WEBB Magazine excerpt: Webb Today The Arts

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RTS IMAGINING THE POSSIBILITIES What can playing an instrument, treading the boards, painting scenery, crafting a ceramic piece or creating a podcast provide an intelligent, multi-tasking student— especially one who is sustaining a rigorous academic schedule?

How about these essential, lifelong skills: time management, dedication, discipline, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, overcoming fears, stress management, passion and the simple, yet well-known fact that life isn’t always fair.

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“ On a day-to-day basis, the arts give students the opportunity to be creative and expressive in ways that are different from their other classes or activities,” says Stefanie Plumley, chair of the arts department. “For example, blurting out the free association of ideas or physicalizing of emotions or ideas would be disruptive in a traditional class, but is very welcome, and even encouraged in a theater class.”

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oday’s students have come of age in the Information Age — a period in history characterized by the shift from traditional industry to an economy based on information computerization. In addition to the knowledge found in lectures and textbooks, learning in the Information Age isn’t wholly dependent on what a student knows, but also his or her ability to find and use that information quickly, creatively and cooperatively. That makes study of the arts an integral development of each student.

Arts education refers to education in the disciplines of music, dance, theater and visual arts. There is a two-year arts requirement at Webb; Plumley explains that many students stay with the subject they begin with in their freshman year, while others use their second year to explore something different. And the range of options is remarkable.

“The arts department strives to serve all students interested in the arts, from the dedicated and devoted to those who just want to dabble and explore,” says Plumley. “All of the disciplines (theater, instrumental music, vocal music, visual arts and media arts) offer introductory skills courses, as well as advanced classes.” Additionally, honors classes are offered for instrumental music, vocal music and visual and media arts. And there are evening labs where students can work one-on-one with their teachers.

“Our afternoon programs are strong and very popular amongst the student body,” adds Plumley. “The theater program rehearses our mainstage play and musical in the fall and spring seasons, dance is offered during the fall, and the dance

company is selected during the winter season in preparation for the January dance show. Also during the winter season, instrumentalists use afternoon time to rehearse individually or practice in small groups. In the spring artists can work on their portfolios or collaborate on group projects. For those who like to work behind the scenes, we offer theater tech for all three seasons. Those in the tech program learn about stagecraft, lighting, sound and design and work as the crew for the play, the dance show and the musical.”

The skills developed through theater not only train students how to convincingly deliver a message, but also build the confidence they need to take command of the stage. And theater tech work is a good way to learn how to think on one’s feet, to identify problems, evaluate solutions and figure out what to do.

The programs are supported by passionate educators and first-rate facilities. In addition to being teachers, all of the faculty members in the arts department are working artists. For example, instrumental music teachers Linda Silva and Kyle Champion are performing artists in professional orchestras and faculty members at colleges (Silva at California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and Pomona College, and Champion at the University of Redlands). These connections also link students to music events at the colleges. Ardina Greco, visual arts teacher, recently received her Ph.D. in art education, Jackie Leishman, art teacher, is a local artist who has a studio practice and exhibits frequently; and Michael Szanyi, dance teacher, works with several dance companies in the Los Angeles area.

Jonathan Capone pioneered our digital arts program; he started out teaching two introductory media arts classes in the Copeland Donahue Theater and has since added two advanced classes and an honors media arts class. Capone helps teachers and students incorporate creative technologies into their art.

According to Plumley, one of the greatest strengths of the department is the collaboration between her and Technical Theater Director Alex Valdez.

“We endeavor to run the department like a professional theater,” Plumley explains. “There are the practical elements of running a theater—managing the systems, designing and running all kinds of events and performances, scheduling the use of the spaces, production schedules, the inventory and care of our props, sets, costumes, and make up, ticket sales, and

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establishing community with parents, the student body and the greater Claremont area. Our primary focus (and passion) is teaching the kids about all aspects of theater. We want them to be knowledgeable about their craft and confident in their abilities so that they can be proud of doing exceptional work.

For this reason, so much of our time is spent teaching skills, talking about theory, focusing on technique, and the rigors and rewards of professional behavior.”

