Visual & Performing Arts

Our goal is to have students transfer their developing awareness of artistic value and cultural understanding to all areas of their life, learning and community.

The Visual & Performing Arts Department offers every student the opportunity to explore artistic creation in visual, dramatic and musical mediums. Instructors guide students to connect their burgeoning skills with their ideas and personal experiences to begin to develop an artistic aesthetic. Students think critically and analytically regarding artistic choices, motivations and relevant theories throughout the process of creating art and through the completion of the final product. The department emphasizes the importance of studying contemporary and traditional approaches within each medium and its cultural development through history.

Art is incorporated into all aspects of the JCHS experience through collaboration with performing arts, gallery showcases, and site-specific art installations throughout our campus. Our goal is to have students transfer their developing awareness of artistic value and cultural understanding to all areas of their life, learning and community.

The Visual & Performing Arts Department’s mission is to see each student develop the ability to:

  • Engage in the artistic process to develop original pieces of art and performance
  • Process, analyze, and respond to artistic information using appropriate artistic vocabulary and themes
  • Relate and utilize historical and cultural information to contextualize their own work, and make historical and cultural connections to fine art and other academic disciplines
  • Analyze and think critically about their own work, the work of their peers, and the artistic works within the community and culture
  • Evaluate and offer respectful, constructive feedback regarding their artistic outcomes and those of their peers
  • Learn to work independently, as well as in a group
  • Develop the problem-solving skills necessary to bring a long-term project to a successful close

LEARN MORE ABOUT   DRAMA   |   VISUAL ARTS   |   MUSIC

Click on any course name below to learn more.

Visual & Performing Arts Core Courses

Subject Area: Performing Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

Acting I engages students in learning the skills of acting and storytelling. Through games, improvisation, and exercises, students learn the skills and techniques of concentration, developing given circumstances, sense memory, emotional portrayal, physical agility, vocal control and character development. Units include improv, modern scene work, and acting for the camera. Students develop skills in observation and critique of the art of acting. Using the wonderful improv games of Viola Spolin and Keith Johnstone, the listening techniques of Meisner, the magic ‘if’ of Stanislavski, we learn to listen, work creatively, and build responsive, fearless physical and imaginative instruments.

Subject Area: Performing Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

This is a class designed to combine both singers and instrumentalists (and those that want to both play and sing) in the same class. It is a performance-based class that provides an opportunity both to elevate the technical facility of the individual musician and to represent JCHS in a positive way inside the community. Music selections will be drawn from a combination of sources and be in part student determined. Students will also choose a creative track and follow it for the whole year: options include music technology (sequencing, editing, and composing), improvisation (which includes some music theory), composition (which also includes music theory, geared toward writing for peers in the class) and songwriting and/or lyric writing.

Subject Area: Performing Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

Filmmaking introduces students to the creative process of filmmaking – from conceptualization of story to production and post-production processes. Students will develop storytelling skills using the creative medium of film – from idea, to script, storyboards. We will view and study the techniques employed by some of the most influential filmmakers of the last 100 years. Concepts and skills are developed through project assignments and will explore the technical aspects of filmmaking such as: visualization, camera movement and shot composition, special effects, lighting, sound, music and editing. Students will learn the skills necessary to successfully accomplish basic pre-production, production, and post-production processes. Advanced non-linear editing skills are introduced using tools such as Final Cut Pro, Motion, Adobe Premiere, and Adobe After Effects. Working both collaboratively and independently, students will learn the grammar and conventions of the medium by creating short narrative films.  This course also covers the current and historical norms of the filmmaking industry.

Please Note: A laptop (Mac or PC only, no Chromebook) with sufficient processing power and free disc space is required. Computers without sufficient free space or processing capabilities will (at minimum) cause frustrations in completing projects. It is strongly recommended that prospective students verify with the instructor their computer is sufficiently capable in advance.  If using a Mac, the latest version of iMovie (free with macOS,) Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro (Provided by JCHS) should be loaded. If using a Windows machine, the current version of Premiere Pro (Provided by JCHS), or Resolve (freeware) should be loaded.

Subject Area: Visual Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

This course will provide students with an introduction to Photography’s fundamental principles and techniques using both digital and analog (film) methods.  Our class will investigate the interrelationship between concept, subject and technique in order to create dynamic images in both color and black & white.

Hands-on exercises, demonstrations, lectures and critique and are designed to clarify the technical aspects of photography while encouraging creative approaches to picture making.  Camera operations, principles of design for composition, and expanding our visual literacy are among topics included.

Please Note: Students who do not have their own cameras will be able to check out a JCHS camera for the duration of the class. Each student and their family checking out a JCHS camera accepts responsibility to replace the camera/kit for loss or damage.

Subject Area: Performing Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

Instrumental Ensemble is a course dedicated to creating a quality performing group that provides an opportunity both to elevate the technical facility of the individual musician and to represent JCHS in a positive way inside the community. In this class, students will practice music outside of class (ideally with the help of a private instructor) and participate in rehearsals with their peers, either with or without the instructor’s guidance. Students will also choose a creative track and follow it for the whole year: options include music technology (sequencing, editing, and composing), improvisation (which includes some music theory) and composition (which also includes music theory, geared toward writing for peers in the class).

Subject Area: Visual Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

Materials and Methods focuses on guiding students through the essential elements of art by engaging them in exercises designed to develop their skills in drawing, painting, and printmaking. Students will explore different topics within each media as a means of learning to see the world around them, and to channel personal expression.  Subject matter will be assigned in a way that encourages generative responses while providing thematic structure.  The aim being for each student to reflect on their own interests and experiences as they develop ideas for their work, and develop their skills relevant to each media.  Each student will complete several individual works throughout the year.  Studio practice will be supported by group critiques, sketchbook work, as well as reading and writing assignments.

