WHAT’S GOING ON WITH RSA? The Riverside School for the Arts (RSA) has curriculum designers working at the college level to develop creative and collaborative programs of study that lead students to reach advanced levels of critical thinking, technical ability, and artistic achievement. The focus of RSA’s new programs is on combining the arts with technology and the transfer programs with career technical education. When the programs are fully realized, we will be developing well-prepared individuals who are flexible, able to learn new skills, and eager to work within a team. Once the new building (see “Campus Plans”) is opened in downtown Riverside in the fall of 2012, this carefully-designed, collaborative learning space will enhance the presentation of media and the arts for our students, faculty, industry advisors, and audiences. New courses designed for the interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary programs of the Riverside School for the Arts have been approved by the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees, and more new courses and programs are emerging from the creative disciplines on a regular basis. New courses that are already being offered at Riverside City College are TEL-68: Story Development Process in the Entertainment Industry, TEL-70: Final Draft/Final Draft AV, TEL-72: Introduction to Lighting for Film and Television, ENG-13, Introduction to Playwriting, ENG-38, Introduction to Screenwriting and ENG-39: Screenwriting II, ENG-36/HUM-36: Introduction to Film Studies, and ENG-49: Introduction to the One-Hour Teleplay. Please check the current schedule of classes at www.rcc.edu for exact times and days. The arts, media, and creative writing faculty at Riverside City College are taking the lead in developing exciting and innovative interdisciplinary programs that will prepare graduates for the twenty-first century in industry locations or as independent contractors. As part of their programs of study, all students will have opportunities to work closely with faculty artists and guest artists in all areas of arts and new media. Since the digital world has an increasingly important and powerful role in the arts, RSA programs will utilize progressive technologies as an integral part of the educational experience and the Internet as a vehicle for communication as well as a medium for artistic expression.
The mission of the Riverside School for the Arts (RSA) is to provide students authentic, integrated, project-based arts education experiences leading to the most advanced levels of technical, aesthetic, and reflective skills needed to be creatively competent in a knowledge-based economy.
The Riverside School for the Arts will stand as a lighthouse institution for the region – attracting extraordinary faculty, talented students, industry leaders, and community supporters. RSA students will be in high demand by industry, professional companies, and upper division schools. Partnerships with arts and entertainment companies will strengthen the demand for graduates and promote economic development in the fast-growing Inland Empire region. The Vision Backstory: Southern California’s entertainment industries need highly skilled and artistically talented people to develop new ideas and projects. Industry requires artists who can tell a story as creatively and competently as they can manipulate technology to create a blockbuster image. RSA's graduates will meet that need by working with accomplished faculty artists on projects that require that they demonstrate their knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences. The RSA curricular programs will stress depth and breadth in training and instruction, collaborative problem solving, guided research, and strong communication skills.
The Riverside School for the Arts will be Riverside City College’s collaborative arts and media learning center in downtown Riverside. It will be a vibrant urban campus for teaching, learning and exploration of new arts and ideas. Students will create performances and exhibitions for the community and participate in local internships in galleries, dance companies, museums, and businesses. RSA graduates will be good storytellers. Many students will tell their stories using photography, film, television, video, interactive entertainment, music, dance, painting, or other media. All students will present their works to others for criticism, entertainment, and to improve their skills. A gallery featuring creative artistic works using new media and a flexible performance space for multimedia, cross-disciplinary presentations will be open to the public regularly as a showcase for the work of our students. RSA will offer affordable, high-quality performances and exhibitions as part of its contribution to the vibrant life of the downtown. We will offer classes and workshops that are designed for the community and activities for children.
RSA graduates will have many options when they complete our comprehensive programs. Some may choose to perform on stage or screen, but they will also have had “hands-on” experience creating original productions, so they will know how to work behind the cameras as well. Those students who dream about writing for film, television, or video will also know how to create special effects and sound tracks. Our graduates may decide to become teachers of the arts as a result of community service, service learning, and other practical experiences they have had during their time in RSA programs. All graduates will leave RSA with a portfolio of their work so that they can demonstrate to a potential employer the skills they developed within this creative environment. Whatever fields RSA graduates decide to enter, they will be prepared to meet industry demands and apply what they know to create news ideas.
The processes involved in teaching and learning through creativity, cooperation, and collaboration will be at the heart of the RSA experience. Faculty and students will explore together the nature of creativity and the phenomenon of collaboration. Students will be highly trained in their areas of concentration, yet they will be able to function in many areas as part of a project or other collaborative learning experience.
Creativity, Collaboration, Cooperation
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