Richmond Hill
November 27, 2008 09:47 PM
Kim Zarzour
Organizers of Richmond Hill’s new arts-focused high school say a partnership with the new Centre for the Performing Arts will provide students with a “holistic” approach to the arts that will be unique to York Region.
Alexander Mackenzie High School has joined forces with Richmond Hill’s new theatre to offer a professional setting to students who are interested in a career in the arts.
The partnership means students can explore a range of experiences, from the customary drama, dance, music and visual arts, to theatre administration, sound technology, stage costume and make-up.
“We want students to know that you can consider a career in the theatre even though you’re not interested in being centre stage,” says Eli Lukawitz, the Centre’s co-ordinator of marketing and development.
The school is accepting applications to the arts program for auditions scheduled in January. There will be 100 specialized arts spaces open to students in Grade 9 next September, and a maximum of 100 more to be added in each year for four years, for a total of 400 arts students at the 1,050-student school.
Graduates will receive an eight-credit Arts Certificate in a range of disciplines – Arts Administration, Performance (drama, music, visual arts or dance) and Technical/Design Theatre Studies.
Principal Anne Belanger hopes to make use of school amenities to enhance the experience for all students.
There are plans to include costuming in the school’s fashion course; the hair and esthetic program will be expanded to include stage make-up and wig design. The construction program plans to work on sets, and students in the hospitality program will handle catering at theatre productions.
There are also plans to expand the school’s business department to include arts administration and marketing – courses that are available at universities and colleges, which will give interested students a head start in following that career path.
Some of these programs will be mandatory for the arts specialty students, but also optional for mainstream students at the school, Ms Belanger says. These expanded programs will not be offered until 2010, when the first year’s arts students reach Grade 10.
“We want to give our arts students a full understanding of the theatre world, and give other students an opportunity to explore it too,” Ms Belanger says.
The Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts will be a key component in the new arts program.
York Region’s three other arts-focused schools have connections to their local town theatre, but Richmond Hill’s Eli Lukawitz says this partnership will be different.
“We want to create something neat in our relationship,” he says. “A resource for students and an opportunity for them to work in a state-of-the-art theatre.”
The new Centre, expected to open this February, will be the largest cultural facility of its kind in York Region with a 631-seat main auditorium and the region’s only theatre “fly tower” – which allows sets to be raised and lowered.
Alexander Mackenzie, which is within walking distance of the downtown Richmond Hill theatre, will stage its major musicals and concerts at the facility and visual arts students will display their work in the theatre’s lobby.
Mr. Lukawitz, who handles the Centre’s education component, says the theatre’s professional artists will provide lectures and mentorship to the students.
Co-op and apprenticeship opportunities will also be available under the tutelage of the technical director.
“We hope this will give students an opportunity to see avenues within the arts that they haven’t thought of,” Mr. Lukawitz says.
“For every one person on stage, there are 50 behind the scenes ... in careers that can last significantly longer.”