Schoolteachers & OSU MFA Students Spend Week w/ Royal Shakespeare Company

A week-long teacher education program began today in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, where the Arts Initiative at Ohio State brought a second group of 20 central Ohio schoolteachers to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company educators and actors. They are joined by 10 MFA acting students from Ohio State's Department of Theatre. This is the second year OSU has partnered with the RSC to bring teachers to Stratford to work on techniques at the core of the RSC's renowned Stand Up for Shakespeare program. (The group is shown above, in front of the RSC headquarters in Stratford.)

Says Karen Bell, OSU associate vice president for arts outreach and head of the Arts Initiative, "We are so happy to be back in Stratford-upon-Avon this summer with these fine teachers and MFA students, and look forward to their work with our RSC partners. They're exploring RSC techniques that utilize active, drama-based approaches to the teaching of Shakespeare and other complex texts. We are seeing great strides from our first group of teachers -- who were here last summer with the RSC -- in their own classrooms, and look forward to seeing this second group expand the reach of this program."

Bell said this year's endeavor with teachers and MFA students will deepen the focus on the artistic and performance aspects of this educational partnership. When the group returns to Ohio, they will work this summer and throughout the coming academic year with OSU faculty, led by Brian Edmiston, director of pedagogy, to bring Shakespeare into their classrooms. Schools include Columbus City Schools, Reynoldsburg City Schools and Metro High School.

Bell (above, left) also introduced another OSU faculty member to the partnership. "I'm delighted to welcome Lesley Ferris (above, right), professor and former chair of the OSU Department of Theatre, who along with me will co-direct the programs of the OSU/RSC partnership. Lesley's visionary leadership, recognition as an accomplished director and researcher, and leader of OSU's study abroad London program make her a perfect fit for this important partnership."

Prior to beginning the education program, the group of teachers and MFA students explored London. . . and found a special use for Big Ben (below).

The new group of teachers includes: Kim Swensen (Metro); Kimberley Cox and Jessica Sharp (Reynoldsburg High School); Tonya Peacock (Hannah Ashton Middle School); Derek Hinkle and Sandra Guinto (Waggoner Road Middle School); Janice Bartels, Jean Reph, Rosalind Ebai and Alicia Fair-Foust (Wedgewood Middle School); Ron Hairston, Jill Sampson and Allison Volz (Hilltonia Middle School); Kathleen Waughaman (Windsor STEM Academy); Kelly Simmons and Faye Love (Linden STEM Academy); Art Isennagle III (South Mifflin K-6 STEM Academy); Michael Aberth (Hamilton K-6 STEM Academy); and David Hall and Melissa Rulong (the Graham Family of Schools). MFA students are Alex Boyles, Ashley Kobza, Victoria Matsos, Kevin McClatchy, Moopi Mothibeli, Charlesanne Rabensburg, Hannah Rockey, Ibsen Santos, Alison Vasquez and Aaron Zook.

Notable News

Speaking of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the well-known theatre troupe now has an OSU presence on their website. Click here to read about our program on their web.

Features

Throughout the week, we’ll be talking with some of the 20 teachers and 10 MFA students who are involved in the second cohort in the OSU / RSC partnership program.

"The first hour (of the training program) today was the best professional development experience I've ever had in my 7 years as a teacher. Working with the RSC, the MFA students and my fellow colleagues, I feel alive and rejuvenated, and I can't wait to get the new school year started!"
Derek Hinkle, 5th grade language arts teacher, Waggoner Road Middle School, Reynoldsburg


"I absolutely love it! I come from a very academic background where you sit at the desk and read the book, so, I never felt a real attraction to Shakespeare. But getting to play with the Shakespeare text is really making it come alive! Getting up and joining in the activities leaves no room for saying 'I can't'. . . and then you realize 'you can.'"
Victoria Matsos, MFA acting student

Alley Fun

Arts in the Alley was full of fun on Thurs, May 6, with gallery openings, upbeat tunes from a local DJ, and performances by several female impersonators on a stage set up among the restaurants, bars and apartments.

The festivities celebrated the opening of The Ladies of Ohio: Digital Divas, an exhibition of large-scale photographs by John Sherman Lathram III (above), in the Arts Initiative space. Lathram also was celebrating the release of his new book of photos of the "ladies." His show continues through July.

Across the alley the Ohio Art League gallery presented the opening of Amateur Cartography, works by Jen Adrion, a show that continues until June 26. And in the Shoebox gallery, works by Anne Mills and Alexander Contino are on view (below) throughout the month.


