Portrait Stories, one of the New Voices New Visions programs, combines visual art with theatre art in an exploration of the people around us.  As students enter the room on the first day, a hundred faces surround them.  Pictures of old and young, happy and sad, rich and poor fill the classroom.  As they look into their eyes, they wonder at their lives, imagine their stories, and discover their secrets.  Through writing and theatre exercises, students are taught to tap into their knowledge, their imagination and their empathy to create rich characters that have something to tell the world.  As they continue their exploration, they will write narrative monologues to tell the stories of their characters.  Creating vivid characters in writing will lead to learning acting tools to bring those same characters to life in a staged reading performance.

 

As the residency continues with the visual artist, students will learn the techniques of portraiture to express a person’s inner feelings on paper.  They will look at the work of famous artists and discover how they introduce us to their friends and patrons, sometimes giving us clues about the true nature of their subjects. 

 

Portrait Stories teaches students to observe and look beyond, to consider and empathize, and how to use the tools of visual art and theatre to share what they perceive.  

 

 

 

Incorporates:  writing, storytelling, staged reading, collage, drawing, painting, portraiture and more.

 

Photos    

-Kiki, Chuck Close
-Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and Wife by Jan van Eyck
-Picnic on the Grass... Alone, Faith Ringgold

What is “Freedom”?  What makes a “Hero”?  Who has the “Good Life”?  Are you sure?  Through an in-depth examination of one of the themes, students are challenged to create an ensemble piece that reflects their personal points of view as well as expressing the theme as a whole. 

 

In The Way I See It, a New Voices New Visions program, students will scour over source material, such as newspaper articles, textbooks, poetry, stories, research papers, letters, etc. to find the different voices they need for their piece.  They will add their own words and stories sometimes through interviews, to create an oral presentation that expresses the many facets of their chosen theme.  They will learn how to evoke the imagination of their audience through simple narrative techniques, characterizations and storytelling.  Perhaps they will find music or movement to incorporate. 

 

During the visual art visits, each student will develop the theme through a personal work of art that expresses their individual values.  Through collage or assemblage, students will use the principles of design to create a unified work of art that is both personal and communicative. 

 

The Way I See It provides students with the opportunity to examine a theme in-depth, use a variety of source material in an original piece, learn to work as a team as well as independently, and to express their views in a creative form that communicates to an audience.

 

 

 

 

Incorporates:  oral interpretation, writing, choral reading, collage, drawing, painting, poetry. 

 

Photos      

-Okola, Kurt Schwitters
-Summer, Jasper Johns
-On the Balcony, Peter Blake