Before Le Moyne’s longtime Director of Theatre Bill Morris retired in 2011, he regularly impressed the following four things upon his students: take care of yourself, take care of each other, take care of your space, and take care of your show. Jessica Bush heeded that advice.
Bush earned her bachelor’s degree in theatre arts from Le Moyne in May. She returned to the Heights this fall to pursue a master’s degree in arts administration with the aim of one day becoming the executive director of a theatre company. The Liverpool, N.Y., native was involved in 12 Boot and Buskin shows during her time at
Le Moyne, including The Rhinoceros, The Tempest and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, as well as a few Major Arcana productions. She was also involved in several musical ensembles on campus. Those experiences taught her how much
she enjoys being involved in the arts – behind the scenes.
“I love to perform and to sing, but I don’t have the drive you need when you hear ’no’ all of the time, which inevitably happens when you audition,” she said. “I do like to be the one to say ’yes,’ though.”
Le Moyne is the first Jesuit institution in the world to offer a Master of Science in arts administration. It is designed to prepare graduates to support artistic endeavors by preparing them to work on the business side of the industry. Bush and her classmates are learning about organizational planning, marketing and fundraising. They are also gaining practical experience working on a capstone project in conjunction with one of the College’s partner cultural organizations, which include the Everson Museum of Art, Finger Lakes Music Festival and Landmark Theatre. Bush serves as a production assistant at the Syracuse Opera, where her responsibilities include creating the program for an upcoming opera and writing
contracts for the actors.
This summer Bush and her classmates will travel to Edinburgh, Scotland, where they will attend the largest arts festival in the world, and London, England, where they will interact with professionals at the London Symphony Orchestra, among other institutions. These experiences are a component of “Globalization of the Arts,”
a course offered in the graduate program that encourages students to gain a new perspective on the global arts industry.
Bush is looking forward to putting everything she is learning and experiencing through the program into practice.
“I feel very lucky and blessed,” she said
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