On February 12 Mill Valley’s famed Sweetwater Music Hall reopens its doors with youth performances including `Til Dawn.  From 5-8pm, don’t miss the excitement!

We’re going to let the students toot their own horn here and tell you about their success!

Students acknowledge their cheering (standing!) audience

“I was so happy at the end.  We crafted that play out of nothing.  I’m just so proud of everything we’ve done.  Not just the performance, the whole process.  So many people have come up to me… the audience was shocked.  I mean, we got a standing ovation!”  - Glyn

Students rehearse the blocking for a lift at the end of the play

“I feel proud… I know what to do!”  -Jake

Students perform the lift onstage in "Her Face to the Sky"

“It was really good [to be onstage.] The lift was hard.  I felt kinda nervous, and proud.  Proud of myself.” -Maribel

Performing together onstage at Tamalpais High School

“It’s not about just me.  I have to pay attention and observe.  I have to work together as a group.” – Monica

Waiting to greet family & friends in the Theatre lobby

“My whole family was so impressed with what we did.  It was special because of the collaboration.” -Allison

Students celebrate with friends, family & teachers

“I have to say, I felt famous!” -Tevin

Among the reasons Tevin felt famous was an article in their local paper about their work.  He also may have been responding to an enhanced profile on this sprawling campus.  Over the weeks of rehearsal and performance more and more of their student peers, unrelated to the project, reached out to them.  Stopping Tevin in the hall to ask when the show was, dropping by Mr. Lovejoy’s class on the way to lunch to say hi to Jake, or asking Maribel how rehearsal were going.  And campus feedback following the performance only fueled further integration and dialogue.  Monica’s response to congratulations from her peers on the performance was to remind them of their playmaking process:

“I always tell people,‘Thanks, we WROTE it!’ and they are just like:  ‘HOW?!’  It’s such a hard thing to do but we wrote a great play!”

A board in the Theatre lobby depicts the playmaking process

Feedback from students, teachers, administrators, and department/ district heads was glowing.  We hope to be able to expand this opportunity for collaboration in communities throughout the Bay Area.  Theatre integrates our inherent creativity and need to connect with the continued development of communication and life skills. It bridges seemingly vast gaps in our abilities and income levels – helping students see the we in a world full of me.  Plus, its “crazy fun”!  Reactions, like Glyn’s below, to the rigorous curriculum, rehearsals and high artistic standards of this arts integration project epitomize our goal:

“It was so rewarding at the end.  I was so happy and proud of everyone!”

So were we.

Youth in Arts is dedicated to serving youth of all abilities with high quality arts programming.  We created the Arts Unite Us program with seed funds from the Special Hope Foundation, and this project at Tam High has been supported by grants from the Green Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation. We are grateful for their generous support.  For more information on how you can support this type of programming, visit our support page, or visit our store at 917  C St. in downtown San Rafael.

Mentor Artist Donna Keiko Ozawa joined the production in December to work with the students on stage props and sets. Here are some photos of the process.

Some of the students’ characters required props they could carry on stage. These were fabricated from simple materials: cardboard, wood, craft foam, metal hinges, and stickers. Students learned how to drill, and colored the wood with permanent markers.

Mentor Artist Donna Keiko Ozawa assists Tevin with marking holes for the hinge on the cellphone prop.

Tevin loves woodworking.

Maribel enjoys working with tools.

Jake learns to drill holes for a hinge.

Various cellphones, PDAs and camera props for the show that students made.

Students also used rubber stamps on foam core to create a miniature cityscape to represent San Francisco on one side of  our large prop of the Golden Gate Bridge.

This process also took into account students’ physical and cognitive abilities to create an aesthetic that worked well with theme of the show.  (Spoiler: There is an earthquake involved…)

The cityscape assembled and will be seen off the Bridge (a larger prop not pictured here).

Maggie working on the fascade of a building in the cityscape prop.

Buildings students stamped for the cityscape.

The cityscape prop is light and portable for quick placement on stage.

Can you imagine this cargo ship off the Bay in the distance? (Foamcore, paint, cardboard, hot glue).

Show time is January 12 and 17. Please join us on Thursday January 12th or 19th at 7PM, Tam High’s Caldwell Theatre, 700 Miller Avenue (near the back parking lot) Mill Valley, CA.  Box office opens at 6:30PM and advance tickets are available online as well.

Below are quotes and photos of the students.

Sophia: “I’m going to be so satisfied when this is finished.”

Sindy: “The handprints on the land can represent the people who live there.”

Kimberly M. “I think we should put a graduation cap in the border because we’re graduating this year.”

"Art To Feelings" Mikyla 11-10-11

The artists at Bayside Elementary and Willow Creek Academy, working with youth in arts mentor artist Marguerite Etemad, made art to music.

First we gathered feeling words, bringing to our minds all the ways that we can feel. We looked at Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstract paintings for inspiration. Then the artists listened closely to the music. As they listened to the music they asked themselves the following questions. How does the music make me feel? What do I imagine?

What is the feeling? What is the Story?

Then they drew with oil pastels while listening to the music. Expressing their feelings and their imaginations in their work.

3rd Grade Bayside Elementary Artists 11-7-11

"The Drum Players" Talia 2nd grade artist Bayside Elementary 11-10-11

The artists listened to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and “The Beat of My Drum” by Babatunde Olatunji while making their art.

2012 started off in fine style as art class was welcomed back with a fun “get back in stride” project. Students were given an option to be a interior designers or create their own banging custom taco truck. The energy was fun a upbeat as students were able to individualize their works with fun themes. This project will lead into a more in-depth interior design project-stay tuned!!-Peace Mr. K-Dub – Willow Creek Art teacher 5th-8th grades.

