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s110 Darrow Road
New Lebanon, NY 12125 Tel: 518.794.6000 Fax: 518.794.7065
www.darrowschool.org
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Unlocking individual talent is the intent behind every arts course at Darrow. Closely collaborating with teachers and peers, students re� ne their creative talents into polished skills.
New: The Darrow Performing Arts CenterWelcome to the PAC, a newly created, contemporary facility for studies in music, theater, and � lm. � e PAC includes classrooms, a recording studio, and spaces dedicated to individual practice, collaboration, media review, and post-production. Please be sure to stop by and see this amazing new space during your visit to Darrow.
Performing Arts
Theater
Performance Studies. Students explore acting, visual imagination, play analysis, and theater and history. Students also study storytelling, performance art, directing, adaptation of texts, design and technology, and musical theater.
Writing for Performance. Members of Darrow’s Theater Workshop not only act, direct, and produce, they also write many of the plays that are performed. Student playwrights learn to discover and develop their own voices, understand how plays depict the human condition, and ways in which character, emotion, and action are expressed on stage.
Music
Music Theory. Essentials of the underlying structure of music
Concerts. Performed both on and off campus as seasonal events
Darrow Coffee House. An open-mic event for musicians and theatrical performers
Voice and Instrumental Instruction. Personalized lessons taught by experience faculty are available.
Darrow Performance Group. Whether it’s an a capella rendition of a popular hit song, an eclectic arrangement delivered as part of a regional high school chorus competition, or leading Convocation in the singing of “Simple Gifts,” the Darrow Performance Group is the musical voice of our community.
Film
Introduction to Film. An in-depth exploration of the fundamentals of filmmaking on every level, with a focus on creative collaboration with peers to create short films in diverse styles and genres. Students observe the works of filmmaking’s greatest auteurs as they search to find their own voices.
Narrative Film Production. Students are immersed in all phases of the filmmaking process, from conception to screenwriting and from pre-production to post-production. They work together in groups to create professional-quality movies that are included in Darrow’s Narrative Film Festival, which is screened each year for the school community and the public.
Theatrical work is taught on a number of levels. Theater Workshop students develop the ability to compare and contrast different cultures, points of view, and social systems through the analysis of historical and contemporary approaches.
Visual arts are on display at Darrow. In the Joline Arts Center and elsewhere, Darrow students showcase their work, discuss it with peers, and learn what it means to take creative risks.
The Arts at Darrow School
Arts courses at Darrow place our students in collaborative, interactive
group endeavors, and in deep explorations of their own individual talents. Our visual and performing
arts curriculum provides a substantial foundation for student artists working
at every level, and is constantly evolving to accommodate their tastes,
abilities, and ambitions.
The Joline Arts Center
This 12,000 square-foot studio and lab space has a courtyard, skylights, and sweeping views of spectacular
rural landscapes. In addition to areas for private work and individual projects, the building also includes
gallery spaces, seminar rooms, and a graphic design lab. It’s one of Darrow’s signature settings, and serves the local
art community as well as nationally recognized art education programs.
Visual Arts
Studio Art. Essential studio arts are taught in this overview course.
Ceramics 1. Fundamentals of ceramic design and production
Advanced Ceramics: Handbuilding. An ancient art, taught with modern techniques.
Advanced Ceramics: Wheel. Advanced skills are employed to create cutting-edge work.
Form and Design. Students explore the Elements of Art and Principles of Design, learning how to incorporate these principles into their work
Drawing. Students develop perceptual and rendering skills through sketching and drawing. Assignments build on skills as students grow in their perception of edges, spaces, relationships, and lights and shadows.
Furniture Design. Essential skills are shared and practiced, including sketching, planning, design, woodworking, joinery, and more.
Advanced Furniture Design. Building on skills taught in Furniture Design, this course goes deeper into aesthetics, functionality, and sophisticated construction techniques.
Painting. Techniques are taught for different paint media, including oils.
Introduction to Photography. Instruction in the fundamental aspects of photography, both for aesthetics and development of technical skills
Experimental Photography. An opportunity for students to explore individual interests in the field of photography
Graphic Design. Instruction in core principles, including shape, color, texture, imagery, type, and more
Advanced Mixed Media (Portfolio). For students who have established fundamental skills, this course teaches composition involving multiple media with the goal of developing portfolio-level work.
Artist in Residence. Now in its second year, Darrow’s Artist in Residence Program provides a working artist with an opportunity to teach classes, lecture, conduct workshops, and create exhibitions while living and working in our supportive educational community.