Arts

Actors will learn to deal with the technical demands of working in front of the camera while delivering natural and honest performances, become more familiar with on-set etiquette, and learn how to successfully incorporate direction. Taping and playback will be coordinated with the movie making class. Space is limited to 12.

Applied Tech amounts to an on-campus internship, giving students active roles in the design process for each of the Hamden Hall Theatre productions. Students who take Applied Tech become assistant designers in the areas of sets, lighting, and sound. The students are given leadership roles in Production Crew, and they have the freedom to make design decisions that will be fully realized in school productions. The skills they learned in Theatre Design and Production are utilized here. In addition, they will learn how to manage crews, order materials, and provide technical assistance at Hamden Hall events.

This course is an introduction to the sculp­tural, painterly, and functional approaches to ceramics. Students will explore techniques in wheel throwing and construction for hand­ building. The emphasis is on the form and the function of each piece. Specific class assignments are required.

The concert orchestra is a performing ensemble comprised of students who play woodwind, brass, string, and percussion instruments. The class focuses primarily on developing students’ technique on their instruments, their ability to play in an ensemble, and their overall musicianship. Proficiency in reading music and competency playing an instrument are requirements for participation in this ensemble. The concert orchestra is open to both middle school students by audition and to upper school students. Upper school students who enroll in concert orchestra meet twice weekly in small groups and rehearse in a larger group of approximately fifty students on Friday mornings.

The objective of this course is to give students an introduction to the technical skills necessary to use digital cameras, and software as a means of visually communicating their photographic ideas. The course will enable students to shoot digitally and make adjustments in Adobe Photoshop. The use of Adobe Photoshop will be geared towards improving photographic images and not heavy manipu­lation or design. We will explore both the technical and aesthetic side of photography and how the “digital revolution” is changing the medium through a combination of the history of photography, lectures, projects, and student­ designed research.

This course introduces students to the key aspects of directing for the theater: selection and analysis of a script,  directing a show, working with actors in rehearsal, and staging a performance. 

This course aims to provide a basic under­standing of the components of drawing by strengthening the student’s ability to under­stand and convey spatial and tonal relation­ships. It covers various drawing techniques, such as perception, perspective, modeling, space, and articulation. The subject matter covers still life, landscape, figure drawing, and illustration. Students will investigate the three-­dimensional world, exploring structure, mass, weight, and volume in a series of exer­cises geared to strengthen their ability to see. A variety of media is encouraged including pencil, charcoal, ink, and watercolor.

This course is designed to teach basic movement and presentational techniques, including the development of physical awareness and control. Classes will focus on musical theater dance, solo voice presentation, ensemble performance, and more.

In this course, students build their own portfolios with direction from the instructor. For interested juniors, this course may represent a realistic alternative to the extensive and vigorous requirements of the AP portfolio. For talented juniors, this course may represent a start towards developing a true AP portfolio the following year. To enroll in this course, a student must follow a procedure similar to developing an independent course: student and instructor together present a plan for building the portfolio.
 *Permission of the Department and Academic Dean required.

Participation in the jazz ensemble is offered to those students who are interested in learning to play jazz. The repertoire will include compositions from the classical jazz repertoire, as well as contemporary pieces. In addition, students will study jazz chord progressions and their related scales so that they can then create their own improvised solos. Auditions may be required. The jazz ensemble rehearses once a week after school.

This course explores two-dimensional concepts on an advanced level through a variety of materials. Students develop areas previously studied in the other two ­dimensional art courses—including color, composition, line, shape, positive­-negative space—on a more sophisticated and in­-depth level. Painting, drawing, and/or printmaking are not seen as separate entities, but as connecting disciplines. Collage effects are used to enhance two-­dimensional study.

This course provides an opportunity for the individual to develop skills in musicianship through the experience of choral singing. Students will learn and perform a wide repertoire that includes many styles of music. They will learn the solfege system as a means to sight sing, as well as developing vocal technique and ear training. Students in this course are expected to participate as members of the chorus in the winter and spring concerts.

The focus of this course is on color, drawing, and composition. Students will gain familiarity and skill with paint, paper, and brushes. The techniques and application of watercolor will be emphasized. Experimentation with water-based media (such as gouache, ink washes, and acrylic) as well as work with drawing materials will be encouraged. Emphasis will be on a visual response to color and form.

Theater Design and Production is a studio/theory course introducing students to the process through which theatrical endeavors are realized. The class will study theater architecture, history, organization, and the design process. Students will gain practical knowledge of evocative research, model making, hand drafting, and design concepts in the areas of sets, lights, and sound. Each design area will culminate in a design presentation for a hypothetical production. There is a requirement of 30 production hours to be completed by participation in Production Crew or involvement in a production’s Run Crew.

Theater Making is an introductory performance course focused on the creation of original work through improvisational acting skills and group devising. Throughout the year, students will cycle between games and exercises focused on building comfort on stage, quick and committed decision making, and the acting skills necessary to build a character, as well as ensemble building exercises and projects based on given creation prompts that will ultimately lead the students to the creation of a polished play. Students will create the text through writings and improvisations, build character through activities and games, and will encounter the variety of ways in which the theater arts interact with other disciplines. This is an excellent course for those students trying performance for the first time.

This is a practical, project-based course that will cover many aspects of making movies, with an emphasis on visual storytelling. Using phones or video cameras, students will learn filming techniques, types of shots, shot angles, and the best ways to portray various moments in a film. Students will learn how to storyboard their ideas and plan out the best way to explore the plot, emotion, and overall feeling of their movies. As well, students will focus on editing and be able to add titles, sound effects, music, green screen, narration, special effects, and transitions to their movies.  Some of the film styles covered will include silent film, music video, documentary, commercial, and social media videos.  Enrollment will be limited. 
Permission of the instructor is required.