Arts

Dawson School is committed to the arts. Our modern facility, in combination with a faculty involved in the local arts community, provides Dawson with the unique opportunity to offer competitive, quality programs that can prepare students for continuation in the arts or that can complement their academic experiences. As an integral component of the academic program at Dawson, opportunities for devotion to after school Art Department activities are also provided. The Art, Theatre, Band, Choir and Woodworking programs are structured to provide each student with the guidance to make informed, positive choices, and the opportunity to recognize and reach individual goals.

Black & White Photography

Black and White Photography

Students explore photography as a technical discipline, a creative art, and as a means of expressing themselves. Students receive basic instruction in the camera, lenses, film and film processing, paper and printing, enlargers and filters, and matting and mounting. The class explores the works of renowned photographers and archival processing. Each class member presents a portfolio. Advanced Black and White Photography: This class is offered for all students who have previously taken Photography. This class builds on foundational skills and takes the knowledge in essentials to the next level. Students will learn advanced darkroom and camera techniques. Emphases will be on personal assignments that push their visual intelligence and help them discover a perfect balance between the technical and creative aspects of Black and White Photography.

Prerequisites:

None

Terms:

Fall, Spring

Eligible:

All Students
Ceramics

This class introduces the art and techniques of ceramics. The basic methods of forming clay—slab built, pinched, coiled, and wheel thrown—are included in various projects. The class studies the fundamentals of surface decoration, including texture and glaze. Students develop an understanding of the raw materials, firing processes, and proper handling of equipment and chemicals. Class discussions explore design, presentation, vocabulary, and the historical and contemporary issues that pertain to this art form. Advanced Ceramics: This class is offered for all students who have previously taken Ceramics. This class builds on foundational skills and covers advanced ceramic techniques. Dinnerware and Hand Building will continue with the emphases on taller and wider throwing techniques. Alternative glazing and firing will also be explored. Students will have more choice in what they will throw on the wheel.

Prerequisites:

None

Terms:

Fall, Spring

Eligible:

All Students
Chorus

Upper School Chorus is a performance-oriented ensemble. Members of the choir will present concerts at the end of each semester and will sing at other events during the year, including the student art show, school assemblies, graduation, community performances, regional festivals and other school events. Students will prepare for these performances through regular mixed choral rehearsals, small-group rehearsals or sectionals, and individual study/practice. Students will study and perform music from a variety of genres/styles, and time periods. Over the course of the semester, students will work to develop healthy vocal technique, including proper posture, breathing, tone production, resonance, and intonation. They will also work towards competency in music-reading, sight-singing, and aural skills. As a group, students will develop rehearsal technique and musicianship skills and strive to create an ensemble that sings with accuracy, expression, and attention to blend, articulation, diction, balance, dynamics, and phrasing.
Combat Theater

The class breaks into ensembles who use physical theater techniques as a way of creating stories. Along with learning many new combat techniques, such as sword fighting, students will learn the fundamentals of acting , including character and scene work, as well as line memorization. Students will be required to perform at the end of the semester. The students will become intimately connected to their fellow actors and become highly sensitized and aware of the collective work of the troupe.
Digital Art

This one-semester course is designed to explore the process of creating and publishing digital graphics projects. Students will work with Adobe programs and 3D modeling software to complete digital arts projects. The focus will be on enhancing the students’ comfort with computers and graphic manipulation while exploring their artistic and creative side through a variety of software.
Digital Music Production

Students will learn how to arrange, mix, record, and master (finalize) their own musical compositions using state-of-the-art and current software, hardware, and techniques. The course will be built around the innovative music creation software Ableton Live. Students will learn basic music theory relating to keys/tonal centers, song form, instrumentation as well as engineering skills such as mixing and mastering and will also be introduced to basic synthesis and MIDI. Critical listening skills will be developed as well, as students will listen to professional examples, each other’s work, and their own material in order to build their understanding of the musical elements presented in class. No prior musical experience is necessary for students to enroll, only an enjoyment of music and a desire to learn more of its inner workings. Students with a musical background will be able to incorporate their skills/instruments into their projects, but this is not a prerequisite for the class.
Digital Photography

This course is an introduction to digital photography. It will cover the camera, exposure, digital image processing, printing, presentation, and the history and current trends of photography. Students will be expected to understand and orchestrate the basic skills of digital photography and to recognize what constitutes good composition, aesthetic value, and the influence of personal perspective.
Black Box Theater

