One of the unique aspects of the Academy of the Pacific Rim is that while our focus is on the goal of preparing our students for a successful future college experience, we value the arts as part of that objective. Therefore, the philosophy of the Arts program at the Academy of the Pacific Rim is to give our students a foundation in the arts that they can apply to the rest of their learning and give our students a well-rounded, full and complete education that fosters student's creativity and artistic perspectives. Our methodology involves a balance of theatre history and hands-on workshops and performance projects that engage students in their learning, build their literacy through a variety of modalities, and develop leadership skills. Our goal is to empower students to continue their learning beyond APR, whether in the arts or applied to any college or career path they choose.
All students at the Academy of the Pacific Rim begin their arts education by taking two years of dramatic art and two years of visual art. For drama, these middle school exploratory classes lay a foundation for dramatic skills that they can use whether pursuing theatre later in their educational career or applying their drama skills to their other academic learning. At the high school level, students who have found their inner dramatic voice can continue their artistic studies as part of our extra-curricular program, which includes theatre production as well as becoming an active member in our International Thespian Society Troupe.
5th Grade Drama: The Dramatic Ensemble as Storyteller
Our youngest students at APR participate in a class once a week as an introduction to Drama. The purpose of the course is to develop the student's sense of the ensemble, use of voice and posture to create characters, and develop pace and timing for performance. Students work on projects in small groups to reach these goals, and often there are links to their other academic courses. Unit topics often include: cultural storytelling, tableaux, and monologue work as a means to build self-confidence and develop the ensemble and teamwork.
7th Grade Drama: Theatre Then and Now
Our older middle school students participate in a Drama class twice a week. The purpose of the course is to explore all aspects of theatre: performance, technical design, and history. Students continue their development of voice and physical movement to portray characters; they explore color, balance and style to reflect the mood and setting for a play; they use script-writing methods to create and produce stories and characters for performance; they use constructive criticism to critically analyze professional productions and performances of their peers. Unit topics often include: Greek Theatre (the use of the chorus), Shakespeare (analyzing text, character and scene performance), Radio Theatre (script writing and performance), American theatre history and technical design (scene design), and Community Voices (monologue and scene writing based on social issues of concern to create change in our communities). Our goal is for students to discover the connections between theatre history and modern day influences, not only in the Arts but across the curriculum and beyond the school walls. Throughout all units, there is a continuous focus on the importance of critical thinking and the process over the end-product in order to achieve personal and group success.
HS Production and Theatre Education:
At the high school level, students have the opportunity to take part in Theatre as an extra-curricular option. We produce a large full-length play in the fall and a student-teacher co-directed one-act in the winter that is performed at a state festival competition. In the spring, students have the opportunity to continue their leadership and build their skills by directing and coordinating a production with their peers, as part of our Z.I.P.S. program.
Our production goals focus on acting (creating fully developed, motivated characters), technical design (set, costume, lighting and sound design to create the mood and setting for a play), and directing (developing an "eye" for the pace, timing, and balance of a production).
In addition, high school students may choose a more in depth focused theatre study as part of Project Week. These intensive courses (often 3-5 days at length) provide an opportunity to develop a variety of Drama skills such as acting, directing, storytelling, and theatre for social change.
In addition, high school students may choose a more in depth focused theatre study as part of Project Week. These intensive courses (often 3-5 days at length) provide an opportunity to develop a variety of Drama skills such as acting, directing, storytelling, and theatre for social change.
Z.I.P.S. Program (Zoom Into Productions by Students):
Overview: The purpose of the Z.I.P.S. program is to empower high school Thespians to produce their own Theatre productions for our APR community. With the assistance of the Theatre Director, student leaders will be trained and coached to execute all aspects of a Theatre production, while maintaining all creative control of their work (including directing, technical design, and performances).
Responsibility Roles: The Z.I.P.S. program allows for two main responsibility positions for high school students:
- Artistic Director: Direct, coach, and guide the actors in their character roles and objectives and create an ensemble that works together; work with the technical director and production coordinator regarding scheduling, production planning, and artistic vision.
- Technical Director: Oversee and organize the tech. crews (props, set, costumes, lights, sound) to ensure that all deadlines are met; work with the artistic director and production coordinator for production vision, planning, scheduling.
- Production Coordinator: Oversee and organize the entire production, coordinating publicity and programs, attendance, fliers; work with the technical and artistic directors to facilitate rehearsal and tech. schedules and keeping the production focused and on target for performance.
Prerequisites:
- Artistic Director: In order to take on a leadership role as an Artistic Director, you must have previously held the position of Stage Manager, Student Director, Prop. Master, or other leadership position. Participation in 4 prior productions is also required.
- Technical Director: In order to take on the oversight of the tech. team, you must have previously held the position of Stage Manager, Student Director, Prop. Master, Scene Designer or other production leadership position. Participation in 2 prior productions is also required.
- Production Coordinator: In order to oversee the entire production, you must have previously participated in at least 2 prior productions and have demonstrated strong leadership skills in productions and/or the Thespian Troupe.
- Tech. Designers: In order to participate in ZIPS, you must have previously participated on a tech. crew for a previous production.
- Actors and Tech. Crew: ZIPS promotes an opportunity to build student's skills within a small production setting. No other acting/crew experience is necessary.
- All participants must also maintain passing grades in all of their classes.
For more information on how you can get involved in Z.I.P.S. or any of our theatre programs, please contact Meegan Turet.
