VIDEO FLASH: SPARC Alum Jason Mraz on Sesame Street

Pop star and SPARC alumni Jason Mraz taped an episode of the long-running children’s television series “Sesame Street” which will air this year during the show’s 40th anniversary.  Take a look!

VIDEO PREVIEW – “Aladdin, Jr.” in Rehearsal

VIDEO FLASH – New Voices for the Theater 20th Anniversary

Co-produced by Freewill Films and SPARC, this video honors the 20th anniversary of New Voices for the Theater, Virginia’s largest and most prominent high school playwriting progam for young writers.  Check it out!

SPARC Earns Raves and Applause at CenterStage Grand Opening

SPARC was greeted with applause and acclaim when a talented cast of 35 students, alumni and guest adult professionals took to the stage to perform selections from “Les Miserables”, accompanied by the Richmond Symphony.  Over the course of 3 nights, SPARC, along with 8 other resident companies, performed for almost 5,000 people during the opening festivities for the new CenterStage performing arts center. 

From Style Weekly:  “Familiar selections from “Les Misérables” by a large, young, earnest and fully costumed cast from the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community opened the program’s second half. They gave it full throttle, aimed for the Carpenter’s upper reaches and garnered the most thunderous applause of the evening.” 

For more information on Richmond CenterStage, visit www.richmondcenterstage.com.

VIDEO FLASH – “Les Miserables” Dress Rehearsal Preview

PHOTO FLASH: SPARC Rehearses selections from “Les Miserables” for CenterStage Grand Opening

Select students, alumni and guest professional artists are currently in rehearsal for a medley of selections from the classic musical, “Les Miserables” to be performed at the grand opening of Richmond CenterStage on September 12.  Directed by Debra Clinton, with musical direction by Jason Marks, this selection of songs features a cast of 35 talented performers from across the metro Richmond area, ages 10+.  For more information about CenterStage and to purchase your tickets, visit www.richmondcenterstage.com.

Ali Thibodeau and Chris Adams as Cosette & Marius.

Ali Thibodeau (Cosette), Annie Hulcher (Mme. Thenardier), Adam Mincks (Thenardier), Eric Pastore (Gavroche), and Chris Adams (Marius)

Drew Siegla (Enjolras) and members of the cast.

PHOTO FLASH: SPARC Alumni Zak Resnick Visits

SPARC alumni and Carnegie Mellon graduate Zak Resnick visited the cast of “Once On This Island, Jr” on July 2, to rehearse for the SPARCtacular Gala on July 21.  During his visit, Zak also answered questions from actors about life in the performing arts.  Catch Zak in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at Barksdale Theatre at the Empire this summer!

SPARC alumni Zak Resnick (center) and the cast of SummerStarz "Once On This Island, Jr."

VIDEO PREVIEW: “Once On This Island, Jr.” In Rehearsal

VIRGINIA STUDENT WINS NATIONAL POETRY OUT LOUD COMPETITION

Richmond, VA – Virginia’s Poetry Out Loud champion has won the national competition. William Farley of Arlington captivated both judges and audience with his poetry recitations to gain the title of 2009 Poetry Out Loud National Champion. Farley receives a $20,000 award and his high school, Washington-Lee High School, will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.

 The Virginia state Poetry Out Loud competition is coordinated by School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community – SPARC – with funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. The program is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

 In addition to the cash prizes, Farley, a senior at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, as part of the recognition of excellence and achievement will recite a poem at the rededication of the Lincoln Memorial in May 2009, an event sponsored by the National Park Service in Washington, D. C.

Virginia has held a state Poetry Out Loud competition for the past four years. Peggy Baggett, Executive Director of the Virginia Commission for the Arts, said “We are thrilled that the National Champion is one of our talented Virginia students. Will Farley will go far in this world. The Virginia Commission for the Arts is grateful to the staff of SPARC for their excellent work in organizing the state competition and helping Will win this great honor.”