This is a class geared toward the actor who wants to improve their acting skills through text, movement, and improvisation. Every day we laugh, we collaborate, we watch films, and have fun. We will focus on scenes and short plays of different genres and periods. with the focus on acting. This class gives the acting student a great chance to act and improve their skills. It is also a great class for the new actor. What does the term black box theater really mean? Black Box theater is actually a stage that can be converted in many different ways such as theater in the round, creative dance numbers utilizing different components of space on the stage, and working in improvisational spontaneous ways. It is a new way of looking at staging a theatrical piece. The emphasis is on strong, diverse, original acting as opposed to simply getting stuck on the same devices to interpret every scene. This class is intended to increase the actor’s depth and understanding, and have fun while doing it!
Drawing and Painting

Drawing:

The goal of this course is to develop eye-hand coordination and an understanding of methods and materials. The drawing process is taught as a method of gathering and notating information, a means of arranging and transforming ideas, and as a way to develop the students’ perception of visual elements and relationships in the physical world. Students develop an understanding of basic traditional concerns and contemporary drawing vocabulary. Drawing is a key discipline of the arts, and this class encourages the development of skills and the education of the artist’s eye.

Painting:

This course is an introduction to the material and subject possibilities of painting. The emphasis is on construction, composition, paint handling, color, and self-expression. Both abstract and realistic subjects will be covered.
Film Studies

From the silent movies to the most current films, we study films every week to understand the different styles of acting in films. As well watching and critiquing films, each student will memorize scenes from movies and design the scene from a film point of view. The class visits to the International Film Festival in Boulder.
Improv. & One Act Plays

Students will learn spontaneity, character development, storytelling, and team building—all of the essential components of great acting. Students will throw themselves into exciting improvisation performance games and keep creative journals. Be prepared to laugh. The fun atmosphere of the class encourages students to let loose and play hundreds of characters. The advanced improvisational student will learn many new techniques and games, and the new student will also be encouraged to jump right in.
Jewelry Making

This course is an introduction to Jewelry Making and Silversmithing. Jewelry Making: Students will learn the“lost”art of wax casting: a method developed in Ancient Egypt. The lost wax casting process involves creating a wax model which is then suspended in a metal flask. A plaster-like material called investment is poured over the model. The invested flask is then placed in a kiln, and the wax model is slowly melted out until only the negative cavity, the exact shape of the original, remains. Molten metal (silver) is then vacuumed into this negative space and allowed to cool and solidify. The metal piece is removed from the plaster. Sprues (the bump at the opening where the molten metal was poured into the mold) are cut and ground. Various polishing media are used to bring the piece to its final polished state. Silversmithing Jewelry: You'll learn best practices for silversmithing jewelry: from Sawing, Filing, Metalworking (Forging, Hammering, Texturing, Dapping and Doming, etc.) and Finishing. We will cover soldering setup, heat control, torch use, stone-setting and finishing techniques. You will discover simple techniques that deliver professional-level results and enjoy jewelry that showcases your new skills.

Prerequisites:

None

Terms:

Fall, Spring

Eligible:

All Students
Music Theory

In this course, students will examine what makes the music we listen to every day so compelling. Through the examination and analysis of popular forms of music from the last one hundred years, students will learn music theory concepts such as scales, chords, song forms, and chord progressions. Students will develop their skills in accurately reading and notating music and also develop their ability to aurally identify common patterns and constructions. Interested students will be given the opportunity to expand their own songwriting abilities using the knowledge, skills, and techniques developed in this class and will also have the opportunity to utilize music software such as Apple’s Garage Band. All students will be encouraged to explore the commonalities and differences between styles of popular music from the last one hundred years, including but not limited to: Blues, Rock & Roll, Modern Pop, Country, Rap, Hip Hop, R&B, Motown, Musical Theater, and Jazz.
Musical Ensembles

Students will expand their technique, repertoire, and artistry on their chosen instrument. Emphasis will be placed rhythmic skills, aural skills, music reading, correct stylistic interpretation of chosen genres, as well as good performance practices and skills. Students will further their exploration of different cultures, music history, theory, composition, and improvisation. Students will suggest musical styles, pieces and genres that they want to explore and will use these in projects where they will learn how to arrange and write music for mixed instrumentation. All instruments will be welcomed into the ensemble. Where possible, vocals will be part of the performance area especially in the pop, rock and contemporary American music genre. Students will also work with basics of music technology including notation programs as well as entry into Ableton Live and related music sequencing programs.
Printmaking
Printmaking encompasses the creation of a master plate from which multiple images are made. Simply put, the artist chooses a surface to be the plate. This could be linoleum, Styrofoam, metal, cardboard, stone, wood, or any one of a number of materials. Then the artist prepares the printing plate by cutting, etching, or drawing an image onto the plate. Ink is applied and paper is pressed onto the plate either by hand or by way of a printing press. The finished print is pulled from the plate.