Notable News

The partnership with The Ohio State University and the Royal Shakespeare Company is expanding! This summer, a second group of 20 local schoolteachers join the group of 19 teachers who have just completed their first year in the teacher leadership & education program. In addition, 10 Master of Fine Arts acting students from the OSU Department of Theatre join the program, too. The new teachers and MFAs will travel to Stratford upon Avon later this month for an intensive week of training with RSC actors and educators, and will continue working together and with OSU faculty for an intensive week on campus and in regular workshops throughout the year. According to the Arts Initiative's Karen Bell, the partnership has deepened and expanded its relationship with Columbus City Schools, Reynoldsburg City Schools and Metro High School. The new group of teachers includes: Kim Swensen (Metro); Kimberley Cox and Jessica Sharp (Reynoldsburg High School); Tonya Peacock (Hannah Ashton Middle School); Derek Hinkle and Sandra Guinto (Waggoner Road Middle School); Janice Bartels, Jean Reph, Rosalind Ebai and Alicia Fair-Foust (Wedgewood Middle School); Ron Hairston, Jill Sampson and Allison Volz (Hilltonia Middle School); Kathleen Waughaman (Windsor STEM Academy); Kelly Simmons and Faye Love (Linden STEM Academy); Art Isennagle III (South Mifflin K-6 STEM Academy); Michael Aberth (Hamilton K-6 STEM Academy); and David Hall and Melissa Rulong (the Graham Family of Schools). MFA students are Alex Boyles, Ashley Kobza, Victoria Matsos, Kevin McClatchy, Moopi Mothibeli, Charlesanne Rabensburg, Hannah Rockey, Ibsen Santos, Alison Vasquez and Aaron Zook.

Come on down to Arts in the Alley this Saturday for a Summer Art Market. ARTillery Ohio (above) presents a wide range of artwork for sale, along with live music and workshops in screenprinting and pottery-glazing in the alley at South Campus Gateway. Hours are noon to 8 pm.

Mahan Gallery in the Short North presents All I Need to Know: A Celebration of First Grade, with artwork by 24 first grade students taught by Cavin Bodouin in New Albany. Last year, his class exhibited their work in the Arts Initiative space. The new show opens June 26 and runs through July 1 at the gallery at 717 N High St.

Next Week in the Alley: Divas, DJs and More

Put Thursday, June 3, on your calendar for lots of Arts in the Alley activities from 6 to 9 pm -- three gallery openings, live performances and tunes from a local DJ. In the Arts Initiative gallery, John Sherman Lathram III presents The Ladies of Ohio: Digital Divas, a photo exhibition of Ohio's female illusionists. The show includes select, large-scale images from Lathram's upcoming book of the same name. At 7 and 8 pm, several local female illusionists featured in the book -- including Paige Passion, Danyel Vasquez (above), Diamond Hunter and Vivi Velour -- will perform on a stage in the alley. Music will be provided by a guest DJ and refreshments will be served. Across the Alley, the Ohio Art League will present the opening of Amateur Cartography, works by Jen Adrion, curated by Haley Boehning. And the Shoebox gallery continues an exhibition of works by Linda Diec (whose work is shown below). All activities are in the alley at South Campus Gateway, just off High Street at 10th.

Notable News

The Emerging Artist Studio -- our short radio feature that airs weekly on WOSU's Capital City Radio station -- has posted two of our most recent interviews on the program's website. The show, which spotlights Karen Bell talking with local emerging artists, most recently features dancer and choreographer Coco Lupe and artist Laura Alexander (see her work above). You can listen to the interviews here.

Couchfire Collective presents ABX, a two-venue show May 28-29 in Arts in the Alley at South Campus Gateway. The show, which focuses on Visual Rhythms, features artworks by 14 local independent artists in the Ohio Art League Gallery (1552 N High St) and the Arts Initiative gallery (1568 N High St). Opening reception is Fri, May 28, 6-9 pm, with music by special guest DJ Moxy. The exhibition was organized by Juan Cerrera and curated by Stephanie Rond.

ARTillery is hosting a "last Saturday" Art Market in Arts in the Alley on Saturday, May, 29, from 1 to 6 pm. Artists from around the community have been invited to set up their wares for sale in the alley at South Campus Gateway.

Scarlet and Gray Theatre Named in New York

The Ohio State University has announced that the Scarlet & Gray Theatre is the name of the theatre being constructed in New York City to house performances of the UK’s Royal Shakespeare Company during its unprecedented six-week residency in summer 2011. The name was unveiled May 12 -- at an event at the university residence, welcoming visitors from the RSC to town -- by President Gordon Gee; RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd and the Arts Initiative's Karen Bell (above). Ohio State is joining with Lincoln Center Festival and Park Avenue Armory to bring the renowned theatre company to New York for the Lincoln Center Festival. As part of the collaboration, the university was given naming rights for the theatre – a thrust-stage auditorium that brings actors and audiences closer together. The theatre is a full-scale replica of the award-winning Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The sponsorship opportunity for the university was created when the Wexner Family made a generous gift to the Royal Shakespeare Company America to support the RSC’s 2011 visit to the US. The family requested any credit or visibility resulting from their charitable contribution be assigned to the university.


