Posts Tagged ‘Arts in Education’
The Spotlight Players Workshop is the brainchild of Veronica Rosenberger and Kelley Harrington, both 2009 graduates of Huntingdon Area High School. They said they want to give local students an opportunity to build confidence, character, and creativity. The focus will be on speaking and group games, technique and basic theatre history. The organizers stress that no previous experience is necessary, but the process will encourage all levels of experience from novice to veteran. No individual session is mandatory, and although they will build off of what students have learned, each session has an individual, stand-alone lesson.
Their eight-session workshop is intended for high school and middle school students, and will explore topics from solo performance to improvisational group comedy, use of imagination and props. The workshop employs nearly a dozen different theatre games and exercises to help cultivate comfort, coordination and creativity for all participants.
Most classes will meet at their headquarters in downtown Huntingdon. Classes meet from noon to 2pm Tuesdays and Saturdays at The Art Space, 212 4th Street, Huntingdon. There are six sessions in July and two in August, with a final stage performance Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Huntingdon County Fair.
The cost is $5 per session ($40 total if the student plans on attending every class). Perfect attendance is not necessary because of people’s vacation schedules.
Harrington attends Carnegie Mellon University where she studies Dramaturgy, the research behind theatrical production. Rosenberger attends Gettysburg College where she double majors in Theatre Arts and English. Both have been in multiple performances on their respective campuses and intend to use this workshop to share what they have learned with younger students.
Workshop dates for July: 5, 9, 12, 16, 23 & 26
August: 9 & 11, with August 13 performance at Huntingdon County Fair.
For more information, contact Veronica Rosenberger or Kelley Harrington via e-mail spotlightplayersworkshop@gmail.com, or via telephone at (814) 644-3667.
The school year is closing with the completion of a couple of major arts in education activities. Alash – Tuvan ThroatSingers visited Huntingdon area elementary schools for a mini concert and presentation at the end of May. Students had been prepared by their music teachers and were VERY excited to hear and even sing along with Tuvan Music.
Alash was in town for Folk College, the annual music workshop and concert event of the arts council. The group of four musicians and one manager/interpreter is concluding a year-long tour of the United States and will return to their native Tuva in Southern Siberia in early summer.
Alash Ensemble
High school students attending metalworking classes at the Huntingdon County Career and Technology Center had the opportunity to work with Melissa Davenport over a three week period as part of an arts in education residency at the center. This project was collaboration between the Perry County Council on the Arts, the Huntingdon County Arts Council and additional support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) through its Arts in Education program. The residency activities included the metal arts students in Mr. Shope’s classes and lasted for a total of ten days.
Huntingdon Area School District elementary school students were recently treated to an extraordinary experience: Alash, Tuvan Throat Singers visited the area and provided a performance at Standing Stone and Southside Elementary schools with the outlying schools bussed in for the occasion.
Alash has been touring the United States for almost a year, bringing their ‘unique’ sounds to excited audiences. The group consists of four musicians and one interpreter who explains and speaks on behalf of the group to American audiences. Tuva, the native region of the musicians, is located in southern Siberia and northern Mongolia. The lifestyle is predominately nomadic and horses are well represented in their music. Local students picked up quickly on the galloping rhythms, and even participated in a sing-along with the group.
The program was arranged by the Huntingdon County Arts Council and received additional financial support from the Huntingdon Educational Foundation and school parent-teacher organizations.
Students in the photo include (left to right): Joshua Gordon, Chloe Jackson, Colin Strahan, Talia Rodriguez, Austin Norris, and Wyatt Dobbs; Huntingdon elementary music teacher Andrea Croyle on the right and Huntingdon County Arts Council director, Ilona Ballreich in the back row with members of Alash.
Spring Thaw 2011 is now open! Over 350 works of original art by students from throughout Huntingdon County in all grades have been entered in this year’s show. The majority of the works are displayed at the Art Space, with a special display at the Huntingdon County Library of fiber arts and printed items. The exhibition will be open through Mayfest, April 30 and will conclude with an award ceremony at 4pm.