording and performing music club, Conduct Becoming. For two consecutive years, Conduct Becoming has been led by Nicole Kelly. Kelly is a commerce major, and a musician on Spotify by the name N!cole. In addition to acting as president, she is also a producer on their project. Conduct Becoming, Kelly explains, is “a charitable club […] for Voices Against Cancer and all of our funds go to the Canadian Cancer Society, we’re always fundraising.” The club generally hosts fundraisers at Ducky’s Pub once a month and hopes to explore the possibility of performances at the chapel on campus.
When asked what drew her to Conduct Becoming, Kelly remembers it clearly: “I was in first year and I was at the clubs and societies fair […] I looked around and I saw a guitar on a table and I was like ‘man what is this all about?’ I walked up […] Bob Corn said ‘so we’re Conduct Becoming and we make an album every year and you get to produce a song’ and I’m like ‘yo I do that every day I get to be in a club? That’s awesome!’” Kelly and the rest of the Conduct Becoming executive team have big plans this year. . If you, like Kelly, are interested in the prospect of working on an album and performing, be sure to email [email protected] for audition details! ? Auditions for Conduct Becoming will take place from September 23 to October 3, 2024.
Another club to check out is the amazing MtA Presents: The Improv. MtA Presents is an on-campus comedy improvisation team. Abby Spencer is the team’s organizer this year and is thrilled to be sharing the fun of improv with the community. Spencer runs the auditions for performers, books the spaces, runs the practices, and more. Spencer is an English and screen studies student, which she says makes her “very close to the drama department, but not quite in it.” That explanation is also accurate to the improv team itself. It is close to, but not quite the same as joining a drama production. When asked why people should consider joining the improv team, Spencer said: “honestly think it is just a really very fun time! I understand that performing without a script is a very daunting idea but I find it very freeing. It has always been a very good group of people, and there has never been any elements of judgement with it. We are all just taking a leap together into an unscripted scene and just being silly, and trying to make jokes with each other, and it is all just very fun.” Learning to be quick on your feet and trusting others in the process is just one of the skills you may learn from the improv team. Auditions for the team are yet to be announced, so keep an eye on their Instagram page @mtapresents for more information.
The last (but not least) performance-based club worth exploring is Garnet and Gold (G&G)! G&G is Mt. A’s musical theatre club where everyone that auditions ends up in their show. Whether you are a dancer, actor, or singer, G&G has a place for you. Oliver VanBuskirk, a second-year psychology major, is this year’s Vice President Admin. “I think G&G is one of the best ways you can meet students and members of the Sackville community. Everyone works so hard on the show, so by the final performance, it feels like we are one big family! I wanted to get involved in the exec team for G&G this year to try to recreate the amazing experience I had last year for new and returning members this year,” says VanBuskirk. “I thoroughly encourage students even slightly interested in musical theatre to come join our society. No experience is necessary and anyone can get involved whether they want to be on-stage or off-stage,” he continued. He welcomes any students to come and join and become a part of the G&G family. To get in touch with G&G and ask about auditions, email [email protected] or message them on Instagram @garnetgoldmusical.
No matter who you are or what experience you have, there are so many clubs waiting to welcome you with open arms. Whether you audition and spread your wings, or you want to take your mind off of school for a night and watch one of these club’s performances, you are always welcome. Thank you to Nicole Kelly, Abby Spencer, and Oliver VanBuskirk for sharing their insights and stories.
