This class is designed to give students the opportunity to learn to perform the music that they are interested in learning in a group setting. If you are an accomplished solo musician, this class will teach you how to combine your skills with other musicians. If you are a beginner, this class will teach you the fundamental skills of performance. We need people who play instruments, as well as people that love to sing. Any type of instruments are welcome in this band! (This class is not meant as a private lesson class, but a group performance class.)
In this course 7th and 8th grade students will explore the foundations of drama and develop acting skills for the stage, with the goal of developing each student’s imaginative, problem-solving, and communicative potential. Students will participate in a variety of theater exercises, develop storytelling techniques, play improvisational theater games, study scripted scenes, and create original works of theatre with cumulative class performances throughout the semester. Through the rehearsal process and collaborative group work, students develop qualities that promote teamwork, maturity, and dependability setting our middle school students up for success both on and off the stage.
Music Fundamentals is a course that equips students with essential skills and techniques through instrumental study. Subjects covered include: Ensemble play, Music Appreciation, Beginning Theory, and Intro to Production/Recording. This course is developed for those who may have limited to no experience as well as those looking to hone their skills.
Students will be introduced to and explore the use of digital video cameras, the nonlinear editing program Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and computer interfaces. The main objective of this course is to impart the various facets of visual storytelling. Students will view films and seeing how others have chosen to "tell" their stories. Organizational skills and time management are key factors to success in this course.We will discuss the fundamentals of cinematography, the importance of content, previsualization and storyboarding with the goalof developing technical skill and self-expression through digital media.
Vocal Ensemble is a course designed to give students an opportunity to explore singing while working on vocal technique, build strong harmonies, and learn about vocal blending. Students will explore many different genres of music, and experience performing both inside and outside the LBS community. This class will also help prepare students for the Spring Musical. No experience required. Everyone is welcome.
Performing Arts in the Middle School focus on building strong vocal, instrumental, acting and movement skills. The fifth grade Performing Arts class are designed to give students the opportunity to sample a variety of performing arts mediums, while learning the basics of being in a performing arts class. Students will participate in musical performances, dance, theater, and musical theater. This class prepares students for the many elections options that they will be presented with when they move beyond fifth and sixth grade and they get to start selecting their own performing arts electives.
Performing Arts in the Middle School focus on building strong vocal, instrumental, acting and movement skills. The sixth grade Performing Arts class are designed to give students the opportunity to sample a variety of performing arts mediums, while learning the basics of being in a performing arts class. Students will participate in musical performances, dance, theater, and musical theater. This class prepares students for the many elections options that they will be presented with when they move beyond fifth and sixth grade and they get to start selecting their own performing arts electives.
DanaCaldwell
Theater Instructor & Performing Arts Department Chair
Dana Caldwell has been a proud Owl since 2014, serving as the Gr. 5-12 Theater Teacher, Director, and Performing Arts Chair at Laguna Blanca School. A Santa Barbara native, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has been actively engaged as an actor, costume designer, director, and educator throughout her career. When she is not in the theater she can be found enjoying the great outdoors with her husband, Charles, and son, Jack (a young Swoop in training!).
On Theater at Laguna: “There is no greater practice of empathy than the work we do in theater as actors and as storytellers. We actively walk in others' shoes, we imagine a world other than our own—lessons we learn within our walls but take with us well beyond the theater. We engage in critical and creative thinking to solve problems as we dive into the unknown. We learn that our own unique gifts are vitally important. We learn that our voice matters and that we can’t do it alone. That it takes a village, showing up for your team, commitment, and follow through. And that humor and friendship get us a long way when the going gets tough. We learn that it’s okay to make mistakes and that perfection is a fool's errand, but sometimes, in that darkly lit theater, in those moments of profound human connection, we get pretty close to it.”
Brianne was raised in Southern Oregon and first moved to California to attend UCSD, where she studied Vocal Performance and History. She earned a master’s degree in History from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary and then began her teaching career as a Teach For America corps member, teaching choir in rural Louisiana. After teaching in Los Angeles for several years, she embarked on a two-year-long surf trip that ended abruptly along with everything else in 2020. She is thrilled to be settling in Santa Barbara as part of the Laguna Blanca faculty and can't wait to make music with her students!
Mr. Uyesaka's quizzical outlook on life and love of the arts germinated while growing up in the 1950s and 60s in the fertile San Joaquin Valley. Living out in the boondocks provided many, many hours to roam the country side and appreciate the slow side of life and fueled his passion to draw and make “stuff” from his imagination. Dug pursued painting and silk screen while at UCSB and went on to study graphic design and multimedia at SBCC. He also worked at a local film production company providing graphic design and media management. Dug has been a working artist and involved in the community arts scene since the 1970s. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious LBS Faculty Excellence Award and a William T. Colville Foundation grant for the arts. In 2010, he was the recipient of The Arts Fund 2010 Individual Artist Award for Assemblage and Collage. “Being able to nurture and help facilitate our students' imaginations and artistic talents here at Laguna and in the community is a gift. It fuels my spirit and hopefully enriches their lives forever. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