Guests at the event enjoyed a short vignette performed by RSC actors, including Howard Ward (above) and Akiya Henry (middle photo).

Notable News

Six actors, two directors and leaders from the Royal Shakespeare Company were in town last week to celebrate the growing partnership between two world-renowned institutions -- OSU and RSC. While in the community, the actors presented a short "Shakespeare in a Suitcase" program at the downtown Columbus Metropolitan Club, at a luncheon attended by nearly 200 business, community and university leaders. The troupe presented a 20-minute vignette of Henry V, in a program that drew in the audience, which included Lady Susie Sainsbury, chairwoman of Royal Shakespeare Company America, and Abigail Wexner.


Following lunch Karen Bell, associate vice president for arts outreach, moderated a discussion that included Jacqui O'Hanlon, RSC director of education, and Michael Boyd, artistic director. They talked about the partnership and Stand Up for Shakespeare America, an educational leadership program that involves local schoolteachers in the Columbus area.

Later that day, the RSC actors presented a vignette of Much Ado About Nothing for about 200 OSU students, faculty, staff and local teachers at OSU's Drake Performance and Event Center. They presented the program on a stage that worked just fine -- though it was actually built for the premiere of Three Sisters that same day.

Bell, O'Hanlon and Boyd had a discussion with the audience and fielded questions from the campus community about the partnership and educational leadership program. All photos above by Kevin Fitzsimons, Photo Services.

Nineteen local schoolteachers (above) -- from Metro High School, Columbus City Schools and Reynoldsburg City Schools -- were also on campus last week to work with the RSC guests, particularly education practitioners Ginny Grainger and Rachel Gartside. The teachers have been involved with the program for one year, traveling last summer to Stratford-upon-Avon and working with OSU faculty throughout the academic year. Their efforts based on the program are making an impact with students in their classrooms. Last Thursday, the teachers had the chance to explore more Stand Up for Shakespeare activities. A few MFA acting students joined the session at the Arts Initiative office (below). Ten MFA actors from Ohio State will be involved in the RSC program starting this summer.


Upcoming Arts in the Alley Events

Couchfire Collective presents ABX, a two-venue show May 28-29 in Arts in the Alley at South Campus Gateway. The show, which focuses on Visual Rhythms, features artworks by 14 local independent artists in the Ohio Art League Gallery (1552 N High St) and the Arts Initiative gallery (1568 N High St). Opening reception is Fri, May 28, 6-9 pm, with music by special guest DJ Moxy. The exhibition was organized by Juan Cerrera and curated by Stephanie Rond.

Save the Date! Thursday, June 3, marks the opening reception for The Ladies of Ohio: Digital Divas, a photo exhibition of Ohio's female illusionists by John Sherman Lathram III in the Arts Initiative gallery, 1568 N High St in the South Campus Gateway complex. The show features large-scale photographs from the artist's upcoming book by the same name. Best of all, a DJ will provide music and some of the ladies from the book will perform at the 6-9 pm opening reception.

May 6 in the Alley

The weather is supposed to be perfect this Thursday, May 6 -- so head on over to Arts in the Alley at South Campus Gateway from 6 to 9 pm for gallery openings and live music! The Ohio Art League presents SEEPS, works by Justin Cramer, curated by Molly Jo Burke. According to the OAL, Cramer's paintings resemble eruptions of organisms that tend to thrive in grime, exposing underground tensions. The Shoebox gallery presents a show of works by ARTillery members, including Jesse Mills, Kate Dowell, Lisa Belsky, Lance Thompson, Uriah Landfried, Lisa McLymont, Katie Kikta, Jen Kiko, Bobby Rosenstock, Heather Wirth, Whitney Moore and Eric Rausch. And Mathematic Abstractions, works by Carly Witmer, continues in the Arts Initiative space. Live music by local rock band the Jive Pilots -- including original music and cover tunes -- will liven up the alley itself. All events are free!

Notable News

Check out our latest radio guests! The Arts Initiative's radio show -- the Emerging Artist Studio on WOSU's Capital City Radio -- has four new interviews posted online. Check out the spots featuring Karen Bell interviewing Chris Roche, Emily Bach, Helma Groot and Joe Graziosi. Click here.

