PAE Postcard April 2006

U.S. Poet Laureate in CNY
Ted Kooser Comes to Syracuse
Partners for Arts Education will host Community Life through Poetry:  Literacy Redefined through Artistic Expression, the second annual arts education luncheon featuring keynote speaker Ted Kooser, the U.S. Poet Laureate, on Tuesday, May 9th from 12:00 – 2:30 pm at the Wyndham Hotel in East Syracuse.  This event is open to the public for $40 per person, $300 for a sponsorship table, and $30 for teachers and students.  For information about the luncheon reservations, program advertising, and the other arts-in-ed initiatives relating to Mr. Kooser’s visit, go to the PAE web site.  This event, in partnership with the YMCA’s Downtown Writer’s Center, is supported by funding from the CNY Community Foundation, the Syracuse City School District, and the Post Standard.

Workshops for Teachers – “Demystifying the Poem”
As part of the project, PAE is offering a 2-hour workshop that will look at poetry as not only a stand-alone unit of study with ELA teachers but a powerful tool in any classroom.  Hands-on activities to share with students will be presented along with methods of strengthening reading comprehension, cross-curricular applications, and general elements of poetry as a creative art to integrate into core subject instruction.   

The workshop is open to all CNY teachers on Wednesday, April 19th, 3:30 – 5:30.  Please call PAE at 234.9911 to register by Friday, April 14 for this free training opportunity. (There is a minimum enrollment of 5 for the workshop.)

The workshop will be facilitated by Georgia Popoff, a CNY community poet.  It is sponsored by PAE as part of the Community Life through Poetry  program, with funding from the CNY Community Foundation. 

Kooser to meet with Syracuse City Schools Students

Twenty five Syracuse City Schools have created Laureate Teams to represent their school communities at the luncheon with U. S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser on May 9th. Each school is developing its own creative expression of Community Life in Poetry for the Laureate Teams of two students and one teacher to bring to the luncheon, which is open to the public. You can find out more about the Laureate Teams and all the events connected with Ted Kooser’s visit to Syracuse at our website.  

Poets and Their Students Read at B&N
Barnes & Noble Booksellers – Dewitt has been hosting a series of readings from school poetry projects related to the “Community Life in Poetry” program.  Our next reading will be Wednesday, April 12 at 7 pm.  Students from Nottingham High School’s Meadowbrook Magazine will be reading their poetry. You can see some examples of student poetry from earlier readings at our website.

CommonGround Arts-in-Ed Conference
The 2006 edition of CommonGround was perhaps our most exciting, stimulating, and, well, fun conference yet! CNY arts in education community members made a great showing with:
- Marlene Roeder from the Everson Museum participating in the Museum Initiative; 
- Heidi Holtz from the Rosamond Gifford Foundation collaborating in a funding forum;
- Meredith Snow sharing expertise on therapeutic arts learning;
- Michael Cunningham from Liverpool Schools and Marty Evans from Watkins Glen offering administrative perspectives with Marsha Wheeler from Oswego BOCES.

Lesley Tillotson (CNY Arts Council), Lauren Unbekant (Syracuse Stage), Pete Rush (Hangar Theatre), Anne Rhodes (Teaching Artist), Kathy Moragne (Ilion Schools), and many, many more CNY neighbors brought their voices into the mix to advocate for stronger arts in education practice in our region. 

For a peek at the inspiriting keynote speakers and the workshops that we attended, check out our website. Photos will be available soon. 

Apply for a School Arts Partnership Grant
The application for the 2006-07 School Arts Partnership grant is now available at our website.SAP provides matching funds ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for artists and/or cultural organizations to partner with public and private K-12 schools to support projects that focus on the interdisciplinary and/or integrated study of arts and non-arts subjects.  The application deadline is Monday, May 8, 2006.  You can find out more about the grants at our website.

