Commencement weekend. Some UCF graduates will head into backyards to celebrate with family and friends. Some will board planes to take long-awaited escapes. But eleven graduates will travel across Orlando to Universal Studios, which for them is a bridge from the completion of their master 麻豆精品 S檚 degrees into a world beyond school 麻豆精品 S� and maybe beyond reality.
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You 麻豆精品 S檇 think Marcello had all the perspective she needed before joining the program in 2019. She already worked at Universal, first as a show coordinator and then as assistant manager of intellectual property. It 麻豆精品 S檚 natural to wonder if an untested master 麻豆精品 S檚 track would be worth her time.
麻豆精品 S淚f I could go back three years and show myself the portfolio I 麻豆精品 S檝e built through this program, it would blow my mind, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 had no idea of the possibilities it would open to us. 麻豆精品 S�
Marcello 麻豆精品 S檚 classmate, Jordan Zauha, echoes her wonder. 麻豆精品 S淭he program gave me exactly what I needed: a new beginning. 麻豆精品 S�
From Cornfields to the Big Apple to UCF
Zauha grew up in the heartland of Nebraska. His high school senior class totaled 41 students. He studied musical theater at Nebraska Wesleyan, which provided him the opportunity to perform in 25 stage productions while earning a degree.
麻豆精品 S�Glee was a thing at the time, 麻豆精品 S� says Zauha, who turns 30 in July, 麻豆精品 S渁nd Broadway was the goal for anyone in theater. 麻豆精品 S�
Ten days after accepting his diploma, Zauha moved to New York. He worked in restaurants, stood in line for auditions as early as 5:45 a.m., and tried to make the story he imagined come to life. It didn 麻豆精品 S檛 take long for him to go broke.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 the reality for a lot of young adults who love theater and chase the dream, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淎 friend of mine said it best: 麻豆精品 S楴ew York is not what we imagined. This is not a city where experimenting will go well for us. 麻豆精品 S� I began to question the entertainment industry and whether I 麻豆精品 S檇 ever have a place in it. 麻豆精品 S�
Zauha did some research and saw that regional markets were open to new ideas, new art, and new people. Orlando was one of those places. He 麻豆精品 S檇 been to Orlando as a seven-year-old when his dad took him and his grandmother to Disney World. He vividly remembers entering the gates, walking down Main Street, and believing he 麻豆精品 S檇 truly entered a different world. When he asked how it could all be possible, his dad said, 麻豆精品 S淧eople created this. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淲hen he said that, I started thinking about a group of people creating this living story for others to enjoy, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淎fter I moved to Orlando almost 20 years later, certain moments triggered that memory. 麻豆精品 S�
The most important moment happened while Zauha helped a customer in a clothing store where he worked. The man 麻豆精品 S檚 shirt depicting Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas and his Disney Visa card became the conversation starters. The man said his name was Peter Weishar and that he was about to start a new master 麻豆精品 S檚 program at UCF in themed experience.
“The … Themed Experience (program) was designed to educate and train the next generation of creative leaders in the themed entertainment industry,” says Weishar, a professor and director of UCF’s themed experience graduate programs. “Themed experience is more than theme parks. It is utilized in exhibitions, museums, zoos, retail, dining, libraries and can be applied to almost any compelling space designed to convey a story. There could not be a better fit for this program than at UCF, located in the heart of the themed entertainment industry.”
From the very first week, students rethought whatever they believed about theme parks. Adjunct faculty shared stories about the nuances of design, the creative processes that few people will ever know about, and the people required to turn fiction an actual experience.
麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 also a rule of thumb, 麻豆精品 S� Zauha says, 麻豆精品 S渢hat if you want to create themed places, then you have to immerse yourself in them yourself. 麻豆精品 S�
He took a notebook whenever the class went to food truck gatherings or themed restaurants or the parks. He 麻豆精品 S檇 write about facades and architecture 麻豆精品 S� the subtleties that opened his eyes wide as a 5-year-old, but later faded into the periphery of his tunnel vision to be an entertainer. The idea of actually creating an immersive narrative like a Harry Potter Experience or Super Nintendo World electrified him.
麻豆精品 S淭he program has given me assurances that there 麻豆精品 S檚 a place for me in this industry, 麻豆精品 S� says Zauha, who already has multiple job offers. 麻豆精品 S淚 have a peace about my future that I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have three years ago. 麻豆精品 S�
Creating the Rest of Her Life
Marcello has always wanted what so many kids and grown-ups want: to make pretend places come to life. Growing up, she and her friends played the The Legend of Zelda and fantasized what it might be like in a real-life theme park.
麻豆精品 S淚t was a dream of mine to explore Hyrule in real life, 麻豆精品 S� Marcello says. 麻豆精品 S淚 still wish it existed. 麻豆精品 S�
She developed a talent for art and hoped one day to build a career around it. After earning a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree from UCF in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on art administration, Marcello landed a job at Universal Creative.
麻豆精品 S淚 had no idea I 麻豆精品 S檇 fall in love with the industry and the collaborative environment, 麻豆精品 S� she says. Marcello worked with a team that helped build Universal Beijing and she could see a clear career path in creative project management. But something kept tugging at her.
She 麻豆精品 S檇 always known she was an artist. Deep down she wanted to be the one who started with an empty blue sky, sketched out concepts, painted props and facades and made it possible for people to spend an entire day in an imaginary place. To do that, she needed to learn from people who have done it and she needed to build a portfolio.
麻豆精品 S淭he themed experience program came along at just the right time and place, 麻豆精品 S� Marcello says. 麻豆精品 S淧eter has the credentials. The vendors who do a lot of the art are right here. We toured private creative studios that work directly with the parks, companies that are crucial in the process but that we wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 know existed if we hadn 麻豆精品 S檛 seen them for ourselves. 麻豆精品 S�
In the coming months, Marcello, Zauha, and the rest of the first themed experience cohort will begin to weave their childhood imaginations into actual experiences for future theme-park guests. 麻豆精品 S淚t isn 麻豆精品 S檛 as impossible as we once thought, 麻豆精品 S� Marcello says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut for now, we 麻豆精品 S檙e just going to enjoy a weekend at the park. 麻豆精品 S�
