Apply for Summer Programs

Creative Writing applicants can choose between writing 5 poems or 1 fictional short story. Read the instructions below for each option.

• Writing tips and reading suggestions can be found here.
• Not sure how to save your portfolio as a PDF? See these tutorials: Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Pages

Applicants are required to record a 3-5 minute video audition and submit their video through the application checklist. Please follow this format when creating your video:

1. Introduce yourself, “My name is (your preferred name and last name).”
2. Perform your 1-2 minute dance solo.

Make sure your video quality is clear and that we can see you the entire time.

• Leotards and tights are welcome but not required.
• Clothing should be one color and form fitting.
• Hair should be pulled away from the face. 

Applicants are required to record a 3-4 minute video audition and will submit their videos through the application checklist. Please follow this format when creating your video:

1. Introduce yourself and your material: “My name is (your preferred name and last name). I have prepared (title of poem) by (poet’s name). In my first performance, my quality is (quality one) and in my second performance my quality is (quality two). My song is (title) by (composer/songwriter).” 
    
2. Present your poem with two different qualities: Poems should be memorized. Choose a poem that you connect to and present it twice, each time with a different quality. Choose qualities that are contrasting. 
   • Quality examples: excited, joyful, enthusiastic, persuasive, patient, nervous, grieving, frustrated, disinterested, bored
   • Consider how your performance changes when your quality is different. What can you do that is subtle but still conveys these different qualities? What can you do to stay true to the meaning of the poem while speaking through the lens of your chosen qualities?
      
3. Perform your song a capella (without accompaniment): Sing 16 bars (1-2 musical phrases) of a song you enjoy and are comfortable singing. This song is not about testing your skills as a singer, but to hear your vocal quality for the stage. It is also an opportunity to showcase your acting skills through song. You can sing from a musical, a folk song, or popular music; whatever feels right to you and instills confidence in the performance. 

• Sound quality is important! Make sure we can clearly hear you without distracting background noises.
   
• Set the camera 4-5 feet away and stand while recording. We should be able to see from around the knees up.

Applicants are required to record a 3-4 minute video audition and will upload their video through the application checklist. Please follow this format when creating your video:

1. Introduce yourself and your materials: “My name is (your preferred name and last name). My monologues are from (title of play) by (playwright’s name), in the role of (character’s name), and (title of play) by (playwright’s name), in the role of (character’s name). My song is (title) by (composer/songwriter).”
    
2. Perform your first monologue: Choose a monologue from a modern/contemporary playwright (from a play written after 1920).
    
3. Perform your second monologue: Choose a monologue from a modern/contemporary playwright (from a play written after 1920) that contrasts with your first monologue.
    
4. Perform your song a capella (without accompaniment): Sing 16 bars (1-2 musical phrases) of a song you enjoy and are comfortable singing. This song is not about testing your skills as a singer, but to hear your vocal quality for the stage. It is also an opportunity to showcase your acting through song. You can sing from a musical, a folk song, or popular music; whatever feels right to you and instills confidence in the performance. 

• Sound quality is important! Make sure you can be clearly heard without distracting background noises. 
   
• Set the camera 4-5 feet away. You can sit or stand depending on what is appropriate for your material. Props are limited to one chair.

• Plays with suitable monologues can be found at SCGSAH.org/suggested-monologues.
   
• Avoid using films, plays written expressly for high schoolers, or material from internet-only sources.
   
• Prepare monologues that suit your age, experience, and understanding. You stand out when you connect with your material personally!
   
• Read the entire plays that your monologues come from so you know what’s happening, where you are, who you are talking to, and why you are talking to them.
   
• Fully memorize your monologue before recording so you’re confident to engage your imagination and make the piece your own. We want to experience a character in a dramatic situation, not just reciting.
   
• Work from yourself. Avoid putting on accents, funny walks or talking, and crude attempts at “character.” 

1. Collage: Create a collage that clearly represents something you have read or learned in school. 
    
   • A collage is a two-dimensional composition made of different materials attached to a surface. Use cut out text (words) and images in your collage; do not simply draw a variety of images on the page.
   • You will be asked to write three sentences (one sentence per question) about how your collage represents a topic you’ve learned about in school. Please do not write more than three sentences. 
      
2. Pencil Drawing: Create one drawing of three views of the same cup or mug using a No. 2 pencil (no colored pencils).
    
   • The cup/mug should be drawn from observation. In your composition, use scale, positive/negative space, and a full value range. Review the definitions for the bolded terms.
   • As you design your composition, try this: imagine your three cups/mugs are floating in space. They are tumbling and turning around, overlapping each other. Some are getting bigger as they move closer while others move away. Suddenly, they freeze, like a movie on pause. What might that look like in a drawing?

• Use one of these templates to format your digital portfolio: Google Docs, Microsoft PowerPoint
• Follow the instructions and show us your creativity! 
• Be sure to review the Art Terms & Definitions tab! 

Resources for Photographing Artwork

• How to photograph your art at home
• How to photograph your three-dimensional art with a smartphone
• How to photograph your art with a digital camera
• How to photograph your art with a laptop (use as a last resort)

Drawn from Observation: Drawn looking directly at the physical object in front of you, not from a photo, memory, or your imagination. 

Composition: The arrangement of individual elements on the page. In this prompt, you are choosing where on the page to place your three cups/mugs.