March Roundtable Does the Introductions
The CNY Arts Ed Roundtable met at the Assisi Center Auditorium to introduce this newly available performance space and welcome it to our network. People enjoyed the “Speed Networking” as a less formal way to discuss needs, skills, and plant seeds for future partnerships and projects. We had 17 energetic attendees, and nine were at Roundtable for the first time. Welcome!

The final Roundtable for the 2005-06 season will be on Tuesday, June 20, 3:30-5:30. We’ll keep you posted.

Resources
Showcase of Teaching Artists
Madison-Oneida and Oswego County BOCES Annual Arts-In-Education Showcase
Friday, May 19, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Millard Hawk Primary School, 74 School Dr., Central Square
The Arts-in-Education Showcase is an opportunity for artists to present a preview of their educational program offerings to those responsible for scheduling Arts-in-Education activities in their CNY school buildings.  Fourteen artists/touring theater companies from all over the country will present 20-minute performances throughout the day.  Parents, teachers, and school administrators can evaluate high quality arts-in-education performances before presenting them to their schools.  An exhibit area is also available for teachers to meet with artists and other performing arts organizations.

The following criteria are considered while selecting artists:
·   the artistic integrity of the performance
·   the artist’s arts-in-education program
·   representation of diverse cultures and varied artistic disciplines
·   emphasis on artists or groups who have had limited exposure in our region

 Teachers, librarians, parents, administrators, school board members, and PTO members are welcome to attend. This is a great opportunity to preview artists for your school's 2005-2006 Arts-In-Education programming. If you are interested in exhibit space at the Showcase, the application deadline is Friday, April 7. For more information or to register visit http://www.oswegoboces.org/arts, or contact Matthew Wentworth at mwentworth@oswegoboces.org or 315-963-4249.

Teaching Artist Training in NYC
The Irondale Ensemble Project Teaching Artist Intensives
April 21-23, May 12-14, or June 2-4
Price: $375 (Sign up early and receive a $50 discount.)
Contact: Maria Knapp,
718.488.9233
www.irondale.org

Three days of hands-on, on-your-feet work in a collaborative environment will give you valuable tools to begin or enhance your career as a teaching artist.  The workshops will immerse you in 17 hours of introductory and group-building exercises, improvisational techniques ideally suited to the classroom, and Irondale's unique approach to creating original work.  Learn to communicate with teachers and build a culture of collaboration to integrate theater arts education concepts with existing classroom curricula.
Workshops will offer tools for both short and long-term residencies in a variety of settings and environments.

Fundamentals of Play Writing Workshop -  Scholarships for Qualified Young Writers
8 Wednesdays, April 12 - May 31, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Downtown YMCA, 340 Montgomery St., Syracuse
Contact: Phil Memmer, 474-6851, ext. 314, phil@ymcaarts.org or David Feldman, 445-4028
The workshop in the basics of play writing, directed by Armory Square Playhouse Artistic Director David Feldman, will emphasize writing dramatic dialogue, creating effective plot, and the fundamentals of character development.  Participants in the workshop will read and discuss each other's works in progress. Each member of the class will complete a short play or the first scene or act of a longer play.

Armory Square Playhouse will offer two $45 scholarships to writers 25 or under, which will be awarded on the basis of submitted creative work. The workshop is not limited to young writers.

Opportunities
Summer Apprenticeships at Capital Rep in Albany
Capital Repertory Theater in Albany is offering several apprenticeships for its S.T.A.R. Program, a summer-camp full-day program for adolescents ages 12-18. There are openings for Musical Director/Accompanist, Stage Management, Visual Art Teacher, and Stagecraft Teacher apprentices. The program runs July/August. No resumes will be accepted via e-mail. Interviews will be conducted by phone beginning April 1st.  For more information, contact:
Jill Rafferty
Capital Repertory Theatre
111 N. Pearl St., Albany, NY  12207
(518) 694-4000 x 10
e-mail: education@capitalrep.org

Partners for Arts Education
Delavan Center Suite 221  501 W. Fayette St.  Syracuse, NY  13202
315.234.9911  info@arts4ed.org  www.arts4ed.org

State of the Arts

NYSCA