National champion, Will Farley, with (L to R) SPARC’s Laine Satterfield; Jonathan Katz, Chief Executive of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies; and NEA Acting Chair Patrice Walker Powell.

The Virginia competition was held March 9 at the Library of Virginia. Poetry Out Loud is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. Managed by SPARC Program Director, Laine Satterfield, over 7,500 Virginia high school students competed in this year’s competition with 37 schools represented at the State finals. Virginia Currents’ May Lily-Lee was the MC of the event. Judges included Virginia’s Poet Laureate, Claudia Emerson; Department of Education’s Tracy Robertson; and Director of the Richmond Boy’s Choir, Billy Dye. Richmond director, Rusty Wilson, and Laine coached Will for his appearance in the Nationals.

Nationally, this year’s Poetry Out Loud competition involved more than 1,500 high schools and 300,000 high school students. Guest judges presiding over the national competition, including Garrison Keillor, host of the radio show A Prairie Home Companion, award-winning actress Tyne Daly, journalist Jeffrey Brown, founder of Quest: arts for everyone Tim McCarty, and poets Suji Kwock-Kim, Patricia Smith, and Luis Rodriguez.  Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant gave a special performance of poetry-inspired songs.  Scott Simon of National Public Radio served as master of ceremonies.

SPARC’s Artistic Director, Jennie Brown said, “When we saw Will compete here in Richmond in the State finals, we knew he was a contender for the national title. What a remarkable young man he is, and what enormous potential.”

Satterfield, who was with Farley and his family at the national finals said, “What a great event it was in Washington watching and spending time with this remarkable young man and his family. He is a true gentleman and such a sweet soul. I could not have been more proud to be his and Virginia’s state representative.”

William Farley’s final recitation for the evening was “Danse Russe” by William Carlos Williams, a wry look at a middle-aged man’s fancies and foibles.  A senior at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington,

“Everyone at Washington-Lee is extraordinarily proud of Will Farley as well as all of the other students who participated in Poetry Out Loud,” said Paul Jamelske, the high school’s Assistant Principal. “We know Will has worked very hard with this endeavor, and it shows.”

On April 27, 53 high school students – Poetry Out Loud champions from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – competed in three semifinal rounds based on geographic region.  Twelve students advanced to compete in the National Finals on April 28. 

Judges evaluated student performances on criteria including physical presence, articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy.  Students performed poems from the Poetry Out Loud print and online anthologies (www.poetryoutloud.org).  The event was the culmination of a pyramid-structure competition that began last September among schools across the country.

The National Finals are the result of efforts by many partners.  The NEA and the Poetry Foundation have contributed support for administration of the program, educational materials, and prizes for both the state and National Finals.  In Virginia, the Virginia Commission for the Arts engages SPARC to implement the program. SPARC promotes Poetry Out Loud in high schools across the state, runs the State finals, and prepares the Virginia champion for the nationals. The Poetry Out Loud National Finals was administered by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Poetry Out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by building on the resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as seen in the slam poetry movement and the popularity of rap music among youth.  Through Poetry Out Loud, students can master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.  Now in its fourth year of national competition, Poetry Out Loud has inspired thousands of high school students to discover classic and contemporary poetry. 

Past Virginia Poetry Out Loud winners include:  2006 – Johnny Coyles, St. Christopher’s School, Richmond; 2007 – Alana Rivera, Washington-Lee High School, Arlington, who placed third in the nation; and Tia Robertson, Rappahannock High School, Warsaw.

10 Questions for Virginia’s 2009 Poetry Out Loud Champion, Will Farley

From www.poems.com. 
Direct link:  http://poems.com/special_features/POL%202009/interview_Farley.php

Thirty-five students from high schools around the Commonwealth competed, with Will Farley, a senior at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, emerging as Virginia’s champion. Will moves on next to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, to be held at April 27-28, 2009, at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC., with a shot at a $20,000 award. We interviewed Virginia’s champ via e-mail:

Poetry Daily: We had the good luck to be able to attend the Virginia State Poetry Out Loud Finals: congratulations! You seemed pretty excited when your victory was announced and you headed to the stage for the award presentation by Virginia’s poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, Claudia Emerson: what was going through your mind? How did it feel?