The following printing methods will be covered in this class:
1. Relief Printing: (printmaking method whereby the uppermost surface of the material is inked and printed from). Multi-Color Linoleum (or wood) Block Printing: The linoleum or wood is carved to remove areas of the image that will remain uninked. Students then ink their linoleum or wood and print their images using a registration board (a registration board allows students to print their images over and over again on the same paper, giving them the multi-color effect).
2. Screen-printing: a stencil method in which a fine nylon mesh is stretched over a wooden frame. A design is cut out onto a film, creating a stencil. The stencil is then added to the nylon mess. Ink is dragged across the mesh, allowing it to print onto the paper in selected areas only.
3. Monotype: This printing method is direct and exciting. It allows total freedom of mark making while offering all the qualities of the print-making process. Ink is painted or rolled on to a nonporous surface. Paper is placed over the inked image and a print is taken with or without a press.
Etching:the process of using strong acid to cut into the unprotected parts of a material.
Sculpture

This class introduces ideas and material that facilitate response to three-dimensional form. The stress is on concepts of modeling, carving, and constructing, as well as the possibilities of more contemporary modes of expression. This sculpture class requires students to have a range of knowledge of materials and techniques. The following material will be covered: soapstone, casting, clay, wood, and metal. As students’ skills in three-dimensional art improve, they will explore larger projects and work on installation around Dawson’s campus.
Technical Theater

In Technical Theater the student is challenged with the unique problems of building sets and designing lights and sound for the upper school productions. The student will learn the language of the technical theater and will manage the upkeep of the theater. By the end of the semester, the technical theater student is very familiar with the workings of the exceptional facility at Dawson.
Ten-Minute Plays: Drama and Playwriting

Utilizing creative writing sessions the student will create a ten-minute play that will be performed in a reader’s theater format. The Ten Minute Plays class combines playwriting and acting exercises so the student will be both playwright and actor.
Woodworking

Woodworking is a semester-long course that can be taken during any of the four upper school years as many times as desired. The emphasis in the woodworking class is on safe operation of tools and machines, design, and the study of materials and processes.
Yearbook

The purpose of the yearbook class is for students to create “The Gate”, Dawson’s yearbook. Students will become familiar with professional level tools used in the publishing industry as well as learn about the many tasks necessary to create a publication including photography, design, editing, and layout. This course has an emphasis on digital photography and includes techniques of organization, processing, editing, and printing digital photographs.
Action Theater

We often approach drama from the text and it’s meaning and fail to explore the other components of the other dimensions of theater. Looking at drama from a physical point of view we will utilize the Action Theatre skills of dance, combat, tumbling, physical improvisation, mask work and European based clowning. (Not scary clowns but interesting clowns) We will observe different physical theater productions such as Pilobolis, the famous acrobatic movement troupe. Primarily we will focus on how to apply physicality to dramatic pieces. We will discover that the roots of drama are founded on physical presentation that is dynamic and safe. This is a very active, fun and lively course that will expand your boundaries aesthetically and physically.
Musical Theater

Students will be introduced to a diverse selection of musical pieces from the musical theater repertoire, including solo, duet, and ensemble numbers. We will learn how to present, interpret, and “sell” a song. This would include dramatic movement and interpretation of text. Students would be required to learn and perform at least one solo or duet number and to participate in several large ensemble pieces that would be sung and choreographed. The class would culminate in a final cabaret performance at the end of the semester. This is a great class for actors wanting to develop singing skills and singers wanting to blend their singing skills with acting.
US Band

Students will expand their technique, repertoire, and artistry on their chosen instrument. Emphasis will be placed rhythmic skills, aural skills, music reading, correct stylistic interpretation of chosen genres, as well as good performance practices and skills. Students will further their exploration of different cultures, music history, theory, composition, and improvisation, with an emphasis on jazz and American contemporary music. Students will form one or more ensembles and prepare suitably challenging material for performance.

Curriculum Detail

Arts

Black & White Photography

Ceramics

Chorus

Combat Theater

Digital Art

Digital Music Production

Digital Photography

Black Box Theater

Drawing and Painting

Film Studies

Improv. & One Act Plays

Jewelry Making

Music Theory

Musical Ensembles

Printmaking

Sculpture

Technical Theater

Ten-Minute Plays: Drama and Playwriting

Woodworking

Yearbook

Action Theater

Musical Theater

US Band

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