Evening Activities

EVENING ACTIVITIES

This program provides a chance to explore diverse performing, visual and literary arts and crafts beyond (or different from) those experienced during the school day. It’s an opportunity to take a chance on something new and to incorporate the arts into your daily life. Most activities require no previous experience, though some performing groups do require competence on an instrument. The evening activities are semester courses and meet once or twice a week for 1 1/2 hours. Students must complete at least four evening activity credits per year—a minimum of two evenings per week in each semester. With permission from the Class Dean and Evening Activity director, students may take additional activities.

Learn more about Evening Activities

Performing Arts:

African Dance • Manou Dalomba • Tuesday
African dance mirrors a profound belief in values of community and teamwork. An African dance experience gives people an opportunity to make connections in African music and dance forms, while simultaneously empowering their relations to each other and their own bodies, breath and sound. Students will chant in several traditional African languages and dance in an African rooted way of life and healing. Live drumming will accompany each class.

African Drumming • John Hughes • Tuesday
This activity offers an opportunity to learn traditional hand drumming techniques and multi-part rhythm structures from Guinea, Senegal and Mali. We will also explore techniques for improvising and soloing. It is essential that students have their own drum (Jembe/Djembe, Ashiko or Conga). Purchase available through instructor, as well as other options.

Bluegrass • Phil Bloch • Monday
Bluegrass is acoustic American music with a high, lonesome sound and an emphasis on driving instrumentals and close, heartfelt three-part harmonies. This Evening Activity is for students interested in forming in a Bluegrass band; all participants should play an instrument and/or sing. Bluegrass instruments include guitar, 5-string banjo, fiddle, mandolin, slide guitar, and bass (preferably acoustic), but other instruments may be considered. In Bluegrass, we'll do a little bit of listening and talking and a lot of playing; you'll pick up a great deal of practical and useful stuff along the way. We'll develop all aspects of the music, from improvising solos on your instrument or singing in your vocal range, through how to play fills and backup and how to arrange a song, to how to make your bluegrass music sound like the real thing.

Chamber Music • Julie Marden • Friday
Intermediate to Advanced Instrumentalists will be placed in well-matched ensembles to explore some great music and the essentials of ensemble playing. Depending on the instruments represented, we'll work on repertoire for various combinations of strings, piano (or harpsichord), and woodwinds, covering music from the Baroque to the present. Past works studied include Bach Trio Sonatas, Mozart String and Oboe Quartets, Mozart Viola and Clarinet Quintets, Schubert String Quartets, Schumann Piano Quartets, and Brahms String Sextets. Performance opportunities will be scheduled during each semester. Students are required to practice the pieces on their own outside of class. This class meets on Tuesday evenings and on Saturday mornings after your last class.

Introduction to Contact Improvisation • Elizabeth Sheehan • Friday
In this class we will explore the many dynamics of moving improvisationally both individually and as an ensemble. We will strengthen our partnering skills by working with weight sharing and lifts. In this process we will practice the forms and skill set related to performing improvisational work. This class will be highly physical and movement is our primary goal. We will work towards an informal studio showing at the end of the term. Students should come prepared to move and be ready to learn a new movement practice. No dance training necessary.

Dance Ensemble • Patricia Wilson and Kalya Yannatos • Wednesday 1:30-4:30
We will be making new dances and adding to our company repertoire for performances in the Winter and Spring Dance Concerts, as well as “on tour” at various local venues. Please note: though offered as an evening activity, this will occur on Wednesday afternoons. The 1:30-3:00 rehearsal will be with Patricia Wilson, making dances that draw from Modern Dance and the Dunham-based jazz style of her afternoon classes. The 3:00-4:30 rehearsal will be with Kalya Yannatos, making dances that draw from both Ballet and Modern dance forms. We encourage you to sign up for both (2 credits), but you may also sign up for just one, (1 credit), please do specify clearly on your sign up form. All dancers should be in level 3 or receive permission from Patricia or Kalya.

Drama • Karla Baldwin • Monday and Tuesday plus Sunday afternoon
All students, faculty and staff are invited to audition for the fall and/or the spring production. Students are expected to devote some time to memorization and review throughout the week. Most cast members should expect to meet on Sunday afternoons during most of the semester. Rehearsals will also run later than the regularly scheduled evening times. The drama activity will continue during Project Week as a double project.

Hip Hop • Sarah Grasso • Thursday
This multi-leveled class will include step, classic and new age hip-hop dance. No prior hip-hop instruction required, just a willingness to try and a desire to have fun.

Madrigals • Greg Brown • Thursday
Madrigals is a small performing vocal ensemble that has its roots way back in the founding years of the school. The name of this vocal group came from the fact that they only sang English madrigals, secular songs from the 17th century. We will continue with that tradition of singing Early Music, whether it is Baroque operas, madrigals, liturgical dramas, or cantatas. This ensemble is only open to students by audition. However, all students are encouraged to audition. Auditions will take place on the evening of the first day of classes in the music room.

