By Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Turner
CONVENTIONAL KNOWLEDGE suggests that artists and scientists are very separate beings, determined by dominance of the left or right side of the brain. There are those, however, who easily play hopscotch between art and science.
Shawna-Gae Turner, a member of the University Singers, is one of those persons.
Shawna-Gae is currently completing her doctoral studies in bio-technology at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus. The 27-year-old postgraduate is in the final stages of her studies, which explore natural alternatives to combating the ring spot virus, one of the plagues of the papaya industry.
YOUTHFUL FANCIES
"I thought I was going to be a neurosurgeon, but then I came here (UWI) and saw how much med students had to study," she says with an easy laugh. Though she might have deserted youthful fancies of medicine she is finding her work cut out for her with her studies, which have to be balanced with the Singers and her role as resident adviser for culture and entertainment for Mary Seacole Hall.
"You walk to the edge of sanity and back on a daily basis," she says, explaining how she copes with all three roles. This balancing act also necessitates sleep and a personal life being proffered at the sacrificial altar of survival. Despite some regrets at some sacrifices, Shawna-Gae explains that there have been enough rewards to make them worthwhile.
Added to the singing and science has been sports, as she has played hockey and football for the university.
Though she has been singing since age 10, full exposure to music did not come until she joined the Singers in 1996. "Singing used to be one of those things that your mother says Miss So-and-So want you to sing and you do," she explained. However, now Shawna-Gae sees music as an important part of her life and the most likely professional road she will take. This road will may not only include performance, as Shawna-Gae wants to explore entertainment management, which working through Seacole has exposed her to.
Explaining that her voice is actually best suited to singing spiritual and classical music, Shawna-Gae still expresses a preference for gospel. "It (gospel) gives the voice so much scope for expression," she says. Her passion for music and performing has been accompanied by much stage fright, especially when performing solo. "You get stage fright every time," she says. "The thing that you worry about most is singing off-key."
Shawna-Gae goes on to relate a terrifying moment when she forgot all the words to her solo. "My God, that was such an embarrassing day," she says with a laugh. But such incidents cannot rob her of the joy she gets from inspiring an audience. Those moments have quite enriched her life. She points to the Singers' performances that have either left audiences enthralled or moved to tears.
BUCK-UP
In what she calls a classic case of 'buck-up', Shawna-Gae has also managed to explore her more dramatic side. A dramatisation of an excerpt from Earl Lovelace's The Wine of Astonishment earned her an 'Off the Page Award' in 'Tallawah', the tertiary institution's drama competition. It was an accolade that she almost missed. "The day before, I refused to do the piece," she says. This refusal was brought on by fear that the audience would miss the point and laugh because the character, Eva, was a Shango Baptist.
Bred in St. Thomas, Shawna-Gae says her childhood memories include watching Revivalists being mocked and so she was afraid her character would be treated with the same dismissive laughter. However, upon delivering an intense, nuanced performance, she captured the audience's attention and imagination rather than provoked laughter.
Her forays into the arts and sciences have also been accompanied by a healthy interest in sports. Shawna-Gae has five siblings but she grew up with two brothers, which resulted in her claim to a tomboy status. Her football skills were first honed knocking around a ball with her brothers, but she was introduced to hockey at the university. The introduction was one which literally floored her, as Shawna-Gae was knocked temporarily unconscious during her second game. As she laughs uproariously in telling the story, she clearly sees the incident as one of those things that happen.
For the past year, however, Shawna-Gae has put her sports endeavours aside because of the demands of school. She even sees how demands on her time could make it possible that she would have to step away from the University Singers. However, should that happen, it can only be temporary, she says.
The gap left would be too great.
