SPOTLIGHT: Ariana Gonzalez

LEARN MORE ABOUT ONE OF THE 2021 CAMP IVRT CO-DIRECTORS,  ARIANA GONZALEZ, IN THIS SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW!

Ariana Gonzalez is a co-director of camp IVRT this year and has been working with IVRT for the past six years. She is also a member of the IVRT board. Ariana has been able to gain a sense of the inner workings of IVRT throughout her time being on the team. She has held many positions both as a volunteer and an employee. She is currently a student at UC Irvine, studying Global Cultures and Education. Working with camp this summer has given her the chance to work hands on with co-workers to create an open, accepting space for campers to explore their passions and have space to try new things and grow. Get to know Ariana a little more in the following interview. 

What is your role at IVRT?

“Currently I am co Director of camp for the summer. Essentially I have been involved in planning camp and running it on a day to day basis for all three sessions that we have, those include our in person intensives, the online regular weekday camp, and the online performance camp. I started last summer as assistant camp director as well so that was when I took on this new role. But for the past couple years I have been helping plan and run it. 

Last summer I worked under Donna Marie. I started out as IVRT’s Educational Outreach Intern. Then I became assistant camp director under donna marie but with all the covid transitions it was sort of me and all the teachers planning and running it. I first started volunteering. I was a teaching assistant for a couple years before I became an intern and then slowly I just started gaining more and more of a role in running camp.” 

Tell me how you first got involved with IVRT.

“I actually had a friend who used to have Donna Marie as a teacher and they were looking for volunteers to work for camp and with IVRT. They were specifically looking for high school level volunteers and interns and so I applied for a position. Originally I just first started helping out with IVRT related things, you know helping out Donna Marie at events and stuff like that. But then I worked one day at camp and I just fell in love with it and so I started volunteering as a teaching assistant and then I just kept coming back. Later I applied for the Educational Outreach Intern position, and well here I am now as co-director.”

Tell me about some of the people you’ve met while working with IVRT?

“Out of the people that I have met who I work with a lot, the first person that comes to mind is Melia. We actually started volunteering together when we were both in high school I think. As we became friends, we both started gaining more of a role in running camp. It's been great to see how well we work together. I think us getting the chance to explore our professional relationship in different capacities is really special and has given us the chance to get to know each other really well. 

In a similar way Stacy Hanson was the education outreach intern last summer so we were all working together, the three of us, on transitioning camp to online and that brought us a lot closer too. 

I’ve also gotten to meet so many people working with the board too. Getting to see a completely different side of how IVRT runs. Being on the board has given me a chance to gain a really unique understanding of how IVRT works as a whole since I had been focusing on camp for so many years. It's nice to gain that big picture perspective, and getting to see how shows get put together and how decisions are made. Getting to meet so many new people through events and things like that has been wonderful and made working with IVRT a really rich meaningful experience.”

What would you tell someone who is thinking about getting involved with IVRT?

“I would say, you know, if you’re thinking about it, you should just go for it. IVRT is just such a welcoming place for people with all levels of interest in theatre. One of my favorite things about camp is that you don’t have to have any sort of experience in theatre. And our goal is never really to train perfect performers. It’s mostly just to introduce a love of theatre to kids and to help them gain confidence in themselves and make new friends. So I feel like IVRT is just a really great place for people who have all different levels of interest in theatre. So if you're interested you should definitely just join, it’s a really inclusive and nurturing environment.”

What might others be surprised to know about you?

“Probably that outside of my work with IVRT I’m not super involved in the performing arts as much, I definitely used to be when I was younger which is what kind of drew me in to camp in the first place. When I was younger I think I would have loved to have a program like this, where it wasn’t a competitive environment it was literally just focused on individual growth and fostering a love for theatre. But I now that I’m not in high school or elementary school, I have less of an involvement with club or competitive theatre. IVRT has really introduced me even more to the world of theatre and the love of the arts in a new way which I am really excited about. So that might surprise some people considering how involved I am with IVRT.”

How would your friends describe you?

“Probably as the prepared one. You know the one who thinks ahead for everything we need to prepare for and that always has everything we need.”

What’s it like to be co director?

“It’s really great to have more of a hands-on role in planning camp and cultivating an experience that is focused on growth and that’s welcoming for young people from all different walks of life. That's been really great, because it’s one thing to work with the kids as a volunteer but it’s another to think about how we can improve camp and make this the best possible experience for our students. In an open and welcoming environment like IVRT, the people who get involved get their voices heard. It’s great to be working with a team who really welcomes different ideas and change and all that.”

What do you do when you aren’t working at IVRT this summer?

“After Covid, I’ve been trying to spend more time with friends and family. It was so hard not being able to see everybody as often as before. Also in quarantine I started to try to implement more time for myself and make time for my own interests. So I’ve been reading more and doing crafts and stuff like that. Just activities that I used to love doing but just never made time for.”

Written by Shannen Sulpizio