Hey everyone, my name is Sara Campbell, and I am the new receptionist at Center for the Arts. I have lived in the valley for approximately 10 years, with occasional reprises to my hometown in North Carolina. I have four beautiful children, all under the age of nine. They say sleep is for the dead, right? During my spare time I like to socialize with my friends, be active, and enjoy what this valley has to offer.  I have a goal to hike the king and to run in old bills. I am ashamed to say that in 10 years I have not done either.

I am halfway in to my second week at Center for the Arts and I am loving it! For those that may not know, Center for the Arts houses 17 different non-profits associations with specializations in art, dance, music, writing, education, film, etc.. As a person who is in love with the Arts, being here at the Center is like a person fluent in German moving to Germany. This is my mecca and I am so glad to be a part of this establishment. Every day there is always something going on, there hasn't been a dull moment yet.

For example, The Writer's Conference, put on by the Jackson Hole Writers was held this past weekend at Center for the Arts campus, and I was invited to poke my head in on the events. A student of journalism, I was ecstatic at the invitation to peruse the events. I also currently do the social media for Center for the Arts, so I brought my camera along to document the activites.  I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at The Writer's Conference, I was able to meet some very interesting people, learn very valuable and privledged information, listen to speakers on various topics of writing, and enjoy reading and listening to written work. The thing that astounded me the most about this Conference was that tthese writers who have published multiple books, screenplays, poems, would eat with, give advice, inquire, and talk to the attendees of the Conference as if they were co-workers who have known each other for years. After listening to Chuck Sambuchino's speech on "How to Get Published", I sent an email to Tim Sandlin, published author and Executive Director of The Writer's Conference, that he could look forward to me attending next years conference, on the premise that I have a manuscript ready by that time. To get motivation to complete a manuscript, I started a blog Monday night entitled, "Dirty Road of Writing", which is a way to keep me motivated and track my progress, follow my ups and downs of completing a manuscript for the 2012 Conference.

I was able to enjoy cowboy poetry with a true cowboy-Jayme Feary at the Wine and Cheese Walk at the Writer's Conference

This weekend I was also able to attend Off Square Theater Company's production of "fat pig" by Neil Labute, part of their "page to stage" series. I volunteered to work the door for Off Square, so I was able to interact with patrons as they entered the theater. Done with mostly local actors, limited props, and scripts on stage, it was a new experience for me. I think the cast did an amazing job. I was able to connect with the story, as was my guest, in different ways. Luckily, I was able to grab a few photos of the performance as well.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my first week here at Center for the Arts. In the future, you can look forward to reading more blogs about events, profiles of employees and artists. If you'd like to read about something in particular, please comment below and I will do my best to make it happen. After all, I aim to please, Louise.

Some of you I have already met, and for those that I haven't, I hope you'll stop by Center for the Arts and say hello. Ask me for a tour of our facilities if you've never been here before, I guarantee you'll love it.

Catch ya later, alligator.

 

*If you would like to view more photos from The Writer's Conference and other events at the center, please visit our facebook page by clicking here.

**If you would like to read a more in depth detailing of The Writer's Conference from an attendee, please read David Abrams blog, The Quivering Pen, by clicking here.