Spotlight Jessica Curiel, Dance Teaching Artist

Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher, Teaching Artist
Jessica Curiel

Why did you decide to become a teaching artist?

As a dance undergraduate student at UCSD I was asked to pilot the ArtsBridge Program, and dancers never say no to opportunities.  I taught for ArtsBridge while it was a solo effort sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance at UCSD and continued when the San Diego Dance Institute took over. Once I left college, I continued the study of teaching artist pedagogy as a teaching assistant, then teacher, then master teaching artist.

It's a natural fit for me. My mother is a teacher. I was fortunate enough to have someone recognize that I had teaching potential. I probably would be a teacher, regardless of my passion. But, I love dance and just can't say no to wanting to share all that dance has done for me with young people. 

Why is a dance education important for students?

Dance gave me the opportunity to take control of my learning and future. First, I was able to be athletic (I have never ever played a team sport). I had the advantage of learning how to care for my body throughout college and into adulthood.  Dance also helped me feel confident speaking and being in front of a crowd. In middle and high school, having such confidence separates doers from those who let life happen to them. I was a doer, and as a result, I knew I had to go to college and excel in all my classes.  Finally, dance helped me make friends and find a peer group that still supports me today. Being involved in dance has been an important and empowering part of my education and my life. 

What is your professional dance background and what are you doing currently as a professional artist?

Professionally, I wear many hats in the dance community. I am on the board of San Diego Dance Theater (SDDT)  and am their Kids on Board Coordinator.  I am a performer, most recently performing with SDDT in January, Lavina Rich in October, and I will be dancing in Trolley Dances this coming weekend (Sept 27-29th). I am a choreographer and, of course I am a teaching artist! 

What did you teach for the Summer Learning Program with Young Audiences?

I love being a teaching artist. Now that I am a teacher in a school district, the only time I can be a teaching artist is during the summer. So, I jumped at the chance to be a teaching artist, again. It just feels like that is what I am supposed to do with my life. I taught creative dance for 2nd and 3rd graders focusing on a poetry unit that linked to reading and literacy student achievement goals.  The challenge was to create a final assessment to measure their success with literacy standards based on their learning through dance.  We developed a rubric to measure student success by video taping an activity at the front and at the end of the residency.  Student improvement was remarkable.  It just goes to show that learning through dance just makes sense.

I want to talk briefly about your position as a full time teacher and the current movement to get dance teaching credentials...  Can you talk briefly about this?  Why are you currently teaching as a P.E. teacher and what are your hopes for the future?

I went to grad school to get a credential and Master's of Education. I was hired by San Diego Unified very early in my credential program. It was a blessing and very rare occurence. I taught dance at an elementary school for three years. Because of mass lay-offs, I lost my position at the elementary school. I was finally recalled 6-weeks after the school year started, but I was placed in a PE position at a middle school and I have been...umm...how do I say this without offending anyone or sounding ungrateful for unemployment, I have been stuck in PE for the past two years. The tricky thing about choosing the public educator path is that dance teachers are required to earn a credential in Physical Education. Which is insane, because it means that a person, such as myself, who has no business teaching PE, could be a PE teacher AND if there is a dance teacher vacancy, a PE teacher, who has absolutely no business teaching dance, could be placed in a dance position. My hopes for the future is that a principal will recognize my talents in teaching dance and commitment to the dance community and bring me back into the dance classroom.

*This school year, 2013-14, Jessica has been hired by an arts magnet school and is teaching three classes in dance and three classes in PE.  She has high hopes to build and strengthen the dance program so that she is teaching all dance classes next year.  She still works with Young Audiences and is teaching a course on Building your Lesson Plan for the Teaching Artist Training Program.

Spotlight: Carrie Anne Fipps Memorial Scholarship

Show Us You Can Dance!

Thirty, 4th through 9th grade students from Young Audiences' Arts Partner schools were invited to participate in the Carrie Anne Fipps Memorial Scholarship Event on Saturday, May 25th.  

Students competed to become the 2013 Carrie Anne Fipps Scholar which includes a one year's unlimited dance scholarship to a dance school of their choice.  

