High School: Grades 9-12

The Inter-district Dance Project with Pilobolus
Waterbury Arts Magnet School, Waterbury
Transportation provided from Shepaug School in Washington and Woodbury Middle School (Bus departs Shepaug at 2:30pm and returns at 6:15pm, departs Woodbury at 2:50pm and returns at 6:00pm).
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 3:30-5:30pm
January 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, February 1, 2, 3, 8
Dress Rehearsal: February 9
Performances: February 10 & 11
19 Sessions: $209
$152 for Region 12 students, made possible by funding from Region 12 schools

Team up with Pilobolus and other students from across Connecticut for an exhilarating, collaborative dance workshop. In this one-of-a-kind class, you will explore, invent, interact, and become involved in a different kind of dance while meeting new friends at Waterbury Arts Magnet School’s state-of-the-art dance studio. You’ll see the limitless possibilities within the medium of movement as you become more comfortable with being physically creative, collaborative, and expressive. At the end of the workshop, you will have the unique opportunity to perform alongside the world-famous, Emmy-Nominated Pilobolus in public performances on February 10th and 11th! This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that simply can’t be missed.

Literary Arts

The Inter-district Writing Project with Reggie Marra
Waterbury Arts Magnet School, Waterbury
Transportation provided from Shepaug School in Washington and Woodbury Middle School (Bus departs Shepaug at 2:30pm and returns at 6:15pm, departs Woodbury at 2:50pm and returns at 6:00pm).
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3:30-5:30pm
January 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, February 1, 2
8 Sessions: $88

What is it that you’d most like to point out and change about the world—what’s the insight you’d like to share that would help so many other people? Once you know that, and before you point it out, you may want to get a better sense of how much of what you’d like to share is really about “the world,” and how much is about how you see the world. Through focused writing prompts, we will explore what we complain about, what we actually do, what we’re responsible for, what we’re committed to, and what we assume to be true—each providing us with the essential seeds we’ll plant, nurture and craft into an updated narrative of our favorite topic (ourselves!). Participants will be invited to write in the genre of their choice. Prerequisites: courage, curiosity and a sense of humor. Participants of this workshop are encouraged to submit a piece of writing to the 2012 Celebration of Young Writers.

Martial Arts

The Art of Fencing with Marc Ganych
Booth Free School, Roxbury
Fridays, 6:00-7:00pm
October 14, 21 28, November 4, 18, December 2, 9, 16
8 Sessions: $88 for Residents; $120 for Nonresidents

Students will learn the basics of Olympic Sport Fencing. They will be taught to wield three distinctive fencing swords: Foil, Epee and the Saber. After completing these classes students will have a good understanding of each Fencing sword and will be able to conduct basic fencing with each distinctive sword.

Music

The Inter-district Community Folk Ensemble with Friso Hermans
Shepaug School Band Room, Washington
Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00pm
September 20, 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8, 15, 29, December 6, 13
12 Sessions: $132 
$96 for Region 12 students, made possible by funding from Region 12 schools

In the Community Folk Ensemble, students and adults will have the opportunity to play music together in a variety of acoustic styles, including traditional, contradance, English country dance, and music from the American Folk revival of the 1960′s and 1970′s.  Musicians of all ages, playing any acoustic instrument, are encouraged to join us for this exploration of Folk music in its many forms.

Hand Drumming & Percussion with John Marshall
Shepaug School Band Room, Washington
Mondays, 6:30-7:30pm
November 21, 28, December 5, 12, 19
5 Sessions: $55 for Residents; $75 for Nonresidents

Award winning Master Percussionist John Marshall teaches you all about the variety of rhythms and chants from around the world, performed on hand drums like the West African djembe, North African dumbek and Afro-Cuban conga. Using these instruments, you will learn traditional drumming patterns, and also create original arrangements that feature both solo and ensemble parts. Rhythms from the Middle East, Central Asia, Brazil, India, and the Caribbean will also be presented. On the final day of the class, family and friends are invited to join us for a concert in which we will incorporate and present class material.