Artists on the Mural Team started by using collage, watercolors, and colored pencils. Personal thoughts and voices immediately started flowing from the students, who were thrilled to make the covers entirely of their own design.

Students use old magazines and collage papers to create layers of images on their Art Journal covers.

A collaged cover at the end of Day One

Reflection and critique

On days two and three students were encouraged to use acrylic paints to layer on top of their watercolor paintings or collages they had already created.

A student uses the primaries to mix colors and paint on top of her collage.

Students were extremely proud of their journal covers and wanted to share with everyone their thoughts and ideas. During the third class the kids interviewed each other—even coming up with their own questions. Videos to come! Here’s a transcript of one of the interviews.

Sonia: So, why did you join Youth in Arts?

Kathleen: Because I always love art but I don’t have a lot of art supplies at home and my mom doesn’t like the mess so I came here and it’s really fun. I get to hang out with my friends while doing art.

Sonia: What are you painting right now?

Kathleen: I am making the back cover of my art journal right now, using collage and painting.

Sonia: And why are you painting what you’re painting?

Kathleen: Because I like having different themes on all my pages. This one is like Hawaii and this one is mainly animals and arctic things, and then here is like the sunset and African animals.

Sonia: Are you excited about painting the mural?

Kathleen: Yes, because I want to be on TV and I want to be famous, because this could be the beginning of my stardom. And we get a plaque with our names on them and so I can say I made that to my grandchildren and it’s still there.

For more blog posts on the Davidson Mural Project, click here and here.

To get involved in the project Email Mentor Artist, Brooke Toczylowski, at brooke@youthinarts.org. We are looking for volunteers to help organize, paint, provide snacks, prep boards, and more.

Youth in Arts thanks Jerry Tallman of MinuteMan Press for donating the paper utilized in the journal process here and at many other sites.

Youth in Arts Mentor Artist Melissa Briggs is leading this joint effort between students from Mr. Lovejoy’s Marin County Office of Education (MCOE) Special Ed class and the school’s excellent Conservatory Theatre Ensemble (CTE). This arts integration program is the first of its kind in the district, created as part of YIA’s Arts Unite Us program, which aims to bridge gaps between students of differing abilities. Michael Lovejoy and Ben Cleaveland of CTE are incredibly supportive and talented educators, so no wonder students have been such a joy to work with. Just wait until you see what Allison, Becky, Glyn, Jake, Maribel, Monica and Tevin are creating!

The goal of this integrated approach to playmaking is to create an excellent piece of theatre that is process-focused, brings students of differing abilities together, and fosters self-expression and confidence.

ELEMENTS OF THEATRE & THE WRITING PROCESS

Students first met in October. Early classes focused on the elements of theatre with an emphasis on acting and playwriting. The young theatre artists from different departments and of different abilities bonded quickly. The process of creating a theatre piece together then proceeded with intense brainstorming sessions. The young theatre artists documented their discoveries on giant pads of paper with markers to track their creative discussions. They used stickers to vote for and highlight the most important ideas. You can see some examples of their work below.

Brainstorming dramatic themes

Brainstorming play ideas

In November, the play itself emerged from all the brainstorming ideas and playwriting began in earnest – from time and place to character profiles, stage directions and dialogue. Students dived in deep to explore character development, conflict, metaphor, central dramatic theme, deus ex machina and resolution among other theatrical components of playwriting.

Students often broke off into groups of two, working as partners on detailed character development and monologues.

Playwrights collaborate at Tam High School

Tevin and Mentor Artist Melissa note a plot development

Playwriting together

Maribel and Allison collaborate

Allison and Maribel present their ideas

Glyn and Tevin discuss a character

Playwright Monica makes an observation

Jake adds to a character profile with Monica

REHEARSAL PROCESS

Once the script was completed, Her Face to the Sky (PDF) went immediately into rehearsal!  Junior CTE student Glyn took on the role of Director and worked with her castmates and Melissa to block and rehearse the play in December.  The script finds a group of strangers (tourists and locals) mid-span on the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset just moments before a devastating earthquake forces them to work together to get to save a particularly vulnerable young woman, Grace, and each other.

An early table read is an exciting step in the rehearsal process

Tevin rehearses a monologue with Melissa

Allison and Maribel rehearse a mother/daughter scene

Later in December, YIA Mentor Artist Donna Ozawa joined in to support the production with Stagecraft lessons for Mr. Lovejoy’s whole class. All props and set pieces are student designed and created with Donna’s guidance!

Artist Donna and Jake secure hinges on a prop phone

Jake, Becky and Tevin show off a set piece

Director Glyn & Tevin with props

MCOE Speech Language Pathologist Sophie Miles volunteered her expertise by creating an iPad application with the students recorded voices and rehearsal photos to help them learn their lines and prepare for performance.

Sophie's iPad rehearsal with Jake and Tevin

UPCOMING PERFORMANCE

Tam High’s renowned One Act Play Festival is entirely student produced and will provide a fantastic showcase for the work of this dedicated integrated group of young theatre artists. Please join us on Thursday January 12th or 19th at 7PM, Tam High’s Caldwell Theatre, 700 Miller Avenue (near the back parking lot) Mill Valley, CA.  Box office opens at 6:30PM and advance tickets are available online as well.

A CTE poster for the event

Youth in Arts is dedicated to serving youth of all abilities with high quality arts programming.  We created the Arts Unite Us program with seed funds from the Special Hope Foundation, and this project at Tam High has been supported by grants from the Green Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation. We are grateful for their generous support.  For more information on how you can support this type of programming, visit our support page, or visit our store at 917  C St. in downtown San Rafael.