Now in it's fourteenth year, the Carrie Anne Fipps Memorial Scholarship was created in the memory of a beautiful young dancer whose brilliance and dedication to the art of dance was cut short at the age of 15.  Carrie was one of the founding dance students of City Moves! and performed under some of San Diego's most respected choreographers. In her memory, the City Moves! community and Fipps family have created a scholarship fund, hosted by Young Audiences, where students are invited to participate in and compete for the scholarship. 

Reflection on Carrie:

Has it really been that long?

Impossible it seems  

I can still see her smile

All her hopes and dreams 

From the time she was born 

To the time she was gone 

She brought joy to us all 

As time went on.. 

With her beautiful face 

And those melt-your-heart eyes 

Her giggle of glee 

As she danced on by 

She touched us all 

With her talent and strength 

Never giving up 

Striding to great lengths 

 

Danell Nichols 

Carrie's “Aunt” 

Carrie Event Dance Instructor

Cybele Nieman-Pena, Young Audiences teaching artist, professional dancer and past dance student with Carrie Anne Fipps taught a fun warm-up and dance choreography that gave students a chance to learn some dance technique skills and show off their own favorite dance moves.

2013 Panel of Judges:

Every year, a new panel of judges are invited to represent the Carrie family, the dance community, the school community and Young Audiences.  

(left to right)

Rolando Gadiano, Carrie's Uncle 
Jessica Curiel, Dancer/Choreographer/Teacher 
Sylvia McGrade, Principal, Adams Elementary 
Susan Nichols, YA Board Member

Carrie Event Entertainment:

While judges were convening, student dancers and families were treated to two inspiring performances and one passionate speech.

Emily Phelps

Nick Gilberson

PGK Dance Project

Student Performance: SCPA Senior, Nick Gilbertson who is also a family friend of Carrie performed a beautiful contemporary solo that showed off his passion for dance and extraordinary dance training.

The 2012 Carrie Scholar, Emily Phelps gave an inspiring speech about her training at Eveoke Dance Theatre and her message,

"Don't give up on yourself, it took me three auditions to become a scholar, and if you work hard, you can accomplish anything."

Professional Performance: The PGK Dance Project invited their pre-professional dance ensemble to perform 'Tagi-Na' an intense, technical and dynamic piece that left the audience in awe of the performance quality of one of San Diego's premier dance companies. 

Introducing our 2013 Carrie Anne Scholar and Runner's Up!

2013 Carrie Scholar, Malachi

Carrie Runner Up, Kamil

Carrie Runner Up, Melody

Carrie Runner Up, Nyadoni

Spotlight: Joshua Agunos, YA Intern

Welcome Joshua Agunos! 

Young Audiences Intern from High Tech High Chula Vista

Tell us a bit about you.

I'm seventeen years old and a junior at High Tech High.  I love being outdoors, some of my earliest memories are hiking and biking Cowles Mountain and Chollas Lake with my dad.  I was born and raised in San Diego.  I love the sunshine and feel like this is the town I was meant to be in.

Tell us a passion of yours.

I love working with kids.  I feel like working with kids brings out the child in me.   We are forced to grow up so fast, and by working with kids we remember the joys of childhood.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be an artist.  I say artist because there are so many different art forms that I am interested in.  I want to discover more about it.  Right now I really love singing and acting.  I also want to be an activist.  I want to learn to combine being an activist with being an artist.    I believe that the arts can change the world and I want to leave the world a better place then when I got here.

Why did you choose YA for your internship?

It is a perfect fit for what I want to experience as a professional.  I worked on a project recently where I wrote a children's book and discovered that I loved working with kids.  I love working in theatre, this past year I performed with the high school theatre in the "Laramie Project" and "You Could Die Laughing," and over the summer I performed with the Golden Garter theatre company performing, "Twi-Lite".  This seemed a great way to work in a field that combined both my interests, the arts and kids.

I also love the cause.  With arts disappearing in schools, the work Young Audiences does is so important.  I wanted to be a part of something meaningful and this is a cause I can get behind.

What have you done while working at YA?

