News

February 28, 2019

For State Champion Orator, BOCES led to a Career-Changing Decision

You could say that the Capital Region BOCES Entertainment Technology program changed Scotia-Glenville senior Tyler Blackman’s life.

Blackman, who transferred to Scotia-Glenville last summer from the Shenendehowa Central School District, is pursuing a career in theatrical production as a direct result of his experiences in the Capital Region BOCES Entertainment Technology Program.

Blackman entered the program as an aspiring Hollywood director bent on creating the next The Lord of The Rings film series. However, working on Proctors’ production of Anastasia last fall through BOCES has rewritten his future script.

“Several of us worked backstage on Anastasia. Because I already have my foot in the door of the theater industry and met some really excellent connections and because it was so much fun and interesting, I am going to pursue a career in theater,” Blackman said.

“The skills and knowledge I have gained at BOCES is making me valuable to those in the theatre world, so why not pursue that?” he added of his time in the Entertainment Technology Program, which was formerly known as the Theatre and Film Production Technology.

Blackman was one of five Capital Region BOCES seniors to work on the October production at Proctors. The students were immersed in all aspects of the backstage production from lighting to stage set-up and learned skills and heard about professional experiences from production, costume, sound, lighting and scenic technicians.

But Anastasia wasn’t the only life-changing experience at Capital Region BOCES for Blackman. Blackman was the 2018 New York State SkillsUSA champion in the spoken word contest, a competition he entered through BOCES.

“I have seen Tyler grow professionally and in confidence this past year and a half. I am especially proud of his work with SkillsUSA. Last year Tyler went to state competition for prepared speech and finished first in the state! I accompanied him to SkillsUSA Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky where he placed very well and represented our school tremendously well. He has an extremely bright future in whatever he pursues,” Entertainment Technology Teacher Jeff Knorr said.