Fine Arts Policies & Guidelines 2012-2013

• Goals
• ISAS Arts Festival
  
• Performing Art Contracts
  
• Kinkaid Upper School Musical
  
• Guidelines For Athletic/Fine Arts Competition
  
• Safety And Cleanliness in the Performing Arts Venues
  

• Enable all students to discover interests and talents in the arts that will enrich their lives throughout school and beyond, through exposure to a wide variety of art forms.
  
• Teach creative problem-solving in situations in which independent thought, personal expression and risk-taking are of greater value than conformity.
  
• Provide those students with a strong interest in the arts ample opportunity to develop skills and to strengthen their understanding.
  
• Teach students to be knowledgeable about our culture’s art and music and about the role of the arts throughout history and other civilizations.
  
• Use art as a way to understand others by bringing students into contact with the greatest creative spirits and thinkers of our civilization and of others.
  
• Encourage students to make discriminating judgments, to develop tolerance and sensitivity toward others, to respect the work of their fellow students, and to work well as team members.

PERFORMING ART CONTRACTS
Participation in select groups requires an understanding of specific policies and procedures that govern involvement in the group. Students auditioning should sign the contract, signifying an understanding of the rules stated below:

• Students auditioning make an automatic commitment to the group.
  
• If a student elects to drop a commitment to one group, the student will be removed from all groups and will not participate in ISAS in any capacity.
  
• Students in performing arts select groups are committed to be involved in the Upper School Musical and the ISAS Arts Festival.
  
• Although certain policies and procedures exist pertaining to membership in an auditioned group, the director of each performing arts select group has ultimate authority to alter the nature and structure of a group if necessary.
  
• It is expected that members of all select companies serve as examples of excellence and that they abide by all school policies.
  

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GUIDELINES FOR ATHLETIC/FINE ARTS COMPETITION
Kinkaid has valued, and continues to value, the tradition of students being able to participate both in athletics and the fine arts. Both the Fine Arts Department and the Athletic Department will work cooperatively to avoid conflict. The Athletic Department will be notified when performances are scheduled and will work around those performances so that students are not pulled apart. The Fine Arts Department will schedule rehearsals to avoid pulling students from scheduled athletic contests or practices. However, when there are unavoidable conflicts, the following set of guidelines will be used to resolve them:

• There will be dates in the week of the musical when rehearsals have clear, unambiguous priority over athletic events. Other “select” groups also have performances, and cooperation between the departments to allow dress rehearsals is extremely important.
  
• In an ISAS year, there will be one date in the week that the festival takes place when fine arts has clear, unambiguous priority over athletic events.
  
• No contests will be rescheduled during the period of time students are at the ISAS Festival. If there are regularly scheduled athletic events during the ISAS Festival, fine arts will have clear unambiguous priority over the athletic events.
  
• Fine arts directors will schedule rehearsals to avoid conflicts with scheduled athletic contests and practices. In the case of conflict, the scheduled athletic event will take precedence.
  
• Once the rehearsal schedules have been established they will take precedence over contests that are not on the original athletic schedule. Every effort should be made to avoid rescheduling which produces such conflicts.

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ISAS (INDEPENDENT SCHOOL ASSOCIATION OF THE SOUTHWEST) ARTS FESTIVAL
The ISAS Arts Festival is an annual event involving independent schools from the Southwest. Students in choir, band, orchestra, drama, dance, visual arts, creative writing and photography are selected to attend the festival. In order to participate students must be a member of the art class and must be selected by the faculty to represent Kinkaid in the visual and performing arts.

While the festival occurs each year, Kinkaid currently attends every other year on odd number ending years. Students pay a transportation and hotel fee. The festival begins on a Thursday afternoon and ends on a Saturday in the spring semester. The Kinkaid Arts Board organizes the event.

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KINKAID UPPER SCHOOL MUSICAL
The Kinkaid Upper School Musical is open to all upper school students. The musical is an opportunity for students to sing, to act, to dance and to serve on technical crews responsible for lights, sound, set and costumes. Although there is a competitive element inherent in auditions, the staff supports the philosophy of students supporting each other during this process. The staff considers all roles important to the ensemble nature of a production and therefore encourages students to be accepting and appreciative of any position in the performance. Commitment, dependability, cooperation, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to grow through the production process is a prerequisite for auditioning. If a student doubts his/her abilities in any one of these areas, he/she should not audition.

The casting will be done by the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department, Director, Assistant Director, Musical Director and Choreographer. The staff will arrive at a unanimous decision on the casting of the muscial.

The Kinkaid Musical is a time honored tradition of excellence, and enjoyment for the entire community. Students auditioning on ISAS festival years must be able to attend the festival and must commit to attending before auditioning.

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SAFETY AND CLEANLINESS IN THE PERFORMING ARTS VENUES
The very nature of theatre involves some special hazards, including safety hazards, fire hazards and chemical hazards. Backstage crew, performers, and sometimes even the audience can be at risk. Within the theatre, there is lifting of heavy scenery and manipulation of often large scenery, props, and lighting or special effects equipment in a very small space. The hours of work are irregular and the backstage is often very cramped.

Because of this, students must adhere to the following rules governing the two major performance arenas at Kinkaid. The following rules are in place for the safety of all performing arts participants and cleanliness in all performing arts venues:

• Students must not bring in food or drink without faculty permission.
  
• Students are not allowed in any storage or technical support area without faculty permission.
  
• Students must wear shoes unless directed otherwise by a faculty member.
  
• Students should not touch anything onstage or backstage unless directed otherwise by a faculty member.
  
• If students desire to work or rehearse in a performance venue, they must be sure a faculty member is present in the building in case of emergency.

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FINE ARTS SAFETY POLICY

The Kinkaid fine arts faculty and school value the safety of the school community above all else. The Kinkaid students, faculty and staff must all work together to control and encourage respect for the visual arts classrooms, exhibitions spaces and performing arts classrooms and performing spaces, which are professional work areas rather than “play areas.” For many students, the fascination with microphones, lighting equipment, musical instruments, paints, and photo chemicals, offers a temptation to touch and sometimes to abuse the materials and equipment housed in these facilities.

• Students are not to enter any visual arts classroom or performing arts space without the supervision and direction of a faculty member.  This includes the stage and all surrounding arts complex rooms, the shop, costumes storage/workroom, props room and loft, etc., are off-limits.
  
• No student may touch any equipment such as microphones, light-board, soundboard, stage properties, or set pieces without the direct supervision of a faculty member.
  
• The performing and visual arts spaces are, therefore, working under a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY. Violation of this policy can result in detention, suspension, or dismissal from school.

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