Christina Tinde Jesenski is like a theater version of a five-tool player in baseball. She’s an actor, writer, award-winning costume designer (with her mom), makeup designer and has even created play posters.
And she’s obviously no quitter. That might be a sixth tool, but you get the idea.
After finishing as a Artist of the Year semifinalistlast year, the Orange County School of the Arts senior returned this year to be named the Theater Artist of the Year in 2020.
Part of her success in her second go-around may have been due to a change in perspective.
“Last year, it was a competition,” Jesenski said. “This year, it was an opportunity for personal growth.”
She added, “This year, I loved doing it. It was a pleasure.”
Her monologues from “Miss Julie,” by August Strindberg and Anton’s Chekov’s “The Seagull,” were compelling. But Jesenski elevated herself with her searing spoken-word rendition of an original poem “Breaking The Lock,” about gun violence among American youth.
Inspired by a real-life campus shooting, Jesenski created a piece judge Susan Berkompas, department chair of Theatre Arts at Vanguard University, referred to as “tragically beautiful.”
Jesenski enjoys period dramas, for the opportunity to learn from the past — and, no doubt, wear cool costumes.
The gun violence piece, about a suicidal 19-year-old woman with a rifle, explored how the desire to use a gun on oneself can turn outward.
Jesenski said the piece was a chance to look at our world and society and ask ourselves, “Is this what we want? Is this OK?”
Bound for the University of Evansville in Indiana, Jesenski is also a talented costume designer. Creating costumes became a way for Jesenski to bond as her mother battled cancer. She said the time spent with her mom continues to inform her as an actress as well.
Jesesnski’s ability to take on particularly “meaty” roles is part of what sets her apart. The 18-year-old has formally trained in acting since 2009 and won awards and recognition in state, national and international competitions. She does a “killer” Lady MacBeth, as evidenced by the three superior monologue awards she’s collected portraying Shakespeare’s mad queen of Scotland.
The finalists
The Theater category is divided into three specialties: acting, musical theater performance, and theatrical design.
Jesenski is the finalist in acting.
Daisy Tye, a recent senior from the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, used her powerhouse vocals to become the musical theater performance finalist. Despite having her high school career cut short by COVID-19, Tye was a mainstay in seven Huntington Beach APA musicals. Judges were impressed not only with her ability to belt songs, but also the way she incorporated acting into songs as she sang through “Pretty Funny,” from “Dogfight.”
Karen Fisher showed herself to be a backstage wizard, working as a lead or assistant lead costume designer for a wide array of shows at Huntington Beach APA, including its always impressive musicals such as “Gypsy,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Phantom of the Opera,” which won a JRAY (John Raitt Awards for Youth) for best costume design. She is also a makeup designer and will fill-in on crew. Anything to help the show go on.
Artist of the Year is generously sponsored by the Chapman University College of Performing Arts. Additional support is provided by the Laguna College of Art + Design and the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.
"artist" - Google News
June 28, 2020 at 09:55PM
https://ift.tt/3g5Jkm3
Artist of the Year for theater: Christina Tinde Jesenski - OCRegister
"artist" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2FwLdIu
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Artist of the Year for theater: Christina Tinde Jesenski - OCRegister"
Post a Comment