An Afternoon with the Royal Shakespeare Company! Michael Boyd, renowned artistic director of the UK’s Royal Shakespeare Company, will be at Ohio State on May 12 along with six actors from the RSC Acting Company. The actors will present a “vignette” of a Shakespeare work, while Boyd will take part in a panel discussion with the RSC’s Jacqui O’Hanlon, education director, and Karen Bell, OSU associate vice president for arts outreach. They will present the program at 4 pm in Drake Performance Center. More information is available here.

The Earth Day Art Market attracted crowds of shoppers to the Arts in the Alley event on Saturday, April 24. Most of the vendors set up their wares in the Gateway Film Center lobby because of threatening weather, though others braved the showers and sold their works in the alley. Vendors sold everything from jewelry and glass to fiber works, ceramics, paintings and silk-screened t-shirts. A children's book reading and live music added to the festivities.

Whistling in the Dark Theatre Company presents The Colony by Galen Roth: A Staged Reading on Sunday, May 9, at 7 pm in the Shoebox at South Campus Gateway, 1570 N High St. The event is part of the group's "Sundays @ 7" series, and is just $3, including refreshments. A new work, The Colony is a philosophical thriller that explores the darker sides of destiny and fate in an artists' colony where six artists eventually become dissatisfied with their lots in life.

Call for Artists. Courage Unmasked for Joan's Fund -- a campaign to support head and neck cancer research at the James Cancer Center -- is seeking 50 artists from a variety of mediums to transform 50 radiation masks into works of art. The masks will be auctioned off next spring to raise funds for the campaign. Interested artists will be asked to submit two images of their current work. The campaign kicks off May 21. For information or to submit art samples, contact Melinda Cogley at MelindaCogley@msn.com.

Jazzy Time in the Alley

On an unseasonably warm and sunny April 1 evening, Arts in the Alley came to life with gallery openings and the sweet sounds of live jazz. The Truth -- a jazz quintet led by School of Music student Joe Graziosi on sax -- played two sets in the middle of the alley while visitors stopped to enjoy the music while browsing the three galleries. In the Arts Initiative space, Carly Witmer's solo show, Mathematic Abstraction, opened (2 photos below), while the Ohio Art League Gallery hosted a reception for the exhibition Open House, and the Shoebox Gallery opened the doors to Iconic Columbus. Witmer's show continues through May; the other two exhibitions continue through April.


Notable News

This Thursday, April 15, ARTillery hosts an Art Talk in the Shoebox Gallery at South Campus Gateway. Local artists exhibiting in the galleries in Arts in the Alley during April and May will talk about their work. Confirmed so far are Kate Dowell, Linda Diec and Carly Witmer. The discussion starts at 7 pm.

Franklin Park Conservatory has issued a call for entries for Savage Gardens: the Real and Imaginary World of Carnivorous Plants. The June 10-Nov 14 exhibition is accepting existing artworks and site-specific art proposals. Deadline is June 30. For details, click here.

Save the Date! Celebrate Earth Day in the Alley! ARTillery is hosting an outdoor Arts Market on Saturday, April 24, when Arts in the Alley will sport a wide array of artwork by local artists, live music and activities including a t-shirt silk-screening activity, recycled art project, a children's book reading and Aveda mini-massages. Stop by the Alley for Earth Day fun!

Come to the Alley Thursday

Arts in the Alley Activities! No fooling — Thursday, April 1, is the next triple-gallery-opening-night with live jazz in Arts in the Alley at South Campus Gateway, High Street at 10th. The Arts Initiative space presents Mathematic Abstraction, new works by Carly Witmer (above), curated by Kate Dowell; the Shoebox gallery hosts a show of Columbus images called Iconic Columbus; and the Ohio Art League presents Open House, works by Allison Buenger and Colin McDonald, curated by Amy Koenig. Opening receptions are 6-9 pm. Live music from jazz quintet The Truth will add to the festive atmosphere. Drawing inspiration from Miles Davis to Pablo Picasso, The Truth is a band fueled by the works of masters of all modern art. Led by composer/saxophonist Joe Graziosi (left), it features some of the brightest, upcoming musicians in Columbus. For information, call 247-7050.

The Big Ten Network's latest O-H-I-O program features our OSU / Royal Shakespeare Company partnership and the central Ohio teachers involved in the program. Other spots on the current BTN program explore the real-life possibility of a global flu pandemic with OSU researchers and uncover the little-known habits of Cameroon land herders. Check out the TV program here.

The Lantern just posted an article about the Royal Shakespeare Company and its growing relationship with Ohio State. Read it here.

Save the Date for an ARTillery Art Talk at 7 pm on April 15. Stop by the Shoebox at South Campus Gateway and listen to local artists discuss their artwork currently on exhibit in the Alley galleries. Enjoy some pie, too, says organizer Kate Dowell.