“There’s so much talent in the arts, especially in Charlotte, I’ve seen that firsthand and met them firsthand. Having generous people give opportunities to those students… it’s one of the best things I think about Charlotte.”
As we inch closer to this weekend’s big Blumey Awards ceremony, we’ll be checking in with some alums doing EXCITING things in the theater industry!
Next up, Central Academy of Technology and Arts graduate and 2024 Gordon Hay Scholarship recipient Sophie DiBella! We caught up with her in New York City where she is studying Theatrical Production and Design at NYU, with an emphasis on Lighting Design!
The future is BRIGHT, Sophie! BRAVO!
Several scholarship funds presented by Blumenthal Arts, including the Mary Doctor Fine Arts Scholarship Fund and the Gordon Hay Scholarship Fund, ensure young people pursuing all aspects of theater can thrive. One of them is NYU first year student Sophie de Bella Val. Hello. Hi. How are you? I'm great. How are you doing? I'm good. We are in, we're in Washington Square Park in New York City. I was so excited to be in the city and to get started on college that I was just like, I'm here, I'm ready to go, let's do it. Why did you choose this school? Well, it was kind of the perfect mix of everything. The program that I'm in is specifically for theatrical production and design. So I'm getting to do lighting design every day, which is what I wanted to do. We are given production assignments from the get go and we get to really just. The ground running you're in the city where you have access to these amazing people who are then teaching you in class My professor her name is Aaron Black and she works as a costume work for the Jim Henson Company. So we've talked a lot about puppets and puppet making and how to costume for things that maybe aren't traditional theater So we're actually getting to make puppets today in class and I think that's I'm so excited I think that's so much fun I went to central Academy of Technology and Arts, which is kind of well known for being pretty awesome yes I loved it there I really. Really did. I'm so grateful for Kata. At Kata, we were lucky enough to get to perform at the Bloomies for three years in a row and I got to be a part of that experience, which is just, I mean, life changing. It was so awesome. And then my senior year, I've got to assistant stage manager for the Blooming award show itself. I was lucky enough to receive the Gordon Case Scholarship from the Blumenthal, which has made so many doors open for me that I never thought would happen. It's a $10,000 scholarship in my case. For areas that aren't necessarily like traditional tuition scholarship I'm planning on, I'm hoping to get a job at ETC, which is the Lighting the Light board company essentially over the summer, and I need a place to live and the money from the scholarship can sort of support me having that opportunity in New York over the summer. How important do you think it is that people understand what the Blumenthal is doing when it comes to raising money to help people just like you? Yeah, I think it's invaluable. I think there's so much talent in the arts in especially in Charlotte, and I've seen that first hand and met them first hand and having generous people give opportunities to those students. I think it's just it's one of the best things I think about Charlotte.