Orchestra • Julie Marden • Tuesday and Friday 4:50-6:00
The Putney School Orchestra is open to experienced players of orchestral instruments. Students learn the art of ensemble playing and develop an understanding of stylistic interpretation. This class focuses on preparing works from the standard orchestra repertoire for performance. Our fall program, focused on the major Oratorio repertoire and performed in collaboration with the school’s chamber choir, has in the past included Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana along with several Bach cantatas ("Wachet auf," "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben"). The spring program is focused exclusively on challenging symphonic orchestra repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” Orchestra may count towards two evening activity credits or 1/2 academic credit per semester (with approval of music director only.)

Songwriting • Tyler Gibbons • Monday
In this activity, we’ll examine the elements of song structure, lyric-crafting, melody, and chord theory as they apply to contemporary songwriting. Working with student-composed songs, we’ll learn how to create, rehearse, and perform an original song. In “workshop style” sessions, we’ll share works-in-progress, and offer positive feedback to help each of us become better songwriters. The basics of multi-track arranging and recording of your original song(s) will be explored. Open to students who have advanced-beginner (or higher) instrumental ability, and a desire to write and perform their own original songs.

World Traditions: Dance • Amy Cann • Thursday
It's Saturday night. You've got your hottest clothes on and your favorite partner's ready to hit the floor with you and show your friends just how well you can...polka? We'll explore four centuries and three continents worth of ways to flaunt your moves, in pairs and circles and squares, from Imperial Russian waltzes to Jane Austen's quadrilles to steamy Cajun two-steps. No experience necessary—these are the dances of the people, not the performing elite. Only prerequisites: the ability to count to eight and a willingness to make physical contact.

Visual and Literary Arts and Crafts:

Blacksmithing • Roger Ballou • Monday/Tuesday/Friday (pick 2 of 3)
Students will learn basic blacksmithing techniques through the creation of functional objects. As confidence and skill increase, students will undertake more advanced projects under close guidance. There will be a lab fee, plus individual charges for special projects and materials.

Broadside Publication • Brian Cohen • Tuesday
A broadside is a large single sheet of paper printed on one side with both image and text. In this activity, each student will design, carve, and print an edition of broadsides combining a poem (their own or someone else's) with a print (an etching, lithograph, or relief block). We will consider the design of the page and the relationship of text and image, and explore a variety of approaches to typography and printmaking techniques. We will exhibit the broadsides and create a group folio at the conclusion of the semester. Prior experience in drawing and/or printmaking is required.

Ceramics • Naomi Lindenfeld • Tuesday/Thursday/Friday (pick 2 of 3)
In this activity students are encouraged to explore many different areas of ceramics including wheel throwing, a variety of hand-building methods, surface treatments such as carving, texturing and glazing. There will also be the opportunity to work with colored clays and learn about the gas firing process.

Comics & Graphic Novels • Jason Whiton • Monday and Thursday
Since the early days of painting on cave walls, humans have used images in sequence to tell the stories of their lives. About 100 years ago, this idea was refined into the graphic format of placing a small number of panels together to evoke comic scenes. These comic strips continue today (Peanuts, Zits) and have been expanded by some artists to tell longer, more personal & serious stories in the form of comic books (Batman) and graphic novels (Maus, Road to Perdition, Ghost World). Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz, said that a cartoonist creates an entire world and experience; they are the playwright, the actors, the set & costume designer, sound & light crew, and director all in one. That's a lot of work- but expressive & great fun! In this activity, you will study how to create sequential art, from the writing and scripting stages, through the steps of designing panels and pages, penciling, working on Bristol board paper, methods of inking, lettering, and the completion of comic projects. We will work on strips to build skills, and then each student will develop a graphic novel as a final project. The activity will also cover a historical background to the comics and introduce artist studies through documentaries, animation, and through the examination of original drawings and published materials. Tools needed: pencils, large sketchbook, erasures, ruler, triangle, ink pens, Bristol board paper. 2 nights per week.

Computational Art • Wing Mui • Tuesday
Learn how to create images through computer programming. We will use a computer screen as our canvas and paint pictures using mathematical ideas and formulas. We'll be creating mathematical images like curves and fractals, learning about visual ways of representing statistics and networks, "quilting" and generating mosaics with randomness and data and making interactive visual software that responds to mouse and keyboard input. If there's time and interest we'll also play a little bit with computer-generated music. No prior programming experience needed, although it would help if you aren't afraid of computers and basic math.

Contemporary and Modern Poetics • Lisa Newhouse • Monday
We will do a non-conventional study of Contemporary and Modern Poetics. There will be extensive reading and discussions; we will also be exploring the use of language by making abstract projects representing structure, content and context in present-day society. Students will produce their own poetry, learn and write intellectual criticism, and build projects designed to comment on, or interact with poetics.

Creative Writing • Zoe Parker • Friday
Explore self-expression through an informal writers' workshop. We will dabble in a variety of genres, including fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Prompts and exercises will be offered as a way to get started, or you may work on your own project. Participants should be prepared to share their writing from time to time with the group.