I have sent out email blasts, called parents to inform them about events like scholarships and film festivals, volunteered at an art fair and I was a photographer at the scholarship event.  There have been several impromptu tasks that have kept me active, inspired, and engaged.  I especially love working with the National City Theatre Youth Ensemble.  I get to work with kids, help them with their work, and see it all come together.   Tonight is their opening festival and I am looking forward to it.  This has been a very diverse internship, and I love that.

Josh with NCTYE Students 

How will you continue the work you have begun here at YA?

I feel like there are so many directions my life can take and art especially can take you anywhere.  The idea of perfecting your craft as an artist and then using that knowledge to teach others is very interesting to me.  I love the idea of working as a teaching artist.

Anything else you want to say?

If you are thinking about an internship for you or your child you should come here.  It does take a certain kind of person to work here- you have to have patience to work with kids, know how to get the job done, and you have to be selfless.  It's not really about you.  It's about the kids and their work.  This is so rewarding, being able to help others and promote something so important.

If you want this internship, you have to step up.  But it is well worth it!

Josh has infused our offices with his light, laughter, and youthful spirit.  We are so thrilled to have spent the past three weeks with him.  He has one week left of his internship and we keep trying to figure out how we can get him back with us.  Thank you Josh.  Here's a cute video.

Spotlight: Michael Arata at Young Audiences National Conference

Michael Arata in New York

As the artist representative from the San Diego Chapter of Young Audiences (YA) it was an honor and a privilege to be included in the 60th Anniversary National Young Audiences Conference in New York. Aside from the circa 1924 ambience of the Roosevelt Hotel and the foray out into the harbor and the streets and sights and sounds of Manhattan, it was revelatory to sit in on break out sessions that dealt with all the different levels of YA's work. 

Click here for the National Website and some photos and highlights from the conference.

Michael Arata, YASD Teaching Artist

Being in direct services w/ students myself, it was great to get some fresh ideas in sessions and compare notes w/ colleagues, but it was also revelatory to be amongst the development folks and directors to gain a more complete picture of the engine that keeps people like me (teaching artists) out in the schools with the kids. I could not have had a better and more interesting time. 

It was a pleasure and a privilege to be in Manhattan w/ YA, and to score a front row center seat (for the first half) at the last minute for Bill Irwin, David Shiner and Nellie McKay's Old Hat's.

I'll treasure the card David Shiner's Bert the Magician handed me with a hug ("You're gorgeous, call me...") as he crawled over me to try and smooch a woman in the third row and was also bear hugged by Bill Irwin while he was in his campaigning politician guise. My only disappointment of the whole trip was that I was moved out of front row center at intermission to allow the late coming ticket holders of those seats to take their rightful places and missed out on maybe being included in the cowboy and dancehall girl skit. That would have been the icing on the cake, or the carmel on the Big Apple (I once came out of the audience for a similar skit w/ the clowns of Circus Vargas...)

Michael Arata, Teaching Artist

One of the most rewarding and fun sessions was put on by CAPE (Chicago Arts Partners in Education), a Young Audiences affiliate chapter. The session was "closed" after we were told we'd be wearing blindfolds for about 15 minutes. I think one person left. Each of us had an object placed in our hands. Mine was a hard plastic cone shape on the bottom, and a squishy foam rubber ball on top. A button launched the soft ball part out on a foot long string.We were given five minutes to familiarize ourselves with our objects, then five minutes to use single describing words. We all kind of fell into a mutual cadence, taking turns w/ mostly single word descriptions. Then we used "relational" words describing action and attitude towards the object. This period also lasted five minutes. The last blindfolded activity was to make noise with the object and then use an utterance to attempt to match the noise. For example, I whirled my ball around by the string, holding the cone. I whistled in an attempt to match the whistling the string made. The last part involved taking off our blindfolds, but only after the "objects" had been put away. We then worked in groups (again for five minutes) to create a 5 minute performance piece using any of the elements we had explored and were drawn to. This is definitely a process I would like to use in my own practice with students.

Young Audiences Residency Program

Spotlight: Favorite Visual Art Residency Projects

Four Favorite Art Lessons from Young Audiences Teaching Artists

Calder Sculptures, Stacie Greene

Learning Objective:Differentiating between freeform and geometric shapes, use those shapes to build a freestanding sculpture.