Will Farley: Well to be honest I was first in a state of shock. I felt like I did good recitations, but all the other competitors were also very good. Once I got over my shock, I was relieved to be done for the day. The competition was very mentally exhausting. Finally, I was extremely happy to be the Virginia State Champion.

PD: What went into your decision to choose the poems you recited in the state championship round?

WF: My first two poems, “Theme for English B,” by Langston Hughes, and “The Flea,” by John Donne, I had done in my school competition, and they worked pretty well for me. So I knew I was gonna keep those two. The hardest thing was choosing my third poem. There were a lot of poems to choose from. I definitely flip flopped between a few good ones. But I ended up picking “Danse Russe,” by William Carlos Williams,” because a friend of mine performed in our class room competition, and he suggested I do it, and I liked the poem a lot, so it became my third.

PD: Have you decided on the poems you will recite at the National Finals in Washington, D.C.?

WF: For the National Finals I will be reciting the same three poems I recited at the state finals.

PD: Had you ever memorized a poem before you began the Poetry Out Loud competition? What made you decide to participate in POL? An interest in poetry generally? In performance? Something else?

WF: Well for a couple of my English classes it was a graded assignment. I competed in POL my freshmen, sophomore, and junior years, never getting pass the school level competition. But this year I picked good poems, and on my last try I seem to be getting things right. So I guess the fourth time is the charm. I really fell in love with POL because unlike acting you’re performing, but you aren’t the focus, the poem is.

PD: How do you like having your own mini-anthology of poetry now in your head?

WF: I only really focus on the poems I have to recite at the time. I really try to block out all the poems I’ve memorized in the past. But I guess you could say I do have my own mini-anthology in my head.

PD: What was it like in moving from one stage of the competition to the next? Did experience make it easier? Did the increasing “stakes” make it tougher?

WF: The worst part of the competition is moving from one stage to another. That’s the part that is mentally exhausting. It’s the worst in between rounds, waiting to see if you moved on in the competition. Thinking about your poem you just recited, the next poem you have to recite, all the competitor’s poems. It’s the old nervous feeling times 100. Especially when all the other competitors are very good. I feel like experience doesn’t really get rid of those feelings in between rounds. The easiest part is getting up on stage and reciting your poems. At least that’s the case with me.

PD: If you found yourself coaching an aspiring Poetry Out Loud competitor one day, what three tips would you start with?

WF: 1. Stick with what you practiced. Often you see others recite their poems very well, and you can be tempted into changing what you practiced to add a little something special to your recitation. DON’T DO THAT!

2. Pick different and unique poems. Also when choosing multiple poems, make sure they show your range. Yet pick poems you can understand and connect with.

3. Be proud of yourself win or lose. Poetry competitions for the most part are subjective. What you may love about your recitation, the judges may hate. When I did the competition my freshmen, sophomore, and junior years I pondered quitting because I never seemed to have what the judges were looking for. But you can’t get down on yourself, you have to keep trying. It worked out for me.

PD: The competition aside, what personal value have you discovered in memorizing poems? In reciting before an audience?

WF: Because of POL, I’ve developed more confidence in my public speaking. I feel more comfortable speaking publicly than I ever did before I started with POL.

PD: Do you think you will continue to memorize poems once the competition is behind you? When you have time to do casual reading, do you ever read poetry?  Has this experience made you more curious about finding poetry you might enjoy?

WF: Well, let me first say I’d recommend Poetry Out Loud to English teachers everywhere. POL made me more interested in poetry than any book or person ever could have. Because of POL I do read poetry in my free time now. Also it’s shown me that there are poems out there for everyone.

PD: Speaking of once-the-competition-is-behind-you, we understand that you are off to Bucknell University in the fall — congratulations once again! What will you study?

WF: I am undecided still on a major, but when I pick one I’ll sure let you know.