Middlesex County Classes
GRADES 9-12
Acting
Students will be partnered with other students in the class to work on scripted scenes. Through exercises and critical feedback, the students will learn professional techniques to help them develop interesting and truthful characters in a variety of settings and situations dictated by the written script. THIS COURSE CAN BE TAKEN FOR COLLEGE CREDIT, PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE FOR DETAILS.
Contemporary/Modern Dance
This course blends techniques from ballet, jazz, modern and lyrical genres and will provide development through theory and practical application. The first period encompasses different styles of movement and technique. The second period will include choreography which students will participate with the instructor to create a contemporary piece. The class will emphasize the practice of composition skills, clarity of movement, initiation, body articulation, and dynamics of performance and will focus on the development of small group work and solos. Dance history will be included in this course in addition to discovering new contemporary choreographers and dancers. Written reports must be submitted.
THIS COURSE CAN BE TAKEN FOR COLLEGE CREDIT.
Creative Photography
This hands-on course will help students find and develop their unique personal vision. As students become more familiar with their camera’s capabilities combined with aesthetic principles, they will change how they see through the lens. By practicing technical skills in portraiture, lighting and still life as well as numerous in camera techniques, they will explore the language of photography. Through experimentation they will develop their own self-expression. Every week aspects of fine art, nature, portrait, journalism, street photography and the business of photography will be discussed. Using weekly assignments and open critiques, students will learn to talk about their work and constructively comment on others work. Students must have access to a camera with adjustable settings and access to a computer to process their images.
Music Improv Ensemble
This course is designed to teach students to improvise in a variety of musical styles including jazz, rock, blues, pop and classical. Basic music theory, scales, melodic vocabulary, and motive development techniques will be covered. Students will analyze elements of each style and learn to create improvised solos and melodies in the style. Repertoire for the class and final concert during the festival will be chosen by students and instructor.
Prose & Poetry
The student will plan, write weekly in several genres of creative writing and revise fiction and nonfiction, including short stories, poetry, articles, and novels. Readings in every genre will be assigned as examples, and students will discuss the craft elements that are important in each genre. There will be a strong emphasis on revision as well as class critiques of student work. Students will discuss the audience and possibilities of publication. The goal of the class is for each student to create a portfolio of original works in the best form they can achieve.
Songwriting
This course will examine the elements of songwriting. Topics covered will include song form/structure, rhythm/meter, creating chord progressions, bass lines, melody and lyric writing, harmonic analysis, and modulations. Students will write songs in a variety of musical styles including jazz, rock, pop and classical.
Visual Arts – Sculpture
This course offers an exploration of language and materials of traditional sculpture. Development of skill and understanding the basic elements of sculptural form through modeling, carving, and casting. Examination of the works of sculptors through slides, films, and books. THESE COURSES CAN BE TAKEN FOR COLLEGE CREDIT.
Visual Arts Anime / Manga
A fascinating subject that many professional animators have captured online, on TV and in video games. Anime, a word for Japanese animation, includes comics called manga with fictional characters that exaggerate the human form. The class centers around the figure, where anatomy, construction and movement are studied in conjunction with each other. In addition to figure…
Visual Arts Drawing and Painting
This course will focus on student painting and includes drawing, the use of color, and the study of composition and form. Specific historical movements of 20th-century art will be reviewed through art books and slides as reference points for the student’s own work. Objective and imaginative forms in painting will be explored incorporating individual interpretation on guided projects.
THIS COURSE CAN BE TAKEN FOR COLLEGE CREDIT.
Vocal Music Broadway/Pop
This course is designed to encompass the facets of performing that make a musical theater performer strong and exciting. High school students will have the opportunity to work on both belting and legit Broadway singing styles and develop an understanding of the singing mechanism. Acting improv, song interpretation, and character development throughout the semester will build compelling musical theater vocalists.