Brief Description: Looking at examples of Calder’s Stables, discuss what a sculpture is. Talk about geometric shapes vs freeform shapes. Have the students draw 3 freeform shapes and 3 geometric shapes on a sheet of card stock. Cut out the shapes and assemble into a sculpture.

Teaching Artist Response: This project is one of my favorites. The students continue to surprise me with their creativity. It is exiting to watch them get frustrated, not give up and solve the problem. They get so excited. The classroom teachers have also been inspired by the project and start thinking of ways to repeat it as an extension to their lessons.  

Starry Night and Sunny Day, Leo Francisco

Learning Objective: Painting

Brieft Description: Students create their own versions of Van Gogh's Starry Night.  Some classes made two 9x12 pieces: Starry Night one week, and Sunny Day in the next. Other classes made a 12x18 Starry Night piece in two weeks. 

Teaching Artist Response: Olivewood Elementary's grade 3 teachers were very interested in having students make a painting. I was a bit apprehensive as I am more comfortable with dry media and I considered the additional material management (brushes, paint trays, paint, the greater risk for mess, the clean up, ugh).  I was happy to come up with a concise lesson plan that addressed my challenges and resulted in proud artists with beautiful paintings.

Geometric Solids, Leo Francisco

Learning Objective: practice and application of 3D shapes in a drawing


Brief Description: A one-class introduction to drawing 3-dimensional shapes (Grade 3 Geometry standards). In the first half, students practiced spheres, rectangular prisms, cylinders, and cones, and discussed characteristic shape qualities (vertices, edges, faces). In the second half, students applied these forms in drawing Pinocchio. In some classes, we added extra details, transforming our subject into the Tin Man.

Teaching Artist Response: Teachers appreciated the creative application of math lessons. I loved hearing students respond to their own artwork. One commented with sparks in his eyes, "Ahhhh, It looks REAL."

Sculptural and/or Functional Clay Project (2^nd & 3^rd grade), Christina Thurston

Learning Objective: Students solve complex, open-ended problems as they experiment with methods making and joining pieces of clay together to make sculptural and/or functional objects of their choice.

21^st CENTURY SKILLS: Students use various types of reasoning to think and reflect critically and solve problems in both conventional and innovative ways.

Brief Description: This is the third and culminating lesson in a series of three lessons that introduce students to the kinesthetic experience of natural clay. In the first lesson, students experiment with clay (pinching and pulling), and discover for themselves what they can do with it. As they gain experience in making clay change its shape, the second lesson introduces them to construction and decoration methods (rolling slabs, making joins, reinforcing with coils, stamping textures, etc.). In the third lesson, students create objects from their imaginations/experimentation using their choice of the techniques they have learned so far as well as innovative approaches.

Before they get started, I ask students what sorts of things they have already made out of clay. I then write on the board, without telling students why, three lists from their contributions: one for functional objects, one for sculptural objects, and one for objects (if any) that are both. I then ask students to ponder what each item in a list has in common with its list mates. This leads them to discover the relationships of functionality verses sculptural qualities of the pieces. We discuss functional vs. sculptural possibilities for clay. Can an object be both?

Students then share ideas they have for making an object. (If students do not have an idea, this is very helpful.) I suggest that if students have already made a functional piece, they might try a sculptural one, and vice versa. We review methods learned so far: pinch/pull, stamping, coil, slab roll. All methods are options as well as combinations and new approaches. What they make is of their own choosing.

Teaching Artist Response: Never Underestimate the Power of Intention!

One student proclaimed that he wanted to make the Golden Gate Bridge. ”Wow buddy, that’s pretty ambitious!” I said, and caught myself about to dissuade him from such an arduous project. He had just returned from San Francisco with his family and was clearly taken by the famous bridge.

As Teaching Artists we strive to facilitate positive experiences for our students. There was a time when I would have ensured this would happen by instructing the student in a process I felt would direct him to create a “successful” bridge. But true learning, as we know, is in discovering the process for yourself – your own process.

