Giving Voice: A Festival of Writing and the Arts
September 27, 2013
2013 Workshops
Masks of the Self: Creative Visualization and Discovery
Thomas Maltman
(Author of Little Wolves and The Night Birds)
Great writers see stories before they even pick up a pen.
Charles Dickens claimed he simply "saw" his stories unreeling in his mind and set them down
on the page. Tennessee Williams said A Streetcar Named Desire came to him first as an image—
he "saw" the ravaged face of a woman staring out a window,
and knew that she'd just been stood up by the man she loved.
This creative visualization exercise teaches the visioning process necessary for storytelling.
Using old-fashioned crayons, paper, and a spirit of fun and exploration,
we'll learn about the visioning process that sparks writers in the beginning.
Through drawing, we’ll understand characterization in new ways, encounter new characters on a journey, and leave with a work of writing that just might inspire our next story.
Fighting Smart: How To Make Conflict in the Theatre
Jeanne Murray Walker
(Published Author of Poems, Essays, and Plays)
Plays are about action and conflict, not about talk.
That’s true even though they’re constructed of dialogue, which seems sometimes to be a lot of talk.
In this workshop we’ll do some fun improvisations, creating scenes focusing on conflict.
Then we’ll move to the page, writing scenes that capture that conflict using as little dialogue as possible.
Writing About Food
Patty Kirk
(5th Book--The Easy Burden of Pleasing God)
What do you eat when you’re depressed? Is your ethnic heritage reflected in a food you like to make? What do you eat when you’re all alone? Is there a food you like to eat in secret?
Did you have any food rituals as a child? What was the first dish you ever cooked?
Have you ever had a major cooking disaster? What is your idea of comfort food?
What food says Mom? Dad? Grandma? In this workshop, you’ll tell a food story from your life
and learn what the process tells you about writing nonfiction in general.
The Truth About Songwriting
Andrew Peterson
(His 15th Album--Light for the Lost Boy)
Songwriting can't be taught, but it can be learned. While there is no magic key
("Which comes first, the lyrics or the music?"), Andrew will identify and explore several principles that will help any aspiring songwriter on the road to becoming a lifelong student of the craft.
Songwriting: Telling a Story
Jen Edwards
Although there are many songwriting techniques, this workshop will focus on
story songwriting.
Students will explore meter, form, and rhyming techniques that are often employed
when telling individual stories through music and lyric.
Students will then work together to compose a song, carefully crafting lyrics
to communicate a specific story with characters, locations, actions and emotions.
What’s in a Scene?: Screenwriting Fundamentals
Brad Gambill
In fiction, scenes can be quite fluid without concrete boundaries;
in screenplays, however, scenes are much more distinct.
More importantly, the scene is the essential building block of the script.
Without them, the script will have little form and progression.
In this workshop, we will examine the parameters of scenes in feature-length scripts
by looking at a few examples and then practice
scene-making strategies in scenes we create from scratch.
Writing Poems: "The Soul is Like a Buffalo"
Traci R. Letellier
How do poets use metaphor, associations, and the repetition of words and sounds to create layers of meaning within a poem? How can you use these same techniques?
Come to this workshop with pen and paper; leave with a poem!
Paper Snowflakes: Techniques of Creation
Becky Marietta
Most of us have heard the admonishment to “show, don’t tell” in our writing,
but even experts sometimes struggle with this concept. Our workshop is designed to demonstrate the skills needed to present plot through evocative description and action, allowing readers to sense what is happening in a story without being told outright. After discussing principles of technique, students will be given the opportunity to practice what they have learned by writing a short fictional scene using description to illuminate action and motivation.
Readers Theater
Jan Lauderdale
If you are interested in acting, come and try Readers Theater,
a dramatic presentation of a written work in a script form. Readers read from a script, so there is no memorization. The focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and gestures. Participants will work on characterization, facial expressions, and use of inflection.
Workshop is limited to 12 participants.
Drama I: Intro to Improvisational Theater and Other Scary Things
Donna Rollene
All participants will be encouraged to exercise their creativity within
through drama games and improvised settings. Presentation will be improvisational within framework decided by instructor and will include all participants.
Workshop is limited to 15 participants.
Calligraphy
Dave Andrus
A brief introduction to lettering followed by a hands-on workshop in which we will work on
Gothic letterforms utilizing flat-nib calligraphy pens, traditional turkey-feather quills,
and cheap foam brushes from the hardware store.
Wire Drawing
Joel Armstrong
This introduction to the use of wire as a 2D drawing medium,
rather than a 3D sculpture based medium will allow you to "hold on" to that drawing.
Students are encouraged to bring in a simple line drawing on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper.
Squeegee Time: A Screen Printing Workshop
Todd Goehner
This class gives students a basic introduction into the “Art Poster“ screen printing process.
We will look at “gig” and “art“ poster, talk about the techniques of producing the posters, and then practice those techniques by pulling a few prints during the class.
In the Dark Room
Neal Holland
Students will have the opportunity to study the traditional process of gelatin silver development
as conducted in the traditional (chemical) darkroom. Each group will receive a film negative
and will themselves develop an 8x10 silver print that they may keep as a memento of the day.
The workshop does not require any previous knowledge of traditional photographic development.
Limit 12 students per workshop.
Monotype Printmaking
Bobby Martin
A basic introduction to creating prints by hand using an etching press.
We will create artwork with ink on plexiglass, and then transfer those images to paper
to make a unique "monotype" print.
This fast but interesting process does not require any previous drawing or painting experience.
Digital Sculpting
Peter Pohle
An introduction to digital sculpting using Sculptris for creating an organic 3d character
on the computer. Sculptris provides a very intuitive approach in creating 3d models
on the computer. This application can be downloaded for free at:
http://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/downloadcenter/
The Tools of the Trade
Steve Snediker
Discover the magic of making a short (very short) stop-motion film —
the lights, camera, and action.
Students will experience and participate in the process.
National Novel Writing Month: Guiding the Creation of Student Novels
(Pedagogical Workshop for Teachers)
Patty Kirk
November is National Novel Writing Month—aka NaNoWriMo. Some tips from experience on how
to take classroom advantage of the almost universal novel-writing urge to help your students
learn how to write fiction and motivate them to write more of it.
State of Arkansas Professional Development credit available
