Willimantic, CT. – Eastern Connecticut State University hosted a three-week Summer Arts Institute on July 11-28. This program invites rising juniors and seniors from Windham High School and Arts at the Capitol Theatre (ACT) to participate in a college course free of charge and the opportunity to gain college credit. Students are taught by Eastern professors and given the opportunity to develop their English language arts and literacy, math and socio-emotional-cognitive skills. “We had a terrific group of students this year,” said Kristen Morgan, assistant professor. “They really grew a great deal from start to finish.”
The three-week course was team taught by performing arts assistant professors Morgan, Alycia Bright Holland and program coordinator Nicola Johnson. Two current Theatre majors, Nicole Rivera and Sinque Tavares, served as teaching assistants. The course ended with a public performance for friends, family and the community in the studio theatre.
Students were enrolled in “The 180,” a course that combines a contextual and experimental approach form the perspective of the artist-practitioner and their work onstage, in film, dance, video and other representational mediums. The course emphasizes the key concepts, approaches and methodologies as practiced globally and from the past and present. There was a great deal of hands-on participation in experiential exercises and projects.
The faculty are hoping to expand the program next summer in order to include students from a larger geographic area and perhaps broader subject matter.
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About Eastern Connecticut State University
Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut’s public liberal arts university, serving more than 5,300 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 158 of Connecticut’s 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 20 other states and 63 other countries. A residential campus offering 38 majors and 55 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked the 27th top public university in the North Region, by U.S. News and World Report in its 2016 Best College ratings, Eastern has also been awarded “Green Campus” status by the U.S. Green Building Council six years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.