Courses - Christopher Newport University

Summer Arts at CNU

Art

This course is an immersive experience in making and appreciating visual art. You'll develop your technical skills as well as your creative expression through various artistic forms. The emphasis will be on visual literacy and expanding your creativity, communication, collaboration and critical-thinking skills.

We will focus on two distinct mediums – photography and sculpture. Experimentation in Photography will expose you to new techniques in darkroom as well as digital photography, with an emphasis on experimental lighting techniques using both natural and artificial light. Explorations in 3D Art introduces you to various forms of sculpture, including ceramics, 3D printing and fibers.

Chris Bavaria

Chris Bavaria

Chris Bavaria is a photographer and visual storyteller based in Richmond. He earned a BA in art from Millersville University and an MFA in documentary photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His work has been shown internationally by The Travel Channel, Playboy, NPR, Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine, Metro New York, Alternative Press, and in galleries and museums in San Francisco, New York, Berlin, and Stockholm.


Ryan Lytle

Ryan Lytle '15

Ryan Lytle earned a BA in studio art from Christopher Newport University and his MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art. He currently is interested in the process of needle-felting and how the medium has the ability to provide a nostalgic comfort reminiscent of his extensive childhood stuffed animal collection.

He draws inspirations for his work from mythologies, existing animal archetypes, as well as nature documentaries and observation. He is the recipient of a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Graduate Fellowship and exhibits his work in galleries and museums throughout Virginia and across the country.

Time Event
8-8:45 a.m. Breakfast in Regattas Dining Hall
9-10:45 a.m. Class 1: Explorations in 3D Art
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Lunch in Regattas Dining Hall
1-2:45 p.m. Class 2: Experimentation in Photography
3-5 p.m. Independent project work – studio time
5-6:30 p.m. Dinner and discussion in Regattas Dining Hall
6:30-9:30 p.m. Free time - collaborations with theater, music and humanities students; relaxation, or social activities
10 p.m. Return to residence halls

Music

Working within the digital realm, we'll create soundtracks to film, new and exciting recordings, and original performances on nontraditional instruments. You'll study film scores, audio production and recording, and even be part of a laptop ensemble. Each student should bring a personal laptop for the full two-week session if possible.

Geared toward a final collaborative music presentation(s), students will engage in one or more sub-disciplines of their choosing, including performance, composition, film scoring, theory, technology/creative studies, as well as improvisation and conducting. You will engage in both the theoretical and practical aspects of preparing a musical performance from inception to completion.

Kelly Rossum

Kelly Rossum

Associate professor of trumpet and jazz studies
Chair, Department of Music

Kelly Rossum is an international trumpet artist, improviser and composer. He has performed everything from lead trumpet at New York’s famed Birdland jazz club to baroque trumpet in Bad Säckingen, Germany; and from improvised free jazz in Bangkok to traditional Son in Santiago de Cuba. His original compositions, incorporating improvisational and contemporary avant-garde techniques, have been commissioned, performed and recorded by individual artists and large organizations alike. He has provided original scores for both film and dance and has received support from the American Composers Forum and the Jerome Foundation.


Maxwell Tfirn

Maxwell Tfirn

Lecturer in composition
Director of creative studies

Maxwell Tfirn is a composer, performer and technologist. He holds a PhD and MA in composition and computer technology from the University of Virginia, an MA in music composition from Wesleyan University, and a BM in music education and a performance certificate in percussion performance from the University of Florida. Tfirn’s music has been performed nationally and internationally, including various performances at ICMC, SEAMUS, Electro Acoustic Barn Dance, Society of Composers, FEAST Festival, Technosonics, N_SEME, Subtropics Music Festival, FEAST Fest, Society of Composers Inc. He was a featured composer for Share and more. Additionally, he has had works performed by the Jack Quartet, Loadbang, MehanPerkins, Dither, Ekmeles, the New Thread Quartet, Fifth Bridge Quintet, I-Jen Fang, Seung-Hye Kim and Kenneth Broadway. Tfirn’s percussion ensemble piece Gentle Rain on Delicate Wings can be heard on the album Speed of Sound, recorded by the University of Virginia Percussion Ensemble. He has done various recording and programming projects with composers Judith Shatin, Chris Luna, Anthony Braxton and the American Composers Orchestra to name a few. Outside of his music, Tfirn creates digital glitch photography that uses audio concepts and synthesis as a means of image manipulation in Supercollider, and has been working on a National Science Foundation Grant that fuses music technology and chemical engineering.

