Stand out prom 2010 scholarship winner, Kayleigha Holten
Now and then, you meet people who instantly knock your socks off! You know in the first ten minutes that this person is going to do great things with their time, passion and talents. Stand Out Prom awards a scholarship to female graduating seniors who embody these qualities and are pursuing a career in the arts. Christy Pelland, a member of Stand Out Prom’s Board of Directors, comments “We’re looking for that ‘it’ factor but also an overwhelming desire to give back and share those gifts with the community. We found all that and more in this year’s winner, Miss Kayleigha Holten, from Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup.” For further information, please visit standoutprom.com.
Q: What are your plans after high school?
I hope to study abroad in a London theatre, receive my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in theatre lighting, and pursue a career in theatre that is enriching and fulfilling. I want to work on Broadway or in large professional theatres, then return to school for my Master’s in education so I can teach high school drama. I never want to stop learning, and I never want to lose the passion of creativity.
Q: What do you hope the viewer gains from the experience of your work?
Members of the audience should leave a production with a sense of ownership in the show they have just witnessed. Theatre is about real life. Through my lighting, I want the viewer to gain a better understanding of him or herself.
Q: Why is theatrical lighting important?
Lighting sets the mood for the entire production. Should no change in lighting hurl the hero, John Valjean, from the smokey blues of the Toulon prison into the grey, impoverished streets of Paris or the dank greenish hue of the sewers below, he might as well remain forever in captivity, lacking the means to convey his
vehemence upon the stage. Lighting can make or break a show.
Q: How do you measure success?
If, when the final curtain falls, someone in the audience feels their life has been enriched by the feelings I attempted to communicate through my lights, I have succeeded. After Les Mis an elderly man approached me to express how the lighting had moved and inspired him. That night I cried tears of success. I just want to reach people.
Leah Grout