Teaching Artist, Art Sanctuary

Posted by on October 08, 2012

A Collaborative Initiative with: Art Sanctuary and Opera Company of Philadelphia

Hip H’opera Project Overview
Originally launched in 2007, Hip H’opera is a collaborative program between Art Sanctuary and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. The three-phase project takes teaching artists and workshops to more than 100 students and their teachers in several Philadelphia public high schools. They learn the history and aesthetics of hip-hop and opera, genres that use the human voice to tell profound stories, and then, using poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, these students capture their own urban stories.

The initial piece, which premiered in 2007, was work shopped with students from Art Sanctuary’s North Stars after school arts program, and then performed, first as poetry by the teens, then in musical form by opera singers, a string quartet, a pianist, and intergenerational chorus. Hip H’opera sold out two local
performances.

In 2013, professionals will craft the students’ new work into an opera for production in the fall of 2015 students will have an opportunity to work with a librettist, dramaturge, producer, composer, and choreographer while mounting the final production. They will also be involved in such technical areas as set design and costuming. The program is expected to become a national model for bridging genres and bringing new energy to inner-city music study.

Teaching Artist Job Description
Art Sanctuary seeks a teaching artist for our Hip H’opera project. The teaching artist will work with four Philadelphia public high schools on a dynamic creative writing project that will link the development and production processes involved with creating an original opera for the Fall 2015 season.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Facilitate 8 to 10 week lessons using our Hip H’Opera Learning Guide
• Work closely with high school students to help them create personalized narratives (fiction and non-fiction forms of writing) that will ultimately make up the larger theme for the Hip H’Opera.
• Oversee and facilitate a series of writing clinics to help students work on final edits of their stories for submission.
• Collect the final edit of the students’ narratives
• Submit weekly progress reports of each of the classes to the Hip H’opera administrative team.

QUALIFICATIONS:
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Teaching experience in an urban school setting
• Experience teaching creative writing to high school aged students
• An interest for working with an inner city school population
• An appreciation for arts, music and culture (i.e. hip hop, opera, jazz, classical)
• Ability to multitask
• Strong interpersonal skills

SCHEDULE:
• October, 2012 to April 2013
• In school hours, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
• After school hours, between 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

COMPENSATION
• $50 per hour
• One time prep fee of $250

TO APPLY
Candidates must submit:
• A résumé or curriculum vitae
• Sample of a lesson plan
• Hi-resolution photo/portrait
• At least 2-3 professional references
**If possible, provide video footage or web links of a performance or demonstration of your artistic practice of or your teaching.

Application materials should be sent by email no later than October 19, 2012 to Program Manager Biany Pérez at bperez@artsanctuary.org. Subject line should read “Teaching Artist Search.”

After applications are reviewed, selected applicants will be contacted for phone interviews. Please do not call. Only candidates chosen for an interview will be contacted.

Expires: 10/19/2012