YOUTH PROGRAMMING
BLOOMING THEATER PLAYSHOP
"The Play's the Thing!"— William Shakespeare
MICHELE NEWMAN
THEATER INSTRUCTOR
Michele Newman is a longtime Santa Cruz theater teacher-director who brings child-guided activities to life, helping young performers turn their inner visions into stage magic.
A UCSC Theater Arts graduate (+ Teacher Credential Program) with a graduate degree in Music Education & Jazz Vocals from SJSU, Michele is a CA credentialed teacher who grew up in a theatrical & musical family, and began teaching kids’ music and theater at just 8 years old. She’s been a performing actress in plays, films, commercials and sang with her own jazz band for many years. She’s now an intuitive sound healer with her Crystal Bowl Orchestra.
Her work spans schools and organizations throughout the region, including Helios School-Sunnyvale, Westlake, Gault, Monarch, Delaveaga, Capitola Elementary, EA Hall Middle School, Gateway School, Pacific School-Davenport, Bonny Doon Elementary, Branciforte Middle School, Temple Beth El, Chadeish Yameinu Jewish Renewal of Santa Cruz, Gilroy Unified and Oak Grove School Districts, Watsonville High School, and the Santa Cruz Office of Education’s Advanced Studies Drama program (Shakespeare, pantomime, improvisation, and more).
CLASS SCHEDULE
DAY 1 Intro to Basic Performance Techniques + Creative Ideas | 10.12.26
DAY 2 Share Creative Ideas, Improv + Make a Plan | 10.19.26
DAY 3 Practice & Play with Performance Ideas | 10.26.26
DAY 4 Continue Practice for Performance | 11.02.26
DAY 5 Final Practice for Performance | 11.09.26
DAY 6 Performance with Parents & Friends | 11.13.26
PLAYSHOP SESSIONS
FORAGE SPECIES IV
Objective of Forage Species IV is to give learners a better view of critical ‘feeder species’ in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Learners will help the artist model a life sized school of pacific Sardines using their hands and imagination to capture the movement and schooling dynamics of one of the most important feeder species in the ocean, and how they relate to them.
In the background, learners will also be exposed to visual presentations of the sometimes disastrous history of the sardine fishery in the MBNMS, climate driven changing patterns in migration and how that affects other marine species like Pinnipeds and Avian species.
Ed Martinez is a unique combination of prolific environmental artist, designer, serial entrepreneur, and marketing strategist with nearly 4,000 individual pieces created since 2012. His credits include featured installations at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and 418 Project. He has been featured at the prestigious Palo Alto and River Art Festivals, The Tannery Arts Center as well as numerous Maker’s fairs, and Santa Cruz County art galleries. He also has major permanent works installed in commercial sites across the country, and private collections throughout the United States Canada and Europe.
ED MARTINEZ
STEAM INSTRUCTOR
FORAGE SPECIES IV: STEM INTO STEAM
Forage IV is a four-part art project where students will work together to create a large sculpture that hangs in the lobby of the 418 project. Each day, we’ll build the sculpture, shape the fish, and learn about how small fish, called forage fish, help other fish and ocean animals survive.
Through a STEAM approach, we’ll combine Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math to explore ocean life, solve creative challenges, and bring our ideas to life through art. When the sculpture is finished, students will talk about what they learned, the discoveries they made, and what they’ll remember most from the experience.
- ‘Texture Teams’ these learners will be hammering features onto nearly 600 sardines, creating the personalities of each fish.
- ‘Wire Teams’ these teams will attach the fish to a lead wire that will become the sculpture itself.
- ‘Hang Teams’ will be assisting the artist installing the fish onto the frame of the sculpture.
DAY 1 Forage Species IV 11.04.26 | Prep
A brief introduction to the Pacific Sardine (Sardinops Sagax) followed by students working in teams to start the sculpture build.
- Texturing the 560-aluminum fish.
- Build a wire armature that will suspend the school.
- Attach the fish to the wire armature.
DAY 2 Forage Species IV 11.11.26 | Build 1
- Focus on hammering the texture onto the fish.
- Hanging and shaping the armature from the fixture.
- Wiring the fish to the armature.
DAY 3 Forage Species IV 11.18.26 | Build 2
- Continue the process of creating the fish, the armature and the wire.
DAY 4 Forage Species IV 12.02.26 | Build 3
- Teams continue to texture fish and attach them to the wire that will hold them.
- Sculpture takes shape.
DAY 5 Forage Species IV 12.09.26 | Build 4
- Student teams continue to work on the fish, the hang and the wire.
CLASS SESSIONS