Time Event
8-8:45 a.m. Breakfast in Regattas Dining Hall
9 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Class 1: Film Music – Film Scoring Techniques and Methods
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Lunch in Regattas Dining Hall
1-2:45 p.m. Class 2: Music Technology – Interactive Electronic Mediums
3-5 p.m. Independent project work – digital audio workstations and creative builds
5-6:30 p.m. Dinner and discussion in Regattas Dining Hall
6:30-9:30 p.m. Laptop rehearsals, collaborations with theater and art students, recreation, or social activities
10 p.m. Return to residence halls

Theater

Geared toward a final collaborative music presentation(s), students will engage in one or more sub-disciplines of their choosing, including acting, singing, dancing, scenic/lighting/costume/prop design and construction, as well as directing and stage management. You will engage in both the theoretical and practical aspects of taking a script “from page to stage,” as well as additional theater viewings and /or master classes.

 

Gregg Lloyd

Professor of acting and stage combat
Chair, Department of Theater and Dance

Lloyd earned his MFA in acting from Western Illinois University and has over 25 years of experience as a theater professional and educator. He is an SAFD-certified stage combat teacher, a black belt in Hapkido and TangSooDo, and resident fight director for Virginia Opera and Virginia Stage Company.

Lloyd’s recent acting credits include Spamalot, Violet, 1776, Little Shop of Horrors, Sunday in the Park with George and Red. Fight direction includes West Side Story, Romeo & Juliet, Ragtime, Of Mice & Men, The Tales of Hoffman, Lucia di Lammermoor, Il Tovatore, and Don Giovanni. Directing credits for TheaterCNU include I Hate Hamlet, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, H.M.S. Pinafore, Noises Off, 12 Angry Jurors and Brighton Beach Memoirs.


Laura Lloyd

Laura Lloyd

Lecturer of dance and musical theater history

Laura Lloyd earned her MFA from Western Illinois University and has gone on to perform, choreograph and direct for regional theatres and schools around the country. Lloyd has worked in theatres from Texas to Michigan and Indiana to Virginia, performing in such shows as Into the Woods, Assassins, Singin’ in the Rain, Quilters, Anything Goes, Big River and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directing credits include Once on This Island, Sweeney Todd, Cinderella and Ah, Wilderness! just to name a few. Lloyd’s greatest passion is choreography. She is proud to have worked on many projects, including Legally Blonde, Oklahoma, The Music Man, She Loves Me, The Wiz and A Chorus Line, which was nominated for a regional Theatre Critics Award for best choreography.

Time Event
8:30-9:45 a.m. Breakfast in Regattas Dining Hall
9:30 a.m.-noon Class 1: The Designers Approach: Creating the World of the Play
Noon-1:30 p.m. Lunch in Regattas Dining Hall
1:30-2 p.m. Group warm-ups in Ferguson Rehearsal Hall
2:30-4:30 p.m. Class 2: Duets and Groups: Acting and Singing as an Ensemble
4:30-5 p.m. Transition time: return to residence halls; relax!
5-6:30 p.m. Dinner and discussion in Regattas Dining Hall
6:30-9:30 p.m. Rehearsals, readings, recreation, reflection or … games!
10 p.m. Return to residence halls

June 20

Time Event
9:30 a.m. to noon Introductions, syllabus review, trust exercises and team building
Reading Assignments – TBD specific to sub-discipline
2 - 4:30 p.m. Discussion of various theater specialties/subdisciplines and how they interact

June 21

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon Clues, spines & flesh: script analysis and character-building for actors
2 - 4:30 p.m. Who’s in charge?: director-actor relationship

June 22

Time Event
Schedules Vary Various rehearsals, workshops and individual/small-group sessions

June 23

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon Duets and groups: singing and acting as part of an ensemble
2 - 4:30 p.m. The designers approach: creating the world of the play
Quiz – first reading assignments

June 24

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon The search for material: guided research to select performance pieces for final production
2 - 4:30 p.m. Putting it together: creating a coherent showcase or review
Assignment – weekend reading by sub-discipline

June 25-26

Time Event
Times TBA Talent show in the Crow’s Nest
Theater excursion to local sites and experiences

June 27

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon The theater connoisseur: discussing the production observations
2 - 4:30 p.m. Due: song and scene analyses or design and directing concepts

June 28

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon Due: production critiques
Begin working on blocking, props, etc.
2 - 4:30 p.m. Due: quiz on second reading assignment
Individual and small-group work and rehearsals

June 29

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon “Stumble Through,” on book
2 - 4:30 p.m. Master class with designers
For next class: reading assignments according to discipline

June 30

Time Event
9:30 a.m. - noon Back to the future: open discussion on class experience and next steps on artistic journeys
2 - 4:30 p.m. Collaborative time with music and fine art
Showcase design run – off book

July 1

Time Event
9 a.m. Dress rehearsal
2 p.m. Matinee showcase performance
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