Daniel “Cosmo” Kuzmick has lived in Charlottesville for more than 12 years, but never felt connected to the University of Virginia. Until now.
At age 71, he’s taking two courses at UVA: The Art of Moving Creatures and Introduction to Movement. He’s auditing the courses through Virginia’s Senior Citizen Waiver Program, a statewide program that allows Virginia residents 60 years and older to take courses tuition-free at public institutions.
“I finally feel like I’m a part of UVA now, when six months ago it felt like a separate part of town full of people on scooters,” he said. “Now, I’m thinking maybe I need to ride a scooter.”
Students build large moving creatures they will operate at the Festival of the Moving Creature on April 25. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
Cosmo, as he prefers to be called, worked in film production in Hollywood for decades, contributing to multiple productions, including the Netflix series “House of Cards” and the 2012 movie “Lincoln.” He lived in Northern California until he married a woman from Virginia. “As soon as we had our daughter, Ruby, we moved so she could grow up closer to her maternal family,” he said.
He once split his time between Charlottesville and Los Angeles, working part-time on film sets, but now lives in Charlottesville full-time and is taking advantage of living so close to a large university.
Ruby, who turned 18 in January, is currently doing her senior year of high school in Dakar, Senegal, through the YES Abroad program, leaving Cosmo with plenty of time to harvest bamboo and build a parade creature for the Art of Moving Creatures course.
UVA graduate student Jake Kuhn says Cosmo is the heart of the class, often staying afterward to play hacky sack with fellow students. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
The interdisciplinary course is a partnership between the UVA Department of Drama and the School of Architecture. The late UVA drama assistant professor Steven Warner created the class in 2012 with fabrication lab manager Melissa Goldman. Goldman teaches the class this semester with drama lecturer Annie Temmink.
“I told my professor last week that this is the closest thing I’ve come to play in years,” Cosmo said. “This is what we did as kids and it’s magical.”
He first saw the course listed online and recognized Temmink’s name, having known her for years. He immediately emailed to see if there was space in the class, and the rest is history.
“Cosmo is the heart of moving creatures,” said Jake Kuhn, a graduate student in the School of Architecture. “He’s seriously the best. He brings us pastries every class and hangs around afterward to play hacky sack.”
Students spend the semester harvesting materials, building large creatures and designing choreography to bring them to life in a parade.
This year, the community can enjoy the giant student-made puppets at the Stan Winston and Steve Warner Festival of the Moving Creature on April 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. The students, in their costumes, will walk from the UVA Arts Grounds on a loop around the Rotunda during sunset.
Cosmo works with bamboo he harvested with drama lecturer Annie Temmink. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
Students started the semester watching movies and videos of parades from around the world to gain inspiration. Cosmo found his inspiration in a Mardi Gras performer.
“She’s got these two feather-covered wings attached to her back while she dances down the street,” he said. “So, we made and remade and remade the wings until it felt light enough to move in.”
Students are building using bamboo they harvested with Temmink. “We started off gathering from some nearby forests and then she found there was some great stock right at the end of her street,” he said.
Cosmo encourages eligible Virginians to look into auditing courses at nearby public universities and community colleges.