This time, I just said: “You know, I’d like to see that!” And off he went with his chunk of clay. Later in the class period, I checked in with him to see how the bridge was coming. He was well on his way and all that was needed was a reminder to reinforce his connections with coils.

After drying the clay pieces for a couple weeks and then firing them in the kiln, the pieces were painted with tempera paint. I set out lots of colors, but had substituted magenta for red (I did this on purpose for a couple of reasons: the first was because magenta, in tempera paint, is a better mixer. Red makes muddy, dull mixes. The second reason was because I have lots of magenta.) Our bridge builder came up to me a few minutes later and insisted that magenta would not do. He needed red. After rifling the classroom teacher’s cupboards, I came up with a bottle for him. 

Here is the The Golden Gate Bridge:

Spotlight: Stacie Greene

Stacie Greene, Young Audiences Visual Art Teaching Artist

Stacie Greene, National School District In-School Residency

Many of you have seen this picture, either on the Young Audiences website, on the Arts Education Resource Organization (AERO) website, in our newsletters, or hung on the walls at our events.  But who is the teaching artist in this picture?  Why do we love this photo?

Stacie Greene began with Young Audiences in 2006 and has been a sought after teaching artist ever since.  Currently she is teaching residencies in National City, SD Unified and Lemon Grove.  This picture showcases Stacie's intimate and endearing teaching style, her mastery of the history and elements of art, and her attention to providing a hands-on, technique-based residency.

Student Projects From Stacie's Residencies:

Cambodian Monuments from Recycled Materials: Dana Middle

Cultural Heroes Mural: Monterey Heights Elementary

Perpective: Ocean Beach Elementary

Multi Cultural Textiles Mural: Mount Vernon Elementary

Why did you become a teaching artist?

I love that I get to teach art to children who might not other wise have any exposure.

My hope is to plant a creative seed in the short time I’m with them, that will help them see and experience the world in a new way. Also a new avenue of self expression.  I see every week, every class, how thirsty these kids are for art. 

What quality is most important for you as a teaching artist?

Flexibilty!  I work with such diverse populations in terms of age, learning needs, and cultures in diverse settings.  I am constantly adapting my curriculum, my teaching, and my own expectations to meet the needs of the students I serve.

What do you like about working with Young Audiences?

I really appreciate the freedom we have as teaching artists to explore and try new things.  In one of my residencies at Dana Middle School (picture above) I worked with students to create large-scale cambodian monument sculptures using recycled materials.   I had a personal interest in Cambodian art and culture and was able to bring this passion and learning opportunity to my students.  I have never worked for another organization that allowed me this much freedom.  Having the opportunity to explore a wide range of projects gives me a chance to challenge myself personally and professionally.  This is rare...and I get paid for it!

Share with us some favorite memories in your teaching.

I was teaching in National City, when at the end of one of my classes a child ran up to me and said, "I'll pay you $1 if you can stay here all year!"  This memory always makes me laugh.

I was teaching a simple exercise on line and shape for kinder by having students trace their hands overlapping on a sheet of paper and then looking for what they saw.  When I walked around talking to students one child shared that he saw an ocean, a swan... next thing I knew he had inspired the whole class to begin hunting for abstract images.  The residency turned into a storytelling residency with students sharing imaginative creations.  I was humbled and amazed to witness this.  It was so beautiful.

What interests you right now..

Currently I am exploring endagered birds.  I have been focusing on birds that have become extict during my life time.  I have been creating pieces that are inspired by this using found materials.  I have a series of pieces on sound holes from Taylor guitar Company.  You can see these in my upcoming show, Origins.

Where can we see your professional work?

Origins
Solo show at Next Door Gallery
in South Park 
March 16-May 4th, 2013
Opening Reception: March 23 from 6-9pm 

Spotlight: The Teaching Artist Institute Training and Lori Sokolowski

The Teaching Artist Institute of San Diego

(a quick description) The Teaching Artist Institute is a program of Young Audiences of San Diego that supports the development of informed, reflective and culturally responsive teaching artists. The Teaching Artist Institute of San Diego fosters individual and collective growth within the teaching artist profession and access to employment. Current and planned programs include teaching artist training, coaching, and continuing professional development. 

