Meet the 2019/20 Season 21st Century Artist Interns

Each year, UMS and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance pair students with a summer internship working for a dance, theater, or music ensemble that UMS will present in its upcoming season.

The 21st Century Artist Internship is a highly competitive program developed to prepare students for new demands that working artists face in the contemporary marketplace. In addition to generating outstanding creative work, today’s artists are also tasked with reaching potential audiences in innovative ways. This unique program provides real-world work experience and professional connections to help develop these skills within the context of UMS’s programming.

Full Press Release (PDF)

The 21st Century Artist Internship program is made possible in part by the Jay Ptashek and Karen Elizaga Family.

This Year’s Interns

Victoria Briones

Class of 2020
Major: Dance
UMS Presentation: American Ballet Theatre’s Swan Lake

Victoria Briones is a senior dance major, expected to graduate in May 2020. She was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, where she trained in ballet, jazz, and contemporary styles. She loves to choreograph, and, in doing so, strives to connect her passions of art and activism.

Briones will intern in artistic programming at the Joyce Theater (New York, NY), one of the nation’s premier venues for dance presentation. She will also participate in the intern professional development program at American Ballet Theatre and serve as an occasional intern for education.

Zion Jackson

Class of 2020
Major: Voice Performance
Minor: Performing Arts Management and Entrepreneurship
UMS Presentation: Stew & The Negro Problem

Zion Jackson, from Dewitt, MI, is studying Voice Performance with a minor in Performing Arts Management & Entrepreneurship. Zion is a member and the Business Manager of the Michigan Men’s Glee Club, a representative for the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance in Central Student Government, and is also an avid performer in student-run musical theater productions. He is very passionate about leadership, the arts, and non-profit organizations. In his free time, Zion enjoys traveling, cooking, and exploring new art. Zion is so excited to represent UMS as a 21st Century Artist Intern this summer, and is looking forward to learning more about what it means to be an arts professional.

Jackson will serve as the personal assistant to performer, composer, and writer Stew. Stew is the creator of the Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange and front man of his eponymous band Stew & The Negro Problem (New York, NY).

Shannon Nulf

Class of 2021
Major: Dance
Minors: Movement Science and Performing Arts Management
UMS Presentation: ANTHEM

Shannon Nulf is a third-year University of Michigan Dance BFA with minors in Movement Science and Performing Arts Management from Hancock, MI. At U-M, she has participated in works by multiple BFA and MFA students, as well as two university productions, one of which included restaging Urban Bush Women’s work Shelter. She co-founded and serves on the board of a dance student organization called “Arts in Color” where she and her peers create and pursue DEI initiatives within the department, and will serve as President of the Dance Student Assembly for the 2019-2020 school year.

Nulf will assist choreographer Milka Djordjevich in the development of her new dance work CORPS during a residency at the prestigious Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University (Tallahassee). Following the residency, Nulf will support the presentation of Djordjevich’s ANTHEM in Philadelphia and Djordevich’s administrative activities in Los Angeles through LA Performance Practice.

Isabel Olson

Class of 2020
Major: Theatre Arts/Directing and History
UMS Presentation: The Believers Are But Brothers

Isabel K. Olson, from Atlanta, GA, is a dual degree student in History and Theatre Arts with a Directing concentration. Previous artistic projects include directing MUSKET’s Cabaret, serving as a Literary Intern for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and assisting as a Programming Intern for the New York Musical Festival. As an advocate for new theatrical works and theater for social change, Olson is excited to assist artist Javaad Alipoor in bringing The Believers Are But Brothers to the Arthur Miller Theater January 22-25 for UMS’s No Safety Net festival.

Olson will assist theater artist Javaad Alipoor on the presentation of his two original plays, Rich Kids and The Believers Are but Brothers, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK).

Karalyn Schubring

Class of 2020
Major: Composition
UMS Presentation: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Karalyn Schubring is a composer, pianist, and improviser from Gilbert, Arizona, who is dedicated to inspiring others to engage imaginatively with music. Since beginning her piano and composition studies at a young age, her music has received awards from several national organizations. An avid performer of new music, Karalyn is a founding member of Front Porch, a quartet of violin, bassoon, piano, and percussion that reimagines the classical concert as a shared experience of warmth and love. She will graduate in 2020 with her Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition, having studied piano with Matthew Bengtson and composition with Bright Sheng, Roshanne Etezady, Evan Chambers, and Kristin Kuster.

Schubring will intern in artistic programming and fundraising at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

UMS and the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance extend our congratulations to the 2019/20 interns! Follow @umspresents on Instagram for “on the ground” updates from them throughout the Summer!