Gabrielle Vitrano, “Exploring Transferable Theatre Skills In an Art Program for Adolescents.”
Mentor: Kim Cosier, Art & Design
Poster #134

The purpose of this workshop is to give a theatrical perspective to art students, in hopes that it will help them gain a new perspective on their art. As someone who has been involved with theatre since the age of 5, I have always wanted to share my experiences and knowledge with others. I believe theatre is one of the best ways to become more comfortable with yourself, in turn crafting a safe and creative environment for young artists. An example of a key term for this creative activity would be the title of stage manager: a person in charge of the inner-workings of both rehearsal and final runs and shows. Three workshops are conducted, each focused on a different aspect to the theatre, one workshop focuses on set design, another focuses on costuming, and the last will focus on acting. The students are all in an after school program known as Milwaukee Visionaries Project (MVP). These students range from middle school to high school, and all have various and diverse backgrounds in visual arts. A goal of these workshops is to develop interpersonal public speaking skills, as well as new art techniques. I hope too in some small way give them the confidence to speak more on their art works, not just in what they do or create, but in just describing their ideas. I have seen how passionate they get, and I want to amplify that by helping them become more comfortable by sharing my experience on and off the stage. Art is and will always be subjective. Knowing that, crafting that safe exploratory space for artists can be relieving and empowering.