Lights, camera, campus! Two student-led short films set for debut May 2 at Eisenhower Auditorium

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Wednesday, April 22, 2026) — While most on campus are prepping for final exams and finishing projects, two groups of students are ready to call wraps on their capstone film projects. The students will debut their finished works at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2, in Eisenhower Auditorium. Doors open at 1 p.m.

The free, public screening will feature the Penn State student films “Earning a Living,” a dark comedy written and directed by Jackson Bonds; and “Muse,” a psychological drama written and directed by Rachel Traub.

Post-screening discussion

Following each film screening, audiences are invited to remain for a 15-minute Q&A with the student filmmakers and production teams. These post-viewing discussions provide a behind-the-scenes look at each project, offering insight into the creative process, production challenges, and thematic intentions behind the films.

Please note that both films are rated PG-13 and contain strong language.

Two stories of survival and self-invention

The two student short films, “Earning a Living” and “Muse,” highlight bold new storytelling from emerging filmmakers exploring identity, ambition and creative expression. Across very different worlds, both films trace the fragile line between survival and self-invention, revealing how far people will go when ambition and reality collide.

“Earning a Living” is a dark comedy following Casey Neufeld, a recent college graduate struggling to stay afloat financially. Casey’s lies to his family and friends begin to catch up to him as he makes the decision to join his co-worker’s scheme to rob their boss’ home. Unknown to Casey, the plan was doomed from the start.

The creative team behind “Earning a Living” includes Adam Tinkelman (actor), Jackson Bonds (writer, director), Joshua Contorchick (producer, actor); Oliver Van Wincoop (director of photography), Luke Georgulis (editor, score composer) and Zane Whitehead (lead sound, actor).

“Muse” is about a young actress, Blake, who lands a breakout role in the cutthroat film industry. The pressures lead her to take an experimental drug to trigger authentic emotion, but as her performances soar, her grip on reality fractures. It explores the concept “does great art require great trauma,” and delves into the realities filmmakers and artists face today.

The creative team behind “Muse” includes Nora Goudie (actor), Gretchen Nicole (actor), Jake Beck (actor), Rachel Traub (writer, director), Bert Davis (director of photography), Gabriella Wong (co-producer), Isabel Sweet (co-producer, lead sound) and Brady Bast (editor, first assistant director).

For fans of

Original film projects

Psychologically based films

Supporters of small artists

Acknowledgements from the teams

The team from “Earning a Living” would like to thank Nick Westfall, Will Bond, Alyssa Stroup, Family/Friends, Go-Fund Me Donators, Stone Valley Estates, The Original Waffle Shop West, The Nittany Lion Inn and Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.

The team from “Muse” would like to acknowledge and thank the family, friends and crew for all of their support with the project. Additionally, we truly appreciate our locations, The Annsfield Estate, Windows to the Past Guest House, The Gamble Mill Speakeasy, and the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications’ film department and equipment room faculty and staff.

Find us

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, a unit of the College of Art and Architecture, aspires to create connected, sustainable, and equitable communities, where everyone experiences joy, belonging and creativity.

For more information about the season, visit the Center for the Performing Arts online, Facebook and Instagram.