• Your placement choice of the three views should move the viewer’s eye around the page.
• In your drawing, there should be a variety of positive and negative space.
• Maybe the three different views of the cup/mug are different in size.
• Maybe the three different views of the cup/mug overlap so they look transparent, or maybe one or more of the views goes off the edge of the page. 

Scale: Scale refers to size. In your drawing, make sure that the size of the cup/mug is drawn to have the same size relationships that it has in reality. For example, if the actual handle of a mug is one third its height, it should look like that in the drawing. Your cup/mug will be more recognizable in each of the three views if your proportions are accurate to the cup/mug you see in front of you. The proportion of different parts will change depending on your viewpoint.

• You could represent the cup/mug at different sizes.
• You could change the position of the cup/mug in each view or view it from different angles by changing your position. You could view it from a standing position or seated in front of it. Or, you could look down on it from above or sit on the floor and look up at it. 

Full Value Range: Value is the relationship between darks and lights in your drawing. A full value range will include everything from the lightest lights (the pencil barely touches the page) to the darkest darks (pushing down hard with the pencil), and every gray in between.

• Balance your composition by making some areas light, some areas middle gray, and some areas dark. 

Positive/Negative Space: Positive space refers to the areas that show an image/object that you have drawn, and negative space refers to the blank spaces in between. A good composition will show thoughtful consideration to the placement and interaction of the positive and negative spaces on the page.

• In this drawing, your cups are the positive space. The background and the space in between and around the cups are the negative space.
• Give some thought to how the negative space impacts your composition (refer to the definition of “composition” above). 

Applicants are required to submit a digital portfolio (saved as a PDF) to the application checklist.

1. Collage: Create a collage that clearly represents something you have read or learned in school. 
   • A collage is a two-dimensional composition made of different materials attached to a surface. Use cut out text (words) and images in your collage; do not simply draw a variety of images on the page
   • You will be asked to write three sentences (one sentence per question) about how your collage represents a topic you’ve learned about in school. Please do not write more than three sentences. 
      
2. Pencil Drawing of Two Unrelated Objects: Create one drawing of two unrelated objects using a No. 2 pencil (no colored pencils). This should be drawn from direct observation, not from a photograph, memory, or your imagination.
   • Draw your selected objects as you have arranged them in front of you. (The surface on which your objects are placed does not count as one of the two objects and should be included in your drawing.)
   • Ask yourself how your objects are or are not related. Beware of pairs that seem unrelated but actually have a strong connection – a hat and a shoe are both worn on the body; a shoe and a pencil sharpener, as an example, might be a better choice. Your choices here are a way to show us your creative thinking!
      
3. Piece of Choice: Choose one of the following options that best demonstrates your artistic skills.
   • A 2D or 3D piece, of any size and material(s)
   • A drawn storyboard, neatly compiled and in order (use this storyboard template)
   • A motion picture (live-action or animation) no longer than 2 minutes and must be saved in a QuickTime-compatible format (.mov, .mp4, etc.)
      
4. 20+ Sketchbook Pages: Select at least 20 (more are encouraged) pages in a bound sketchbook done from direct observation in the past 12 months. This component is not a collection of finished, highly refined drawings. Your sketchbook pages should demonstrate your interest in art ideas as evidenced in the drawings, images, and ideas collected inside.

Use one of these templates to format your digital portfolio: Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint
 

Resources for Photographing Artwork

• How to photograph your art at home
• How to photograph your two-dimensional art with a smartphone
• How to photograph your three-dimensional art with a smartphone
• How to photograph your art with a digital camera
• How to photograph your art with a laptop (use as a last resort)

Drawn from Observation: Drawn looking directly at the physical object in front of you, not from a photo, memory, or your imagination. 

Composition: The arrangement of individual elements on the page. In this prompt, you are choosing where on the page to place your three cups/mugs.

• Your placement choice of the three views should move the viewer’s eye around the page.
• In your drawing, there should be a variety of positive and negative space.
• Maybe the three different views of the cup/mug are different in size.
• Maybe the three different views of the cup/mug overlap so they look transparent, or maybe one or more of the views goes off the edge of the page. 

Scale: Scale refers to size. In your drawing, make sure that the size of the cup/mug is drawn to have the same size relationships that it has in reality. For example, if the actual handle of a mug is one third its height, it should look like that in the drawing. Your cup/mug will be more recognizable in each of the three views if your proportions are accurate to the cup/mug you see in front of you. The proportion of different parts will change depending on your viewpoint.

• You could represent the cup/mug at different sizes.
• You could change the position of the cup/mug in each view or view it from different angles by changing your position. You could view it from a standing position or seated in front of it. Or, you could look down on it from above or sit on the floor and look up at it. 

Full Value Range: Value is the relationship between darks and lights in your drawing. A full value range will include everything from the lightest lights (the pencil barely touches the page) to the darkest darks (pushing down hard with the pencil), and every gray in between.

• Balance your composition by making some areas light, some areas middle gray, and some areas dark. 

Positive/Negative Space: Positive space refers to the areas that show an image/object that you have drawn, and negative space refers to the blank spaces in between. A good composition will show thoughtful consideration to the placement and interaction of the positive and negative spaces on the page.

• In this drawing, your cups are the positive space. The background and the space in between and around the cups are the negative space.
• Give some thought to how the negative space impacts your composition (refer to the definition of “composition” above).