Culinary Arts • Marty Brennan-Sawyer • Spring semester • Tuesday
Learning fundamental cooking skills and the education of the palate are life-long experiences important to everyone. This activity will be a hands-on introduction to the world of cooking, food and taste. The students will begin by learning basic cooking and baking skills that will be used as a foundation to explore a wide range of foods throughout the term. Soups, breads, meats, pastry baking, cheese making, vegetarian, ethnic cooking, we'll do it all. Weekly tastings will be an important part of the activity and the students will often leave with food to share.

Drawing Space, Form and Content • Kate Crowe • Friday
Students will explore the nuances of creating form in two dimensions using line and shading techniques. This study of form will then expand into the realm of color and composition as we transfer our ideas through mixing and brush techniques. We will use various media such as: charcoal, gouache, graphite and ink as well as collage techniques.

Figure Drawing • Sue Brearey • Thursday
Devoted exclusively to drawing the human form directly from observation. Students will observe and express the structure, gesture, anatomy and form of the live model ina variety of drawing and printmaking media. We will look at precedents in art history and add substantially to college and art school portfolios.

Jewelry • Jeanne Wulsin-Bennett • Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday (pick 1 of 4)
The emphasis in this activity is on making silver jewelry, but students may make other objects as well. We will also work with other metals such as brass, copper, and materials that can be combined with metal. Students will acquire skills in basic hammering, sawing, and forging as well as setting stones in bezels, and finishing techniques. There will be a small fee for materials.

Knitting • Kate Crowe • Monday
Students will increase their competency while they enjoy a congenial evening. All levels welcome, though an emphasis placed on beginner and intermediate levels.

Photography: B&W • Jason Whiton • Tuesday
New teacher (TBA) Thursday
This activity is open to anyone, regardless of experience. The emphasis will be on using technology to focus on and explore creativity. Students must have their own camera. There is a lab fee as well as individual charges for materials used.

Photography: Digital • Pete Guenther • Monday or Friday
We will explore the use of digital photography to record and interpret Southern Vermont's ecosystems and document local environmental issues. Emphasis on producing a cohesive body of work for final presentation. Work by established photographers examined for color, light, composition and content. Learning digital editing programs, as well as scanning and printing will be part of the activity. Students should own or be ready to purchase a digital camera.

Sculpture: Metal • Jeff Burt • Thursday
If you have the urge to express your creative self by cutting, bending, denting, grinding, welding and polishing metal, then you may have a future as a metal sculptor. Take this activity to confirm the suspicion and you won't be disappointed.

Sculpture: Wood • Joe Fichter • Monday
Students will learn to use a variety of hand and power tools to create sculptures in wood. These sculptures can be made through additive and/or reductive processes but wood carving will be the emphasis of the activity. All levels of experience are welcome.

Sewing, Quilting and Fiber Arts • Melissa Johnson • Thursday
This activity will cover a variety of basic sewing skills. Students can choose to focus on quilting techniques or learn to sew clothing from commercial and originalpatterns. Instruction in embroidery, alterations and embellishments will also be offered. All levels of experience are welcome.

Spinning Workshop • Patty Blomgren • Monday
This activity will cover the basic principles of spinning wool on a wheel. Students will discuss characteristics of animal fibers-primarily wool, but also mohair and angora. They will learn about basic tools and equipment, about washing and carding or combing, yarn design, and, if there is time, about color and dyeing. Each class will include actual spinning.

Stained Glass • Robert Marshall • Tuesday or Thursday
Students will explore the copper foil method of stained glass, and will experiment with a variety of specific techniques. All students will complete a final panel by the end of the semester. Previous experience is not necessary. Materials fee will vary.

Weaving • Melissa Johnson • Tuesday and Friday
Students will learn the fundamentals of weaving by designing and making individual projects, which may include scarves, clothing, blankets, rugs or tapestries. Other fiber-related techniques can also be explored. Beginners are welcome-patience, not experience, is the necessary ingredient. Costs will vary.

Woodworking • Abijah Reed • Monday and Thursday
Instruction and suggestions are offered on design, construction techniques, and the uses of both hand and power tools. Everyone must complete at least one project by the end of the semester. Beginning and experienced woodworkers are welcome.

Yearbook • Marie Clark-Derouault • Thursday
Making this chronicle is an important and challenging task. Your mission is to conceptualize the book and create all sections in a format accepted by a printer. The work requires a good eye for detail, good organization and artistic flair. You will have to capture Putney’s goings on with digital cameras, collect writing and art, upload it, keep it safe and return it to authors, design pages using DTP software, initiate a relationship with a printer and work cooperatively with the whole team. Every week we will meet and have editorial style meetings where students will brainstorm ideas, assign deadlines, make progress notes, and brief each other on what's been done. It's a one-year-long commitment to project management, with a concrete product to share with the whole school at the end. A few students who take on extra responsibilities, such as the role of the editor, will be granted 2 credits. All students should still sign up for 2 evenings, and those who are granted the double credit can then drop their 2nd evening if they wish.