For TTU volunteers, Bonnaroo a real ‘groovy’ education
This is the fourth year TTU volunteers have operated The Academy at the massive Manchester, Tenn., music festival. The Academy offers festivalgoers a variety of workshops that help them stretch their minds and their creativity during Bonnaroo’s June 10-13 run.
The Academy is staffed and organized by TTU English instructor Andy Smith along with Mark Harry Creter, professor of theater and artistic director for the Backdoor Playhouse, and several others with Tech connections.
The TTU volunteers operate from a tent inside the festival’s Centeroo area offering free workshops in everything from theater, percussion, poetry and painting right next to sessions on heirloom gardening, eco-friendly cob construction and how to “green” your automobile.
“To me education is a life vocation. It’s not something that can be contained to the campus. For education to be meaningful, it has to be in the world. This is just one small way to show that the classroom has no walls,” said Smith, who is referred to as “Dean of The Academy” by staffers.
“I’ve met several of my students from the Tech classroom walking around the fields of Bonnaroo. To see each other in this fun, celebratory context is a great way to connect,” he said.
“They’re drawn into it. Suddenly, they’ll join a drum circle or one of the theater activities…You’ll see a participant swoop in, and an hour later they’ve created this incredible piece of art. They tack it up and go on to listen to more music,” he said.
Bonnaroo for the staff of The Academy isn’t all work. The core group of instructors have built in plenty of time to enjoy the music and other activities outside of “office hours.”
You can find The Academy located inside the Plant Roo area of Centeroo at the festival.