The Inter-district Percussion Project
with John Marshall
Waterbury Arts Magnet School, Waterbury
Transportation provided from Shepaug School in Washington and Woodbury Middle School (Bus departs Shepaug at 2:30pm and returns at 6:15pm, departs Woodbury at 2:50pm and returns at 6:00pm).
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 3:30-5:30pm
January 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, February 1, 2, 3, 8
Dress Rehearsal: February 9
Performances: February 10 & 11
19 Sessions: $209
$152 for Region 12 students, made possible by funding from Region 12 schools

Join students from around the state and perfect your drumming skills in the acoustically balanced music studio at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School. Award-winning Master Percussionist John Marshall will teach you all about the variety of rhythms and chants from around the world, performed on hand drums like the West African djembe, North African dumbek, and Afro-Cuban conga. Using these instruments, you will learn traditional drumming patterns and will create original arrangements featuring solo and ensemble parts. Rhythms from the Middle East, Central Asia, Brazil, India, and the Caribbean will also be presented.  At the end of the workshop, you will have the unique opportunity to perform alongside the world-famous, Emmy-Nominated Pilobolus in public performances on February 10th and 11th! This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that simply can’t be missed.

The Inter-district Strings Project with Friso Hermans, John Mobilio, and The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra
Waterbury Arts Magnet School, Waterbury
Transportation provided from Shepaug School in Washington and Woodbury Middle School (Bus departs Shepaug at 2:30pm and returns at 6:15pm, departs Woodbury at 2:50pm and returns at 6:00pm).
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3:30-5:30pm
January 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, February 1, 2, 8
In-school performance: February 9
12 Sessions: $132

Students who play the violin, viola, cello, or bass won’t want to miss this incredible opportunity to work and perform side-by-side with the teaching artists of the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra. Young musicians will learn from WSO professionals in small groups, focusing on fundamental techniques, ensemble skills, and musical interpretation. Participants will also learn a varied repertoire and perform in two concerts with the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra at Naugatuck Valley Community College for 1,600 school children.

Rock and Roll High School with Emily Robb and Zach Fairbrother
Shepaug School Band Room, Washington
Wednesdays – Fridays, 2:30-4:30pm
February 22, 23, 24, 29, March 1, 2
Performance: March 2 at 5:30pm
6 Sessions: $66 for Residents; $90 for Nonresidents

Join us for six days of fuzz-fueled, tom pummeling, guitar shredding fun. All skill levels are welcome to come explore new territories in music. Get experience writing songs, improvising, and recording. At the end of the workshop, your band will have a chance to perform for friends and family alongside the faculty. You must bring your own instruments or contact ASAP for arrangements.

The Inter-district Community Orchestra
with Friso Hermans
Shepaug School Band Room, Washington
Wednesdays, 6:00-8:00pm
March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 4, 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
12 Sessions: $132 
$96 for Region 12 students, made possible by funding from Region 12 schools

Students and adults who play traditional string, wind, and brass instruments will have the opportunity to play the orchestral repertoire together. This includes violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and percussion. Join us in making orchestral music a vital part of our community.

Recording Studio Techniques & Recording Your Own Music with Mark Kaufman
Backroom Studios, Roxbury
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm
March 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29
6 Sessions: $66 for Residents; $90 for Nonresidents

This workshop is geared for those who have a desire to work as a recording session engineer, and for musicians who have the desire to experience recording in a studio environment. We will cover basic recording techniques, microphone selection and placement, compression, equalization, effects, over-dubbing and multi-track recording. There will be six sessions: three will be dedicated to basic studio technique and perfecting several songs, which will then be recorded during the final three sessions.
All participants must be able to perform on an instrument and/or sing.

Visual Arts

Drawing Bigger and Bolder with Jon Olivieri
Shepaug High School Art Room, Washington
Thursdays, 2:30-4:30pm
September 22, 29, October 6, 13
4 Sessions: $44 for Residents; $60 for Nonresidents

In this large-scale drawing seminar, learn how to capture and manifest large-scale ideas. Balance, transition, and compositional exercises will open up the artist to dynamic peripheral representations. Drawings will be made on 4’ x 8’ paper with various dry media. A group critique will complete each session. Resource materials are welcome – images, books, photos, writing or objects.

