Details of Project- Youth Arts Hands-on Workshop Empowering Honor [Y.A.H.W.E.H.]

 

The Y.A.H.W.E.H. Performing Arts Program is a visual, literary, and performing arts learning laboratory. Music, theatre, dance, and film are introduced to community youth in an 8-week class with two major production programs in the Y.A.H.W.E.H. Performing Arts Theatre where students will:

• Design and build stage sets, create costumes, and bring characters to life through movement, voice, and music.

• Hone skills through five main-stage productions, as well as dance concerts and studio productions. Performances range from classical to contemporary pieces, including musicals, comedies, dramas, and experimental theatre.

 

 Students will interact with professional actors, directors, and designers on our main stage.   They also will have the opportunity to collaborate or intern with companies[RG1]  from Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland’s theatre district.

Main Stage Productions

Three or four plays will be produced each year, with the Ancient Egyptian stage production of Nefertiti 18th Dynasty  running continuously. These productions range from classic to modern musicals such as Fiddler on The Roof Jr. and A Raisin in The Sun, and the famous Fame musical to classic comedies, and contemporary and ancient plays of the widest variety, such as our planned long-running Nefertiti 18th Dynasty, and the history lesson on stage of… Lindy Hop in Harlem[RG2] : The Role of Social Dancing. While training for these productions, students will acquire first-hand knowledge of all major performance styles in the Western theatrical tradition. Production seasons will be set according to the public school calendar cycle.

Acting Technique Camp

Many of our activities take place on a flexible schedule. In addition, the theatre hopes to participate regularly in the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF), inviting ACTF respondents to evaluate main-stage productions and nominate students to compete for national scholarships.

The eight-week course will include:

• Acting I

• Introduction to Theatre Practicum

• Theatre Practicum

• Stagecraft or Elective[RG3] 

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Costume Construction

• Makeup Design

• Stage Management

 

The  performing arts are symbolic, require students to use their imagination, engage in interpretation, and individual expression.. . BSTFPA gives students this opportunity by providing   them with a nurturing environment where they can practice, rehearse, and perform.

 

Artistic Expression
Students develop necessary technique and appropriate vocabulary to communicate artistically.

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Creative Expression
Students use experience and imagination in composition, improvisation, and interpretation of the arts.

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  Historical and Cultural Context
 

Students develop a knowledge and appreciation of the richness and complexity of human history and the diversity of world cultures through the arts.

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Aesthetic Valuing
Students analyze, interpret, and make critical judgments about the arts in accord with intuitive and learned aesthetic principles. We want our students to:

• Discover  who they are—a whole person; a valuable person.

• Feel a sense of belonging and connection

• Acquire important life skills, such as reliability, responsibility, and patience.

•  Become more open to trying something new.

• Experience  pride in their successes.

• Have high expectations for themselves and become active participants in their own lives , rather than spectators.

• Observe personal growth  through sustained effort.

•  Gain a better understanding of human nature and the ability to empathize.

• Become tolerant and open to others' ideas and ways of being.

• Develop appreciation  for all arts.