Centrum Youth Programs

Abe and Jay

[Dance in Building 204]

High School Summer Intensives Schedule

Week of June 22-27 at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington

Sunday, June 22

3:30 -5 p.m.: Check in at the Centrum office, 1123 Battery Way,

Fort Worden State Park

After checking in, proceed to Dormitory # 225 and get settled in your rooms.

5:45 p.m.: Dinner in the Commons

7:00 p.m.: Orientation: All workshop participants, faculty and Centrum staff meet in Building JFK. Following orientation, students meet with faculty in their studios for a class introduction.

9:00 p.m. Dorm meeting

Monday, June 23-Wednesday, June 26

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast in the Commons

9:00-11:45 a.m. Morning classes

12 noon- 1 p.m. Lunch in the Commons

1:30-4:30 p.m. Afternoon classes

5:45-6:45 p.m. Dinner in the Commons

7 p.m.- Evening presentation by faculty in JFK

Thursday, June 26

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast in the Commons

9:00-11:45 a.m. Morning classes

12 noon- 1 p.m. Lunch in the Commons

1:30-3:30 p.m. Afternoon classes

3:45-4:30 p.m. Practice in JFK for the evening presentation

5:45-6:45 p.m. Dinner in the Commons

7 p.m. Evening presentation by students for family and friends

Friday, June 27

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast in the Commons. Begin to pack and clean up in the dorms

9:00-10:00 a.m. Final class 10:15-10:30 closing ceremony in JFK

10:30-11:00 a.m. check out of Dormitory 225- All students picked up, keys turned in.

High School Summer Intensive      

Schedule June 22-27, 2008

Sunday, June 22	Monday June 23	Tuesday, June 24	Wednesday, June 25	Thursday, June 26	Friday, June 27
	7:30- 8:30    Breakfast in the Commons	7:30- 8:30        Breakfast in the Commons	7:30- 8:30     Breakfast in the Commons	7:30- 8:30     Breakfast in the Commons	7:30- 8:30     Breakfast in the Commons
	9:00-11:45 Studio	9:00-11:45 Studio	9:00-11:45 Studio	9:00-11:45 Studio	9:00-10:00 Studio
11:00 – 2:00 Faculty meeting Centrum office	12:00 – 1:00 Lunch in the Commons	12:00 – 1:00 Lunch in the Commons	12:00 – 1:00 Lunch in the Commons	12:00 – 1:00 Lunch in the Commons	10:15-10:30 Closing ceremony in JFK
2:00 Dorm counselor meeting Centrum office	1:30-4:30 Studio	1:30-4:30 Studio	1:30-4:30 Studio	1:30-3:30 Studio	11:00 a.m. Check out Turn in Keys!Dorm #225
3:30 – 5:30  students check-in Centrum office; then go to dorm #225				3:45-4:30 Practice in JFK for evening presentation
5:45 Dinner	5:45  Dinner in the Commons	5:45  Dinner in the Commons	5:45  Dinner in the Commons	5:45  Dinner in the Commons
7:00 Orientation in JFK	7:00 Faculty presentation  in JFK	7:00 Faculty presentation  in JFK	7:00 Faculty presentation  in JFK	7:00 Student presentation for Friends and Family in JFK
9:00 Dorm meeting	9:00 In dorm, snacks	9:00 In dorm, snacks	9:00 In dorm, snacks

Dance/Video meets in JFK    Visual Arts meets in Building #205, Upstairs       Theater meets in the USO                  Creative Writing meets in building #306 

Swords and Shakespeare

Amber Wolfe will be teaching  at the upcoming summer session for the High School Intensives. She explains "Acting the Shakespearian Fight."

Any kind of physical fight within a play is simply an extension of the story.  If your fight doesn't help to tell they story, why have it in the play?  In this week-long intensive we will be exploring both Shakespearian text and swordplay and how they intersect. 

I'm a text geek.  Once I learned that Shakespeare wrote so many little hints and helpers into his text I was really hooked.  I use techniques from John Barton's Playing Shakespeare to really explore text in a way that is useful to actors.  How do we as actors help the audience to understand Shakespeare --or any complicated text? 

Rapier/Single Sword work:

Training in basic sword safety, technique and learning/creating choreography.  We'll be using epee bladed rapiers.  These are light swords and easy to work with for beginners.  There's nothing like havin' a sword in your hand and knowin' how to look cool using it!

A Letter From Participant Karl Smith

In 2003, the Centrum Junior High Arts Camp changed my life. Coming from a small island in the San Juans, I was amazed to find kids – other kids, kids I hadn’t known all my life – that were as enthusiastic and creatively-minded as I was. Centrum opened my eyes and broadened my horizons, narrow as they had been tucked up in the woods on Shaw Island.

When I arrived at Fort Worden with my class, I had no idea what it would be like. We didn’t see much of the fort, because our ferry had been late and when we got there it was dark and the cafeteria was closed. We checked into our rooms in the barracks that Centrum was using and not much happened that night. We met our dorm counselors and the kids in our hall, got our keys and schedules, and went to sleep.

The next day is fuzzy in my mind, but I must have found my way down to the cafeteria, ate breakfast, been gratified that the drinks machine dispensed coca-cola, and presented myself at 401A in time for my first class. If my memory of that morning is muddled, my recollection of the art room is crystal clear. The room occupied most of the third floor and was bordered with windows on three sides, and the floor was old and much-stained wood. On the tables arranged in the center of the room were the most art supplies I had ever seen outside of an art supply catalog. There were also rolls and rolls of paper, and stacks of colored paper. There were familiar materials like watercolors and oil pastels and some materials that I hadn’t even seen before. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do with all that stuff. As I was amazed to learn, the answer was “anything at all”. Our teacher, Mauricio Robalino, encouraged my creative ambitions while introducing me to new styles and mediums like charcoal, oil-paint sticks, and colored-paper sculpture. I loved every moment of it.

That week went by in a blur. I can’t remember much of any particular day, but I can remember doing lots of painting, learning the basics of story writing, running around the bunkers of Fort Warden and the beaches, and trying to move my two left feet in time with the Reggae music that our dance teacher played. I won’t try to describe each day, because I’m not here to give you a day-by-day description of my experiences at Centrum, I’m here to tell you why, in so many words, Centrum is a wonderful place to be.

Since that first week, I’ve returned to Centrum for various camps 5 times. I’ve taken classes in plaster and paper-casting, screenwriting, Hip Hop and rhythm, and metaphorical imagery, to name a few. I’ve also explored every bunker on the park, tried to make trumpets out of the kelp on the beach, and eaten fifty-year-old survival biscuits at the Coast Artillery Museum. Centrum has yet to become boring or repetitive for me, and I doubt that it ever will. Every year brings new classes and experiences, new artists to work with, new friends to make and new art to be created.

That’s why, whenever I have to leave a Centrum program, I’m looking forward to going back.

Julia Chamberlain on Squirrel Effigies and Fish Houses

Julia Chamberlain is a talented high-school artist who most recently worked with Amy Johnson and Ryan Horvath in our January visual arts master class for high-school students. Julia sent along a brief word about her experiences at Centrum. Thanks Julia!

"For the past three years, I've had Centrum in the spring to look forward to and the memories to look back on for a lifetime. I meet great new artists every year and have the opportunity to test-drive their styles while learning how to think in new ways.

My favorite memories of Centrum include a sunrise jog down the beach, burning a squirrel effigy, making a sparkling fish house, and learning how to dance like Melvin. Every year on the drive home my heart aches for the friends I leave behind and my stomach aches for some delicious vegan cafeteria food, but it will always be there when I come back."