The Student Center Auditorium played host to a packed crowd of guests, organization members and curious onlookers as AMP presented episode 2 of its reality show, “Clash of the Creators,” on Tuesday.
The AMP student organization has long connected student artists to opportunities, and allows them an outlet in which to show their talent. “Clash of the Creators” episode 2 was the next in a series of art-focused reality television competitions bringing together student artists to compete in specific challenges.
Audience members such as Jasmine Poston and Kim Outlaw came with a curiosity for the latest episode of this new series.
“I came because my best friend really wanted me to come,” Poston said. “I’m not sure what it’s about but I am really interested to see it.”
Seven artists are paired off into two teams and given a challenge to show off their creative skills on film. While episode 1, which aired in spring of 2013, was geared toward an installation-type challenge, episode 2 brought together artists to compete in a performance-based style.
Episode 2 was hosted by AMP President Holly Ekwejunor-Etchie and Vice President Rachel Parke.
The “Clash of the Creators” artist lineup for this episode included:
Team 1- The Rockets
• Brad Drozdowski, 20, a music therapy major from Canton whose artistic medium is composition
• Elizabeth Heffron, 20, a music therapy major and musical theatre minor from Farmington Hills
• Kyle Radabaugh, 20, a theater major from Brighton whose artistic discipline is theater arts and directing
Team 2- The Squirrels
• Dominque Williams-Dehoyos, 19, a music performance major and singing actor from Saginaw
• Michael Bean, 23, a music education major from New Boston
• Sarah Neumann, 23, a theater major with minor studies in musical theater who also dabbles in singing and dancing
Though each team was comprised of an even three members for the first stage of the challenge, the winners had the option of adding a fourth member as a reward for their victory. This episode’s additional cast member was Melissa Kalnasy, a Hawaii native majoring in urban and regional planning with a minor in musical theater.
In the tradition of television reality shows, the cameras followed each team through the challenges, struggles and fun-loving drama, giving “Clash of the Creators” an upbeat feel. Audience members laughed and cheered as each team rose to meet the challenges of this episode, hosted by community partner “The Rocket,” a retail store located on Michigan Avenue in downtown Ypsilanti.
The Rocket, a candy and novelty shop that features unique shopping including humorous gifts, greeting cards and some nostalgic items, was the site for this episode’s challenge, where the teams were assigned to generate both a five minute and a 45-second commercial for the store.
The first portion of the challenge asked each team to wander the store for 10 minutes and come up with a catchphrase for the store. The winning team from the first challenge was then allowed the choice of a fourth team member with a strong creative background or one additional hour to create their commercial. The winners of this round were Team Squirrel who chose to take Kalnasy as their fourth member.
This episode’s community panel of judges included singer/actor Barb Scanlon, the president of Amplifying Theater, Heather Mapstone, and actor/store operations manager Adam Weakley. In addition, professional mentor for episode 2 was Richard Jewel. The judges had positive feedback for each team but in the end Team Squirrel was chosen as the winner.
Episode 3 of “Clash of the Creators” is already in the works, and audience members such as Katelyn Rachfal, Tristan Richardson and Jimmy Bowling said they are looking forward to catching the next installment in the series.
“It had kind of a History Channel, cooking channel, reality show feel to it,” Bowling said.
AMP welcomes any students on campus, whether they are majoring in any of the arts fields at EMU or are interested in getting involved in something creative.
During her introduction of “Clash of the Creators,” Parke said “If you have a creative itch you want to scratch, we have a spot for you in AMP.”
