Classes are FREE but advance registration is required. Enrollment begins February 16th
Building on our successful December 2020 pilot program with Seattle Parks & Recreation, The Creative Advantage is expanding the Creative Advantage ALL ACCESS Arts Stream (CAAAAS). This March we’re offering FREE, high-quality, accessible, *synchronous* out of school time arts classes for young people.
This collaboration maximizes the community arts education power of the City’s Parks and ARTS offices, Seattle Public Schools, The Vera Project and teaching artists and youth facilitators from 5 different arts partners: Pacific Northwest Ballet, Arts Corps, TeenTix, Seattle Arts & Lectures Writers in the Schools, and KUOW’s RadioActive.
Check out the class information and registration links below and spread the word to the young artists you know!
Virtual Classes for Elementary Grades
Dancing our Natural World
Wednesdays, 3 – 4 pm. Starting March 3
Great for students in grades 2-4
Register here
Pacific Northwest Ballet presents movements to share and express what you know, think, and feel. Join teaching artist Ciara McCormack of PNB in using nature and our physical world as inspiration for movement. . A link to Webex for the class will be in your email, 2 days prior to class.
Poetry: Magic Words and Magic Powers
Wednesdays, 4 – 5 pm. Starting March 3
Great for students in grades 2-5
Register here
In a time of disruption and confinement, poetry can be a great tool for grounding youth in the power of imagination and language and inviting them to find new magic in everyday life. Teaching artist Jay Thompson of Seattle Arts & Lectures’ WITS program will invite students to use their five senses, explore their homes, play with words, and delight themselves with their poems. A link to Webex for the class will be in your email, 2 days prior to class.
Pop-up Books and Paper Magic
Saturdays, 10 – 11 am. Starting March 6
Great for students in grades 3-6.
Register here
Learn how to cut and fold paper to create 2D and 3D shapes with teaching artist Jiéyì Ludden of Arts Corps. Together, you’ll explore design strategies, crafting, and storytelling in an inclusive environment. A link to Webex for the class will be in your email, 2 days prior to class.
Virtual Classes for Teens
SoundBites: Exploring storytelling and radio journalism with RadioActive Youth Media
Saturdays, 5 – 6:30 pm. Starting March 13
Register here
Join teaching artist Kelsey Kupferer and KUOW’s RadioActive Youth Media for a deep-dive into audio storytelling. Each session will focus on a different topic, including narrative storytelling, interviewing like a broadcast journalist, and hosting a podcast. These sessions are geared toward youth who are interested in writing, storytelling, journalism, podcasting, and amplifying youth voice.
You can attend each session, or choose just the sessions you’re most interested in. Learn more about RadioActive at kuow.org/radioactive.
March 13: Storytelling with a narrative arc
What makes a great story great? In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn three tools for finding, structuring, and focusing any type of story. We’ll talk about the elements of a great story, and draw story idea maps to identify stories in our own lives and communities. This workshop is great for teens interested in journalism, creative writing, fiction and nonfiction filmmaking, and all types of storytelling. All are welcome, and no experience is necessary.
March 20: Interviewing like a broadcast journalist
Journalistic interviewing is all about asking great questions and listening closely to the answers. In this interactive workshop, you’ll identify what makes a great interview question, and practice by interviewing a partner. Interviewing skills are useful in almost all professions—you don’t have to be interested in journalism to benefit from this session. All are welcome, and no experience is necessary.
March 27: The power of voice in audio storytelling
Want to start your own podcast? In this workshop, you’ll learn how writing for radio is different from other types of writing, and how to record your voice so it sounds like you. Throughout this session, we’ll focus on the unique power of your voice. This workshop is especially great for folks who are eager to record their own audio stories. All are welcome, and no experience is necessary.
April 3: Creative audio listening session
What makes audio storytelling different from other types of storytelling? In this listening session, we invite you to kick back, relax, and listen to some of our favorite creative audio stories. This session is great for people who love podcasts and audio stories, or people who want to learn more about them. All are welcome, and no experience is necessary.
April 10: Becoming a critical news consumer
Journalists aim to create and serve a more informed public. But news outlets can perpetuate racist narratives by centering whiteness and not addressing structural inequity in their stories. In this interactive media literacy workshop, we’ll talk about how to be critical news consumers. We’ll look at the ways white supremacy and racist narratives show up in the news, why it matters, and three questions you can ask to think critically about any story. All are welcome, and no experience is necessary.
Teen Night with TeenTix for High Schoolers
Saturdays, 7 – 8:30 pm. Starting March 13
Targeted for High School Teens
Register here
An evening for high school ages teens with young folx from Teen Tix and teaching artist Alethea Alexander, this virtual Teen Night includes a screening of a performance from a local arts organization and a facilitated conversation and reflection activity on what you just saw. An opportunity for teens to continue to experience amazing local performances and connect! A link to Webex for the class will be in your email, 2 days prior to class.
See below for class details.
Teen Night with TeenTix for Middle Schoolers
Saturdays, 7 – 8:30 pm. Starting March 20
Targeted for Middle School Teens
Register here
An evening for high school ages teens with young folx from Teen Tix and teaching artist Alethea Alexander, this virtual Teen Night includes a screening of a performance from a local arts organization and a facilitated conversation and reflection activity on what you just saw. An opportunity for teens to continue to experience amazing local performances and connect! A link to Webex for the class will be in your email, 2 days prior to class.
March 13 – High School
March 20 – Middle School
Screening and discussing NFFTY Films:
- Joychild by Aurora Brachman – A young child tells their mother “I’m not a girl” for the first time.
- Yellow Cards of Equal Pay by Maia Vota – Members of the Burlington, VT High School girls soccer team recount the launch of their viral #EqualPay movement, inspired by Megan Rapinoe and the U.S. women’s national soccer team, from its humble beginnings to national media coverage.
- GHAZAAL by Ragini Bhasin – A 13-year-old feisty Afghan refugee hustles around in a refugee camp as she experiences her period without having access to any sanitary napkins.
March 27 – High School
April 3 – Middle School
Screening and discussing an OtB.tv performance:
When the Wolves Came In by Kyle Abraham/Abraham In Motion at On the Boards: Award-winning choreographer and performer Kyle Abraham presents a program of new work inspired by jazz great Max Roach’s We Insist Freedom Now.
April 10 – High School
April 17 – Middle School
Screening and discussing 17 Minute Plays from Macha TheatreWorks
- Ancestral Trauma and Healing for Dummies, Co-written by Maddy Nibble and Christine O’Connor performed by Maddy Nibble: A tragicomic trauma-romp through the ages exploring the consequences of White Supremacy and Internalized Capitalism on a perfectly well intentioned, deeply abusive Irish-Italian immigrant family. Co-writers Maddy and their actual real-life mom, Christine O’Connor, travel across time and space to delve deep into the origins of false ideologies, shame-based addictions, and other bewildering heirlooms — and all in just 17 minutes!
- In the Crosshairs, Written and performed by Roz Cornejo. The story of a mixed chick untangling her relationships with her hair, her skin, and her identity.