Subject Area: Visual Arts
Open to: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sculpture is a studio art course about using various materials and methods to construct three-dimensional forms. Students gain hands-on technical skills and conceptual foundations of visual language. Using processes of assemblage, casting, additive and subtractive work, students explore relationships between objects, physical space, and scale. Materials that students focus on include, and are not limited to, wire, plaster, clay, paper, found objects, and digital media. Over the course of the year, students build an understanding of how ideas, identities, cultures, and histories are communicated through art. Students learn to analyze form and content through their independent projects and class discussions, and by studying artists who work with sculptural objects, architecture, site-specific installations, and performance. Assignments promote imaginative inquiry and technical skill development. This course includes major projects, process projects, some reading, writing, class discussions, and sketchbook assignments.

Visual & Performing Arts Elective Courses

Subject Area: Performing Arts
Prerequisite(s): Acting I (or 2 or more JCHS Productions and Departmental Approval)

Acting II is a performance based class which extends and deepens the skills built in Acting I. Students will engage in advanced acting exercises for the stage and screen, including long form improvisation, Meisner technique, Michael Chekhov technique, directing, and acting for film. Students will study advanced contemporary and classical texts.

Subject Area: Visual Arts
Open to: 11, 12
Prerequisite(s): (Concepts & Processes or Honors Photography) and Departmental Approval

Students will elect to concentrate in one of the following:

  • 2-D Art and Design
  • 3-D Art and Design
  • Drawing

The AP Studio program consists of three different courses and AP Portfolio Exams – AP 2-D Art and Design, AP 3-D Art and Design, and AP Drawing – corresponding to college and university foundations courses. Students may choose to submit any or all of the AP Portfolio Exams.

Students create a portfolio of work to demonstrate inquiry through art and design and development of materials, processes, and ideas over the course of a year. Portfolios include works of art and design, process documentation, and written information about the work presented. In May, students submit portfolios for evaluation based on specific criteria, which include skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas and sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision, guided by questions.

Please Note: AP courses will require additional afternoon and/or weekend meeting times throughout the year.

Students who do not have their own cameras will be able to check out a JCHS camera  for the duration of the class. Each student and their family checking out a JCHS camera accepts responsibility to replace the camera/kit for loss or damage.

Subject Area: Visual Arts
Prerequisite(s): Materials and Methods or Sculpture

Concepts and Processes builds upon the foundation established by the Materials and Methods course. Students will expand on their technical skills essential to the requirements of each media as a route to express individual ideas and sensibilities with impact and authenticity. Students will be asked to reflect on their own interests and experiences as they discover and develop ideas for their work. In addition, examples of historical and contemporary artists and movements will be presented throughout the year in order to provide cultural context for myriad creative approaches. The media explored in the Concepts and Processes course includes drawing, painting, and printmaking, mixed media, and a unit focusing on creating art for a public audience. Studio practice will be supported by group critiques, sketchbook work, as well as reading and writing assignments.

Subject Area: Performing Arts
Prerequisites: Filmmaking 

This course builds on the foundations acquired in Filmmaking.  Students learn how to organize more long-term, complex team projects. These projects may include both Narrative and Avant-Garde films of significant length and breadth. Through these projects, students learn the techniques of developing stories using tools such as storyboards and shot lists. We study the various genres of contemporary films such as Noir, Documentary, Realism, and Neorealism, and delve into their respective place in cinematic history. Students study Hollywood features, foreign cinema, and independent films to gain an understanding of how various filmmaking techniques affect the viewer’s interpretation of a story. Copyright, fair use, and infringements are explored.  Students will film both in and out of class and the emphasis will be on visual innovation and expression as evidenced in their films.  

Please Note:  A laptop (Mac or PC only, no Chromebook) with sufficient processing power and free disc space is required. Computers without sufficient free space or processing capabilities will (at minimum) cause frustrations in completing projects. It is strongly recommended that prospective students verify with the instructor their computer is sufficiently capable in advance. If using a Mac, the latest version of Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro will be provided.  iMovie is not sufficient for this class. If using a Windows machine, the latest version of Premiere Pro (provided) or Resolve (freeware) should be loaded.

Subject Area: Visual Arts
Prerequisite(s): Fundamentals of Photography

This course is designed for students to explore and refine their own personal methodologies and approaches to photographic image making. Our class focuses on visual literacy and learning to see as artists. This is a conscious act that requires thinking, analyzing, and decision-making both technically and conceptually. This is the driving goal of our course in both the work we create and how we learn to talk about photography. This process is built on a foundation of technical skill in both the traditional and digital darkroom environments. The understanding of key photographic principles and methods is achieved through assignments, lecture, demonstration, critique and presentation of artists’ work that culminates in a final portfolio piece.  

Students are given greater latitude and responsibility in this course to pursue their individual photographic interests with the goal of creating a personal portfolio of images. The assignments given at this level place an emphasis on individual style and vision while strengthening the students’ technical skills. Willingness to take risks in one’s imagery and the ability to work independently are key components at this advanced level of study.

Please Note: Students who do not have their own cameras will be able to check out a JCHS camera  for the duration of the class. Each student and their family checking out a JCHS camera accepts responsibility to replace the camera/kit for loss or damage.

Click here to view the complete Curriculum Map

Concentration, 2014, by Sally Khomikh
Concentration, 2014, by Sally Khomikh

Visual Art work created by JCHS students