The Teaching Artist Training Through the Lens of Lori Sokolowski

How did you come to the Teaching Artist Institute Training Program?

I started the program feeling very confused.  On one hand, I felt experienced as a teaching artist having taught photography to students for the CARE program and the Museum of Photographic Arts for a few years.  I had classroom experience, a history of working with classroom teachers, and knowledge and practice in both, the VAPA standards and the new common core standards.  On the other hand, I felt very inexperienced.  I had no formal training as an educator.  Any knowledge of pedagogy and teaching strategies was learned through trial and error...lots and lots of error.  I lacked confidence as a professional and advocate for the field of arts education.  When word of the Teaching Artist Institute came to me, I was intrigued.  It sounded like everything I had been looking for in a professional development program.  With the encouragement of my wonderful colleague and professional role model, I applied and was accepted.  Thank the stars!

What have you gained from the program?

These past five months have been a catalyst for change in my practice.  I've learned so much form all the guest lecturers, the observations and the practicum.  I've learned so much from my fabulous cohort and my wonderfully supportive mentor, Annika Nelson.  We've all grown and learned together. We've created a community and support system of teaching artists in every medium, be it visual arts, music, theatre, dance, performance art, or architecture.

I am so thankful to have been part of the first Teaching Artist Training.  Thank you Jennifer Oliver and Young Audiences.  I hope to see this program continue in the future.

Lori has recently started her own blog on teaching, http://teachshareart.blogspot.com/

What's New?

Some members of our cohort are having our artwork featured this Saturday, February 9th from 6:30 - 9:30 PM at OBR Architecture for Ray@Night.  Please come!

Teaching Artist Training, 2012 Cohort

Top: Kristen Fogle, Anney Hall, Monette Marino, Keilani Love, Lynn Dewart, Claudia Lyra, Emily Aust
Bottom: Garrick Oliver, Rebecca Goodman, Lori Sokolowski, Rosie Scandurra, Liana Hesketh

A short video from the culminating ceremony of the Teaching Artist Training Program.

Spotlight: The People of Young Audiences of San Diego

Marilyn McPhie, Storyteller and Teaching Artist

 

How did you come to Young Audiences?

When my children were in elementary school, I became aware that some of the best assemblies at their school came from Young Audiences.  I saw that Young Audiences provided quality programming in a wide variety of arts, and as I became more and more involved in storytelling as a profession, I thought that it would be great to work with Young Audiences as an artist.  I arranged to meet with Hilliard Harper, who was then the director,  to discuss the possibilities, and fortunately for me, it all worked out.

How long have you been with us, and why have you stayed with Young Audiences?

I have been with Young Audiences forever.  I do all sorts of storytelling programs for children, families, adults, festivals, corporations, private events, but in the midst of it all, I have stayed with Young Audiences for several reasons.  

I love the association with other artists from different genres.  Some of my Young Audiences opportunities have let me work with visual artists, poets, and dancers.  So many exciting opportunities for collaboration! I always get new ideas and new enthusiasm when I work with others; it causes me to look at my own art form in new ways.  

Also, I love working with the administrators at Young Audiences of San Diego.  They are always encouraging me to try new things and offering opportunities which would not have been available to me on my own.

What brought you into becoming a storyteller?  

I come from a long-line of word-lovers.  My mother’s mother majored in elocution, and I often heard her recitations.  My father’s mother wrote poetry, often presenting her poems for special occasions.  My mother taught English and drama.  Surrounded by books and stories, I was on the speech team in high school and majored in English in college, but I really discovered storytelling as an adult.

When my two oldest children were three and four, I signed them up for a parent participation preschool, and the school was very serious about the participation element.  They handed me a three-page list of possible jobs.  One job was cleaning the bathrooms every week.  I didn’t want to do that.  Another job was sanding and repainting the playground equipment.  I didn’t want to do that.  One of the jobs on the last page was, “Tell stories every week,” and I thought, “I could do that.”  So I signed up to tell stories, and I liked it so much that I signed up for storytelling every semester after that.  Then I began telling stories at the local library.  After that people began to ask me to tell stories for schools and festivals.  And I began to feel like a real storyteller.