Equally important, says Plumley, is stressing that theater is truly a “team activity, and everybody is valuable, and everybody must do their part to make it all work! Obviously, we love it when things go off without a hitch, but one of the greatest things for us is to see the kids pull together and fix something when it is in danger of going horribly wrong!”

The arts cannot be learned through slapdash or random exposure any more than math or science can. And that is why it is also important for students to have professional spaces in which to express themselves and practice. The Liu/Cheung Theater with its sophisticated lighting and sound capabilities has allowed teachers and students to produce almost anything they can imagine. The Copeland Donahue Theater also presents myriad opportunities for dancers and singers.

“The ‘sprung’ floor (constructed to absorb shocks in Copeland Donahue Theater) makes it a comfortable place for dancers to rehearse, and our vocalists can really open up in that big, airy space,” says Plumley.

Most recently, Plumley directed students in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. She started the rehearsal process with students/actors writing down all the things they remembered about the characters—with most of the comments adhering to the cultural mythology about the play.

“As we began to explore the work and ran a fine-tooth comb through every line, action and date, we discovered that our assumptions often didn’t hold up to textual analysis. The actions of the characters on the page were often at odds with the stage directions. As we moved through the rehearsal process, we held fast to the dialogue, assumed nothing and questioned everything. The result was a modern day, modern dress Crucible. The modern dress was not to align the story with any specific event that is happening now, but to illuminate that while fashion, technology, and social mores change, human behavior rarely does,” she says.

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eyond taking classes and being involved in dance and theater afternoon programs, there are many ways students can express themselves at Webb, including student art shows (known as “Art Cafes”) or in “on-demand” rehearsal spaces where students who play an instrument or want to jam with friends can play and practice. There is also a team of pianists who play for the weekly chapel program.

Teachers across the academic spectrum are also assigning projects that integrate the arts into assignments, so students can access the theaters—and also the technology to create short films, podcasts, music and photography in the Digital Media Studio. In the W. Russell Fawcett Memorial Library,

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Mark Dzula, director of teaching and learning resources, hosts a performance series that takes place every Friday where students can perform a set on acoustic or digital instruments, with many students performing works of their own creation.

Scholar) and Vicky Alejandro ’14 is a major force in Columbia University’s a capella groups. Ben Davis ’11 played the French horn at Webb and went on to study at the USC Thornton School of Music; he currently works as a music production specialist and professional guitarist in Los Angeles.

Students benefit at all levels of participation; several recent studies

Plumley also continues her study of theater, as does Valdez, by going to national conferences, taking classes with professional groups in Los Angeles and beyond, and seeing plays and musicals throughout the year (often with Webb students in tow).

have concluded that the creativity and innovation utilized in the artistic process will be highly valued by employers in the United States in the coming years as the nation continues to shift into a global economy.

And many Webb students go on to successful artistic endeavors in college and beyond. Jack Gilliat ’13 graduated from the American Academy of Music and Drama in New York City; Marcus Baldwin ’16 is in the acting program at CalArts; and Allie Glukova ’17 is at the Parsons School of Design. Many more have continued with the arts at big universities and small liberal arts colleges: Amber Goboy ’09 (Stanford) and Nathan Turczan ’09 (Santa Cruz) both majored in opera. Goboy is working on an opera career in Hong Kong, and Turczan is pursuing a post-grad degree in digital music at CalArts. Dylan Turczan ’16 received a performing scholarship to Willamette University and several recent graduates are currently pursuing degrees in technical theater. Brendon Baptista ’12 continued to study the bassoon at Harvard (where he was also a Fulbright

As for what’s coming up in the theater, Plumley has decided to return to her beginnings at Webb. In 2008, her first big musical production was Les Misérables.

“So much has happened during that time. We built the beautiful and technically sophisticated Liu/Cheung Theater, hired a technical director, created a dance company, and the program has doubled in size and is still growing! So, to celebrate all the amazing things that have happened over the last 10 years, and to honor the exceptional talent of our performers, we’re doing Les Misérables again this year.”

The show runs from May 17-19, 2018. For more information, go to webb.org/page/arts/theater.