Andrew Leist
NOTE: This is the eighth in a series of Culver City Progress Blog articles highlighting local community groups doing good work in Culver City. Please see the postings on the Culver City Sister City Committee here and here, on the Martin Luther King Planning Committee here, on Shoes for the Homeless here, on the Culver City Youth Health Center here, on the Culver City Cultural Affairs Foundation here, and on the Culver City Education Foundation here.
Since I was a kid, the arts have been part of my life. My best memories revolve around my friends and our high school Theater department. So, as my own children grew, I was pleased to learn about Culver City High School’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, or AVPA.
The AVPA is an arts program created in 1995-1996 by the arts staff at CCHS through a grant (Secondary Specialized Program Grant) from the state of California. Major support also came from our founding sponsor Sony Pictures Entertainment, thanks to Janice Pober, Senior VP of Global Corporate Responsibility. Mrs. Pober and Sony have been committed partners to Culver schools since 1991, and tireless advocates of the AVPA since its creation.
Students in the AVPA have five disciplines available for study: Acting and Theater Design, Visual Art, Dance, Film, and Music. Courses usually meet after the regular school day, and, during rehearsals, can go late into the evening. Students are able to major and minor in separate disciplines if they can manage the workload, and are eligible to earn a Certificate of Completion and graduate from the AVPA by completing a prescribed course list.
During the 2011-2012 school year AVPA Theater students performed in the musical “Sweeney Todd” and a new play “West Moon Street”, and AVPA Dancers produced a Spring show and performed in “Laundromatinee” choreographed by the NEA award winner Heidi Duckler. Student films screened in Sony Pictures’ Cary Grant Theater, and Art students produced a gallery show, “Enzymatic” in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Music students enjoyed many performances including one in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. These are just a few highlights from a school year filled with learning and performance opportunities.
So how does this multi-faceted, award-winning program keep moving forward while our state’s education budget shrivels? It’s not easy, but the efforts of many people and organizations make the AVPA the gem that it is.
City High School and CCUSD are strong supporters of the AVPA, but are unable to fully fund the program. Sony’s founding support was key to the creation of the AVPA, and has been essential in creating relationships with other organizations. West Los Angeles College, Playa Vista, Culver City Education Foundation, MOCA, LACMA, Otis College of Art & Design are all key partners of the AVPA, as well as Front and Center, a unique collaborative of CCUSD, The Actors’ Gang, We Tell Stories, Center Theater Group, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Another critically important partner is the AVPA Foundation, a parent-led organization providing financial and logistical support of AVPA. The Foundation raises money to pay teachers, rent equipment, print posters and fund any reasonable operating expense. We also assist in applying for grants, and helped win a $50,000 award from the Surdna Foundation in 2011. Our logistical support includes helping the AVPA Creative Directors communicate with student families, selling tickets and concessions at shows, and funding and maintaining the AVPA website. Our volunteers, mostly parents of AVPA students, give many hours of their time to support a program we know to be rare and valuable.
This Saturday, the entire AVPA program comes alive at our Java Gala event, held at the Kirk Douglas Theater. The event showcases each of the five departments: Art, Dance, Film, Theater, and Music. Enjoy music and complimentary food in the lobby while viewing the student art gallery, then enter the main auditorium where our actors, dancers, and filmmakers will continue the show. The culminating event of our school year, Java Gala is the ultimate collaborative event for our young artists. Proceeds benefit the AVPA Foundation for support of the Academy.
For more information and tickets to Java Gala, visit www.avpa.org
JAVA GALA
Saturday, June 9, 2012
7:00-8:00pm: Open Lobby / Reception / Art Exhibition / Silent Auction / Live Music
8:00pm – The Show!
Kirk Douglas Theatre
9820 Washington Blvd, Culver City 90232
Contact for questions or more information: info@avpa.org
Tickets
$40 general admission in advance
$50 general admission at the door
$60 premium reserved seat
Andrew Leist is the President of the Culver City High School Academy of Visual and Performing Arts Foundation.
Andrew-
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing about this wonderful program. It has been a fantastic experience for our family in so many ways. Our son—who will obtain his certificate in theatre this year—has learned a great deal about different art forms. He also received life lessons that will serve him well in the years to come.
Please join all of the AVPA students, teachers, parents and supporters at the Kirk Douglas Theatre on Saturday, June 9th for Java Gala IV. You will not only enjoy this group of talented and dedicated kids, but one lucky bidder might win the handcrafted necklace I donated for the silent auction.
We hope to see you there!
I attended because my son is a graduating senior in the AVPA Theatre Department. Although the program was three hours long (including a 20-minute break), I was very disappointed to learn that Theatre had only been alloted 20 minutes, while Dance seemed to dominate the evening.
ReplyDeleteI hope more thoughtful programming is part of next year's fundraiser because every student deserves an equal chance.