Most people think of sleep-away camps with one stereotype- an unpopulated area of land with wood cabins and many different activities for kids and teens to try. However, SOCAPA (School of Creative and Performing Arts) is unique. Instead of being in the middle of nowhere, SOCAPA camps are held on campuses right in the middle of big cities. In addition to having a range of teen programs in the creative arts, SOCAPA stands out for attracting special and creative people. Despite a large percentage of international students and various languages spoken, there was a camaraderie and feeling of community between campers that made the time there even more enjoyable. This camp helps bring together people from other countries through the arts in a safe, yet urban environment.
When I attended SOCAPA in Brooklyn, I had an unexplainably extraordinary experience. As a participant in the 2-week digital photography program I was given a chance to learn from a professional how to develop my skills in using a camera. With my trusty Nikon D5100, a pair of sneakers and some sunglasses, I was able to dive into the New York City scene and create art I never imagined I could have made. [click to continue….]
Tagged as:
Digital Photography,
Fuerza Bruta,
International Center of Photography,
School of Creative and Performing Arts,
SOCAPA
This spring the students of Film Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC) program had the amazing opportunity to go with their mentor, Larry Maslon, to the Tisch School Of The Arts building of the New York University, for an enriching opportunity of experiencing a film editing workshop with one of the most prestigious professors of NYU’s film program, Jennifer Ruff. This program has been ranked in the top 3 in the country. The workshop lasted about two hours and since Larry is a professor at NYU, after the workshop, the group had the chance to visit the area of the Graduate Acting Program.
The workshop started with a warm welcoming from Professor Ruff and her assistant, who is one of her current students. Some members of the group shared their personal experiences, questions, opinions and concerns about what goes on during the editing process. Some people from the group had already some experience making films, mostly personal projects they did for fun, and even then, they noticed some of the major issues film editors come across at the time of editing the film. For example, the amount of material you end up throwing away, and cutting because it simply doesn’t work, or is not what the film needs. After discussing previous experiences the professor gave the group some simple, yet incredibly useful and necessary tips to have in mind when editing a film. [click to continue….]
Tagged as:
Debra Messing,
Edi Gathegi,
Idina Menzel,
Jennifer Ruff,
Larry Maslon,
New York University,
Tisch School Of the Arts
I have always adored the Arts. I play both piano and classical guitar, and enjoy drawing, painting, writing, singing, and attending performances of all kinds. As a longtime New Jersey resident (although I was born in New York) I first became exposed to the New York City art scene when I was in third grade and was lucky enough to audition for and get a spot in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus. Nine years later I have performed in 19 productions.
That was how I got started. However, it was not until I learned about High 5/Teen Reviewers and Critics two years ago that I was exposed to the vast panoply of art NYC has to offer. From Broadway, to Off-Broadway, MoMA, to the Whitney Museum of American Art, I have experienced some incredible art I never would have seen or heard without High 5. Participating in the Theater TRaC program taught by Winter Miller was one of the highlights of my junior year as it gave me a chance to improve my writing, see thought-provoking shows, and meet other artistically inclined teenagers.
I am currently editing the High 5 Review as an intern with TRaC Program Director, Eric Ost. I thoroughly enjoy reading all the reviews submitted by TRaC students and the High 5 Review Freelancers Corps— and I hope you will, too! The sheer number and diversity of art-going opportunities offered by High 5 is truly staggering. Be sure to sample some of the events available ASAP and as often as possible!
~Logan Erickson
(Me: pictured above in the MET production of La Boheme in Fall 2011.)
Tagged as:
High 5 Alumni,
Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus,
Teen Reviewers and Critics,
WHERE THEY ARE NOW
Museums are great in the daylight – all noble marble columns and elderly white-haired curators – but every little curious mind has wondered what it is, exactly, that happens in the dark.
E.L. Konigsberg’s The Mixed Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler indulged that question in the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Night at the Museum gave it a roar in the Museum of Natural History. The Museum Mile Festival opens its doors for three hours longer on one humid summer evening every year, and art-crossed lovers wander 5th Avenue with Starry Night on the mind.
Last week, the Guggenheim, too, entered that afterhours fantasy world, hosting its first-ever “Teen Night.” From 5 ‘til 8:30pm, teens were invited into the annex levels to view the work of Dutch portrait photographer Rineke Djikstra. The program also included a talk with the artist, senior curator Jennifer Blessing, and Almerisa, one of Djikstra’s longtime subjects. The event was staffed by teens from the in-house volunteer program and the NYC Museum Teen Summit, a collective of youth leaders dedicated to improving teen programming in local arts institutions. Each teen docent circulated around a room, dressed in all black but for a bright, round orange button that said “Ask Me About Art!”
Djikstra’s retrospective at the Guggenheim features many moments of transition: maidens becoming mothers, students becoming soldiers. But the most prominent shift in this exhibition is adolescence. Djikstra is an expert in the art of awkward: behind her lens she captures the uncomfortable gap between child and young adult, from girls on South Carolina beaches to dancers in nightclubs. [click to continue….]
Smart phones, convertibles, skyscrapers, computers—the present day is a fast-paced, impersonal sea of chrome and automation. But amid the smog of big business and the ever-present buzz of city street chatter, The Moth is dedicated to reviving the lost art of storytelling.
Aside from its StorySLAMs (audience members place their names in a hat, and are randomly called upon to present their true stories on stage), The Moth offers story-crafting workshops led by seasoned authors and StorySLAM contributors. Dubbed MothSHOPs, the two-month long classes are led in a cool, comfortable environment reminiscent of a campfire get-together—participants share funny quips and anecdotes of daily life as they come (one of many: a MothSHOP participant was forced to buy five Airheads sticks for ten dollars by a persuasive teenage candy salesman). [click to continue….]
Tagged as:
MothSHOP,
The Moth
One of the great things about living in New York City is that we have the opportunity to do things that many people wouldn’t get to do anywhere else; for example, a free week-long immersion into Shakespeare run by the professionals behind Shakespeare in the Park.
This was my second summer doing Shakespeare Lab Jr., and I wondered how it would be compared to last year. This five-day program held at the Public Theater on Lafayette Street is aimed at the same people who are part of High 5: teens (13-19) living in the five boroughs.
Last year I was put in the 8th/9th grade group, but this year I was going to be in the 10th/11th/12th grade group, and I worried it would be more intense. It was in a different studio, and with none of the same people as last year, but some teens had done it before, as I had.
The workshop includes learning about a Shakespeare play and its characters, doing theater warm-ups/games, and focusing on sonnet writing and structure. At the end of the week, parents are invited to a presentation. [click to continue….]
Tagged as:
Programs for Teens,
Shakespeare in the Park,
Shakespeare Lab Jr.,
Summer Shake Up,
The Public Theater
On a breezy Tuesday afternoon, many Manhattanites were sitting on the newly opened Highline and enjoying the gardens overlooking Chelsea. It was underneath this public park that fifteen teenagers decided to take over a plot of land and plant a party.
“Why not bring a culture to the Highline and try to make it more than just a walkway with a garden,” said Spencer Brown, 16, welcoming people on the street with what he called a “mobile” lemonade stand. [click to continue….]
Tagged as:
Digital Day Camp,
Eyebeam,
The High Line
Lucy Thurber‘s play Monstrosity, featuring “singing teenage fascists, magic, war, and love”, is one of the most ambitious theater productions I have ever experienced. With a cast of over forty people, three acts, and cold tangy lemonade during intermissions, Monstrosity was basically two hours of intensity and fun.
Did I mention I was in it?
[click to continue….]
Tagged as:
Connelly Theater,
Lucy Thurber
