May 3, 2022 |
Campus Voices

Ijeoma Alozie ('24) is Stanford Live's 2021–22 marketing and communications intern. Photo by Laura Futamura

Name: Ijeoma Alozie
Year: Class of 2024
Major: Communication
Minor: Film & Media Studies
Stanford Live Internship: Marketing and Communications
Arts practice: Filmmaking, prose, and poetry

 

Tell us about yourself and your interest in the arts?

I’ve been writing and drawing ever since I was able to pick up a pencil. I focused on traditional visual arts for most of my life (painting, drawing, etc.), and for the longest time I thought that was what I wanted to do (the Brown/RISD dual program was my dream as a kid). However, as college approached, I stumbled upon filmmaking, and I’ve been with it ever since. I’m going to be a director when I graduate, and I’ve been even thinking about picking up acting lately.

I still love writing—screenwriting, prose, and poetry. I’m a part of Stanford’s Spoken World Collective to keep myself consistently writing and performing poetry, which has been a highlight of my time at Stanford. Collective is a space where I get to be surrounded by some of my favorite artists on campus—it’s healing and regenerative.

I kind of want to dabble in all the art forms at some point in my life. I used to play flute but gave it up to focus on painting—maybe I could pick that up again. I’d just love to be a jack of all trades.

 

What drew you to the marketing/communications internship at Stanford Live?

In addition to filmmaking, I’ve always known that I wanted to study communications in college. This internship is perfect because it lies at the intersection of my two biggest interests: communications and the arts. I remember seeing the listing on Handshake and thinking “Wow! This could not be any more perfect.” I just had to apply.

 

What projects have been most interesting to be a part of as someone new to the performing arts industry?

Witnessing the conversations behind Frost Fest was cool, especially considering it’s a joint program that Stanford Live collaborates with [the student-run] Stanford Concert Network on. It was nice to see students and employees at Stanford Live work together to put on this festival that all the students seem excited about.

Even though Transverse Orientation was canceled, looking at the marketing strategies that Stanford Live put into place was eye opening. Marketing can be quite unconventional at times, which I never would have thought before this internship.

Ijeoma Alozie (far right) with members of Stanford's Spoken Word Collective. Photo courtesy of Ijeoma Alozie. 

Who’s work has intrigued you the most in the current Stanford Live season?

I was very interested in 32 Sounds. It’s a film by Sam Green featuring live music, and the audience members got to wear headphone sets to truly immerse themselves in the sound design. This was back in February, and I couldn’t go because of a schedule conflict, but I remember being so intrigued. Sound design in film is the coolest thing because of how mundane it can seem at times. As audience members we assume the cameras and mics pick up everything as is, but you could spend hours building an environment with just sounds in post-production for a truly immersive experience. Sound alone can make or break whether you feel like you’re truly there when watching a film.

 

How do you hope to impact the arts after this internship?

I hope to keep expanding my artmaking practice after this internship. I’ll impact the arts from the inside as an artist. I’ll keep writing and performing poetry and I’ll keep growing as a performer during my time as Stanford. After I leave Stanford, I’m going to be a director—I’m determined, and I’m speaking it into existence.

I want to do all of this so I can keep telling the stories that matter for the communities that matter to me.

 

What’s a band, song, or film you could watch or listen to on repeat?

A song I could listen to on repeat in “Me in 20 Years” by Moses Sumney. It makes me both excited for the future and nostalgic for the past at the same time. A film I could watch on repeat would either be Moonlight or Everything Everywhere All at Once. Moonlight is the film that pushed me to start filmmaking, and I recently saw Everything Everywhere All at Once and I’m obsessed.