Character Design with Jesse Smolover
Shepaug Middle School Art Room, Washington
Wednesdays, 5:30-7:00pm
November 9, 16, 30, December 7
4 Sessions: $44 for Residents; $60 for Nonresidents

Many characters are designed each year for movies, comic books, and video games, but very few of them are truly memorable. So why do some characters stand out above the rest? If you like to create worlds, fantastic or benign, this class will teach you how to break past the clichés and make characters that are unique and engaging.

Art of Fly Tying with John Potter
Shepaug Middle School Art Room, Washington
Mondays, 6:00-8:00pm
January 23, 30, February 6, 13, 27, final class TBD
6 Sessions: $66 for Residents; $90 for Nonresidents
Class Cancelled.  

Learn basic tying patterns to make beautiful streamers, nymphs, and salt water patterns while discovering the elements of a good fly and why they catch fish. In a hands-on environment you will use all the basic fly tying tools as well as a variety of hooks. You’ll walk away with knowledge of how to use a variety of fly tying materials and where they can be purchased. Both natural and synthetic materials will be explored.

Silkscreen T-Shirt Workshop
with Keith and Flo Hatcher
Roadkill Press, Kent
Monday, 10:00am-5:00pm
January 16
1 Session: $45 for Residents; $60 for Nonresidents

Spend the holiday at Road Kill Press to design your own silkscreened clothes, and take home up to ten unique, hand-printed shirts, jackets, scarves, or other clothing! Your prepared artwork  must have high contrast. The size of your piece of art can be up to 8.5” x 10” and must be e-mailed in .jpeg format to ASAP by December 1^st, asap@AfterSchoolArtsProgram.org. During the day, you’ll have time to explore Kent and go out for lunch. We will depart from Marty’s Café in Washington Depot at 10:00am and return at 5:00pm.

Eco Books with Terri Tibbatts
Shepaug Middle School Art Room, Washington
Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00pm
February 7, 21, 28, March 6
4 Sessions: $44 for Residents; $60 for Nonresidents

A book class with a GREEN twist! All our projects use recycled and upcycled materials. We will learn how to take everyday materials from around the house, flea markets, thrift stores, and hardware stores, and turn them into clever and eye-catching hand-made books; the final books  can then be used for school projects, journals or imaginative greeting cards.

Web Design using WordPress with Jerry Koch
Shepaug High School Computer Lab, Washington
Mondays, 6:30-8:30pm
March 5, 12, 26, April 2, 16
5 Sessions: $70 for Residents; $90 for Nonresidents

WordPress is one of the most popular web site and blog building packages in the world. Best of all it is free for everyone. WordPress is easy for a beginner to learn, yet it can also be used effectively by the experienced web site builder/blogger. Users will learn how to use WordPress 3.0 to create feature-rich blogs and web sites. The course covers both WordPress.com and self-hosted web sites, and includes an orientation, as well as exercises in common tasks in WordPress. A book on WordPress will be provided for this class.

The Robot Pentathlon with Michael Morrissey
Burnham School Gym, Bridgewater
Mondays, 4:45-6:30pm
May 14, 21, June 4, 11
4 Sessions: $44 for Residents; $60 for Nonresidents

Four days, four events. Each day we’ll build and program a vehicle to compete in the day’s competition. The events will include vehicle racing, feats of strength, jousting ability, a LEGO toss, and the final day’s obstacle course.

Sewing & Fashion Design
with Lesley Neilson-Bowman
Shepaug School Craft Room, Washington
Tuesday-Friday, 2:30-5:00pm
Shopping Trip – May 31, 2:30-6:30pm
June 5, 6, 7, 8
5 Sessions: $55 for Residents; $75 for Nonresidents

In this workshop, you will create your own wearable works of art. We will start with an afternoon of shopping at consignment boutiques and thrift stores to hunt for clothing and vintage pieces that will be the basis for your creations. Back in the studio you will deconstruct your finds, then reconstruct, transform, and embellish them into fabulous fashionable works of art. We’ll finish the workshop with unique pieces of clothing that you design yourself! Additional fabrics, trim, and embellishments will be provided, and a variety of sewing and surface pattern techniques will be discussed. We’ll take a dinner break during our shopping spree, so please be prepared to cover costs for dining as well as shopping.

Click the following link to register for workshops:

Middle School, High School, Adult