ENSEMBLE CREATED NEW WORKS by and for YOUNG PEOPLE

Subject matter adaptable from fourth grade through college/adult.

GOAL OF RESIDENCY: Accessing the multiple intelligences, workshops generate and develop material from students own life perspectives (including historical and literary resources) as well as foster growth in curricular areas. The group will select a theme and dynamically transfer this material onto the stage.
In a safe, structured environment, we develop skills in and promote:

• individual work / personal responsibility
•  ensemble work / group responsibility 
• reading and research   
• writing poetry, monologues and scenes
• psycho-physical work 
• breath and body work
• speech and articulation
• improvisation
• basic stage presentation
• theme exploration
• effective communication
• emotional literacy 
  

CIRCUS ARTS RESIDENCY: Adaptable for all ages.

GOAL OF RESIDENCY:: To develop sufficient technical, performance and teamwork skills in students to create a short curriculum-centered circus performance for in-school or evening presentation.

Potential skill areas include individual and group juggling and object manipulation, stilt walking and stilt dancing, acrobatics, equilibristics, physical comedy, slapstick and clowning. These can be combined with a music component to create a circus band to accompany the performance. 

 A variation on the Circus Arts Residency is the Circus for a Fragile Planet Residency, in which students learn basic circus skills and then use them to create original circus acts addressing environmental issues.

Learning circus skills develops dexterity, discipline, strength, balance, hand-eye coordination, trust, communication, and both problem-solving and goal-setting abilities. All of the skills ignite a real sense of success and achievement in the performers, foster team bonding and trust, and give students the immeasurable feeling of having succeeded at something which initially seemed impossible.

Music has developmental and learning benefits which are well documented. Ideally this portion of the residency would be aimed at experienced musicians wanting to stretch and strengthen their skills and knowledge of jazz, blues, ragtime, world music, theatrical and circus music and improvisation.

Curricular tie-ins can be molded to your needs by giving the performance a theme which ties in with curriculum being covered by the students. One might, for example, do a “Renaissance Circus” or a “Wild West Circus”, for which students could do research in history, technology, costumes and fashion, entertainment, etc. A recent thirteen day residency in a Meriden , CT middle school culminated in a thirty minute “Circus History of the World”, from the Big Bang to Albert Clownstein.

 SHAKESPEARE ALIVE! Adaptable for most age groups

This is a residency in which an ARTFARM artist works intensively with a group or groups of students to bring the language, characters and world of Shakespeare to life. The residency combines active exercises and scene work with text analysis (examining metrical structure, literary and rhetorical devices as tools for revealing plot, emotion and action), leading to an ‘off the page and onto your feet' approach to the work. This is an exciting technique for bringing Shakespeare's language, plots and characters to life for students who might otherwise struggle with the challenging language and metrical structure and become permanently turned off to Shakespeare. The ideal “Shakespeare Alive!” residency begins with a performance of ARTFARM's Shakespeare's Argument for the students and culminates in a Shakespeare performance by the students for the school community.

THIRTY MINUTE MIDSUMMER: Grades five and up

The characters, language and plot of one of Shakespeare's most beautiful and accessible plays are brought to life in this residency. Over a minimum of six sessions students rehearse and present a thirty minute version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

 

 

December2009:ARTFARM just completed an eight week residency at Watkinson School in Hartford with two performances of Eat It Up!, an ensemble-created piece about Food and Sustainability. Marcella and Dic worked with eighteen wonderful high school students on developing this piece from student research, writing, movement and group scene work. Thanks to Karen Bovard at Watkinson for providing this opportunity. Below is a small photo gallery from the production. We are now looking to further develop the piece at different venues – any ideas?