 |
| Home |
| Mission |
| Programs |
| Faculty & Staff |
| News |
| Alumni |
| Calvin Theatre Company |
| Comments? |
 |
|
|
|
The newly formed Calvin Workshops in Media & Theatre has announced an annual summer workshop series that will offer participants an opportunity to work closely with established professionals in media and theatre. (Note: the program was retitled the "Calvin Workshops in Communication" in September 2004 to better reflect the growing diversity of offerings).
Beginning August 2-6, 2004, participants and outstanding professionals will gather on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan to explore topics such as radio documentary, TV series writing, producing short videos for film festivals, and using projection technologies fittingly in worship.
Identifying the role of Christians in communication professions is a
primary 
goal
of these workshops. Quentin Schultze, Professor of Communication at Calvin
College and Director of the Calvin Workshops in Media & Theatre (pictured
here with Assistant Director Rachel Zylstra), says, "There are many
media and theatre workshops that address professional skills, but our
goal is to consider ethics and faith as well.” He says that filmmaker
George Lucas (“Star Wars”) has compared talented communicators
who lack ethics to “witchdoctors."
Schultze adds that this summer workshop series complements the mission of the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences to “understand, engage and renew human communication” from a Reformed perspective.
Given the emphasis on both excellence and ethics, the workshops will be led by carefully chosen Christians experienced in media and theatre. Leaders this summer will include TV series writer-producers Coleman and Carel Gage Luck (“Gabriel’s Fire,” “The Equalizer,” and “The Burning Zone”), award-winning filmmaker Rik Swartzwelder (“The Least of These”), BBC radio documentarian Tim Dean, TV network news executive producer Tom Bradford, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Brian Fuller, and author Rob Redman (“The Great Awakening”).
Calvin alum and TV and film production manager Brad Van Arragon will lead a special one-day workshop on Saturday, August 7, that takes all participants through the process of planning a production from a script. Van Arragon currently is managing “Edison,” staring Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.
Schultze expects a wide range of participants: "Spending an entire week in community with an accomplished professional of high integrity is a fabulous opportunity. I expect people of all ages and from across North America to attend." Schultze says that participants can expect to discover at Calvin an environment that “encourages creativity rather than ready made formulas,” and a community that “gratefully acknowledges peoples’ gifts as reasons for praise.”
Schultze says, "This program is in tune with Calvin College's mission to serve church and society – even to bring the fruits of Christian wisdom to those who might not be able to go to college or even to take off from work more than one week."
The workshop experience will provide a spiritually rich and artistically stimulating schedule. Morning and evening meditations will focus on seeking creative excellence within a Christian perspective. There will also be special evening lectures, presentations, showings, and discussions that are open to the public.
Thanks to the gift of a Calvin alum, a few $125 scholarships are available to full-time graduate, undergraduate or advanced high school students who apply early. The cost per weeklong workshop is $250 without the scholarships. The one-day workshop is $100, with a few $50 student scholarships available. The workshops have not been announced publicly yet, so Schultze encourages members of the Calvin community to apply now at http://www/calvin.edu/academic/cas/workshops/ because the spots are likely to fill up quickly when the workshops are announced publicly in about ten days.
The Prince Center will offer lodging. Audio, video and classroom facilities will be provided at the DeVos Communication Center.
—Kaitlyn Bohlin
