(Beverly Hills, CA September 23) Continuing its successful partnership, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) announce the second edition of the well-received education program designed for students, ages 12-18, interested in journalism and arts criticism. The Wallis Students Arts Reporters program—an initiative of GRoW @ The Wallis, the center’s education department—immerses participating students in performing arts reporting. Students will learn special writing skills through an introductory workshop, led by top arts and culture reporters and critics from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend and gain real life experience reporting on select performances at The Wallis.
The new session kicks off on Saturday, September 24 with a mandatory workshop from 4:15pm to 5:30pm at The Wallis. The workshop will introduce participating students to the fundamentals of performing arts journalism. Students will learn the various types of arts reporting, how to view productions with a critical eye, how to interview artists, and more. The workshop will be led by LADCC Vice President Jonas Schwartz (Theatermania.com) with fellow LADCC members Pauline Adamek (ArtsBeatLA.com, Stage Raw), Katie Buenneke (LA Weekly) and Jenny Lower (Los Angeles magazine, LA Weekly).
“GRoW @ The Wallis programs provide unique opportunities in the performing arts that are normally not offered within most school curriculums,” said Mark Slavkin, Director of Education at The Wallis. “The Students Arts Reporters program gives students a window into the world of arts journalism. The chance to see a wide variety of artistic work and learn from professional arts writers helps student imagine a potential career in arts journalism.”
“It’s a cliché to say that the children are our future, but facts are facts. Without a new generation of critical thinkers, one half of a symbiotic relationship between art makers and art evaluators will wilt,” Schwartz said. “With journalism as a whole evolving, it’s more important than ever to get young adults excited writing about theater.”
Following the introductory workshop, participating students will be expected to review at least one performance from each genre (theater, dance and/or music) during the season, and will have the opportunity to review multiple shows throughout the 2016/17 season. Students will be equipped with an official The Wallis Student Arts Reporters press pass, notebook, official press kits, and up to four tickets per reporter for each performance they choose to review. Performances available are Theater Unspeakable’s The American Revolution; Harlem Quartet with Aldo López-Gavilán; the Zukerman Trio; Merrily We Roll Along directed by Tony Award-nominee Michael Arden; Kyle Riabko: Bacharach Reimagined; and more.
About the Participating LADCC members
Pauline Adamek is an accomplished critic of theater, art exhibitions, music and books. Sydney-born, she is a Los Angeles-based writer, video segment producer and presenter for her own arts webzine ArtsBeatLA.com. She also reviews theater for LA Weekly, Stage Raw, and is a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. Pauline has worked as a freelance critic and arts reporter for the past 25 years, covering new film releases and film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance. She also files celebrity interview feature articles for FilmInk(Australia). Pauline holds a Master’s degree in Theatre and Film Studies from the University of South Wales, Australia. She is also a published author of children’s literature and a cookbook.
Katie Buenneke is a freelance theater and pop music writer. She started reviewing theater for her high school paper in 2008, and has been writing ever since—first for her college paper (the University of Southern California’s Neon Tommy, where she was the Theater Editor for three years), and now for LA Weekly. She holds a B.A in Theater (with an emphasis in Musical Theater) from USC, and is currently pursuing an M.F.A in film producing. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, Los Angeles magazine and the Village Voice.
Jenny Lower is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor currently earning her Master’s degree in Specialized Journalism from the University of Southern California. Her work has appeared in Los Angeles magazine, LA Weekly, Stage Raw, KCET’s Artbound, The Argonaut and the Ventura County Reporter, among other outlets. She is a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and the Stage Raw Theater Awards panel, honoring the city’s 99-seat venues.
Jonas Schwartz has been the Los Angeles Columnist for New York-based Theatermania.com for the past 11 years, reviewing the sold out tour of The Book of Mormon and the world premiere of Minsky’s, among others. Jonas has been a film critic for over 15 years at Comcast Cable and Maryland Nightlife. He has been certified by the MPAA and is a founding board member of the International Press Academy. He chairs several voting boards, including the Satellite Award Television nominating committee. His reviews have been carried by an array of publications including Comcast Cable, The Lord of the Rings fan site and The Drudge Report. Jonas graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalist and a minor in Film Criticism. Jonas joined the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle in 2014, serving as Vice President since 2015,
A one-time administrative fee of $50 is required, and The Wallis is pleased to offer financial aid to students in need of assistance. For more information on the program or to inquire about scholarships, please contact Debra Pasquerette at [email protected]. To apply, visit: http://thewallis.org/showinfo.php?id=158.
The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle was founded in 1969. It is dedicated to excellence in theatrical criticism and to the encouragement and improvement of theater in Greater Los Angeles. For more information about the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, please visit: http://ladramacriticscircle.com/.
For more information about The Wallis, please visit TheWallis.org.
For more information about The Wallis’ 2016/17 season, please visit our season press release.
For downloadable photos, please visit TheWallis.org/Press.
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