Here's a great TEDx of Marilyn McPhie titled "Try This At Home"

What are you passionate about?

My family (husband, five children, seventeen grandchildren); stories and storytelling; reading; museums; travel; chocolate.

Tell us a memorable story from your experiences teaching or performing.

Once I was to tell stories to teenagers who had been expelled from regular schools.  Most of them had been in trouble with the law.  Many had issues of abuse and addiction.  As they filed into the room, I could see that they were probably thinking, “A storyteller? Seriously?  What could this gray-haired grandma  have to say to me?” I told them, directly and unapologetically, the strongest stories I knew.  Stories, some centuries old, of promises, struggles, self-image, family, relationships.  I saw a change in their faces. They knew that these were not the stories I would tell to five-year-olds.  They sat up and paid attention.   At the end, I heard several exhale, almost as if they had been holding their breath the
entire time.  Very satisfying.

Several months ago, I was at the grocery store, and since my purchases were heavy and numerous, I accepted the offer of help to my car.  As the teenager from the store was loading the things into my trunk, he asked, "Hey, did you ever go to schools and tell stories?"  "Yes," I replied, "Did you hear me tell stories at your school?"  He got really animated, "I knew it was you.  I recognized your voice. I heard you tell stories twice.  Once when I was in fifth grade and once when I was in seventh grade.  The stories you told when I was in seventh
grade were really scary --- but I liked them."  "Thanks," I said.  As he closed my trunk and wheeled the cart back to the store, he called over his shoulder, "Well, keep on telling stories."

Spotlight: The People of Young Audiences of San Diego

Meet Crystal Mercado

Crystal Mercado is the Residency Program Manager for Young Audiences of San Diego and has worked with us for the past five years.

How did you come to Young Audiences of San Diego?

I was in my last semester of graduate school and I needed a job.  I decided to make a class for myself called "what's happening in arts education in San Diego," mostly because I needed a job.  Then I called Hilliard Harper (YA's past ED) and set up a meeting with him, then with you (Jennifer Oliver, Associate Director) and was hired.  It was a perfect fit.

What do like best about Young Audiences?

I love the people we work with.  As a staff, I love my peers, the people I encounter day-to-day and our teaching artists.  I love knowing I get to work with so many talented artists of different disciplines.  I love watching their classes, thinking about their practice and giving them feedback.  

What is a day in the life of Crystal Mercado at Young Audiences?

I typically arrive late...about 15 minutes or so, check my email, make my coffee, check in with staff ...then about 20 minutes later I go to work.  I start going down my priority list and begin first with 'putting out fires.'  This includes scheduling programs, contacting artists, setting up payroll and talking with classroom teachers and principals about programs.  If I get through all of that, then I start looking at my to-do list.  (Do people really want to know about this?!)  OK, it includes marketing our programs, calling parents of students in our programs, organizing the giant stack of papers on my desk, writing up evaluations from teaching artists I have seen and contacting new possible artists.

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When you are not at YA, what are you doing?

Playing with my puppy, Sweeney Todd, hanging out with family, running, hiking, puppet making, and reading comic books.

Tell me a funny story....

Last summer, I took a weekend camping trip to Cuyamaca with my boyfriend, Alfredo. On our first morning there, I was sound asleep while Alfredo was starting breakfast and brewing coffee.

Suddenly, I woke up under attack and I felt a giant thunderous pain in my face like someone had punched me. I opened my eyes and looked around, thinking that Alfredo had fallen on the tent, but there was no one there. I reached up to touch my face and felt blood oozing around my eye.

I screamed for Alfredo and he came rushing in and saw my face. "Do you have a concussion?" he asked.

"I don't know. How do you know if you have a concussion?" I asked him. "You're the one who is going to med school!"

I couldn't open one of my eyes and we were afraid that the eye had been injured, but I still didn't know what had happened to me. Alfredo suggested that a pine cone had fallen on the tent. He looked around our campsite, and sure enough, he was right.

The pine cone was HUGE. (see photo) It just barely missed my eye. Had it fallen directly on my eye, I'm sure I would be wearing a patch. This is when I learned that camping is in-tents.