The Riverside School for the Arts (RSA) offers new programs of study that lead students to reach advanced levels of critical thinking, technical ability, and artistic achievement. The focus of RSA’s comprehensive programs is on combining the arts with technology, the media programs with the arts, and all programs with business skills needed to be successful in a variety of careers.  Students may choose transfer programs, career technical education (CTE) programs or a combination of the two to meet their educational goals.  Faculty and students who participate in RSA programs do so voluntarily. The unique design model and relevant  programs will be implemented in stages until the building is opened. Many of the new courses and programs are currently being offered on the campus of Riverside City College (RCC) until the new facility is built in downtown Riverside.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Stage One Launch, 2008-2009
RSA Design Elements:

• Voluntary Participation
• Elite Status Opportunities
• Professional Review
• Work on Real-world Projects
• Portfolio Building
• Portfolio Review   

In Fall 2008, we launched RSA Stage One in the virtual environment!  RSA joined the ACME Animation Network, a non-profit educational organization founded by RSA designer, Dave Master.  What this means is that RSA students enrolled at RCC have the opportunity to mentor high school students online by commenting on their work and offering suggestions for ways to improve.  Through this system, college students earn points that will later qualify them for “elite status” and a live professional review on an ACME telecast.

RSA/RCC students also have the opportunity through ACME’s online social networking site to show their own animation work to:

1. Other students in their class,
2. Students at the other 120 schools in the network,
3. College professors at transfer institutions who are reviewing “University Portfolios,” and
4. Professionals in the field.

RSA/RCC students may attend live telecasts of ACME’s face-to-face sessions created especially created for community colleges.  This On-Air component allows students to show their work to professionals and get suggestions and critiques from them that will help them improve their work.  These telecast occur every Tuesday evening from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on the campus of RCC.   Contact the dean at Carolyn.Quin@rcc.edu for specific details about this amazing opportunity.

RSA will be graduating well-prepared individuals who are flexible, able to learn new skills, and eager to work in a team environment. When the new building (see “Campus Plans”) is opened in downtown Riverside, this carefully-designed, collaborative learning space will enhance the creation and presentation of media and the arts for our students, faculty, industry advisors, and audiences.

Many courses designed for the cross-disciplinary programs of the Riverside School for the Arts have been approved by the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees. More new courses and programs are emerging from related media and arts disciplines on a regular basis.  The Riverside City College Curriculum Committee approved a new program in Film Studies on October 14, 2008, and it will be sent to the State Chancellor’s office for consideration in the coming months.

New courses that are already being offered at Riverside City College include FTV-68: Story Development Process in the Entertainment Industry, FTV-70:  Final Draft/Final Draft AV, FTV-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 (to become Film Studies 1 in Fall 2009): Introduction to Film Studies, and ENG-49: Introduction to the One-Hour Teleplay, or “Writing for Television.” 

Please check the current schedule of classes at www.rcc.edu for exact times and days for these classes and other RSA-related classes in the programs in Applied Digital Media (ADM), Film, Television, and Video (FTV), Film Studies (FST) and Creative Writing (ENG).  Students whose primary interest is in one area of the arts should look at courses in Art (ART), Dance (DAN), Music (MUS), and Theatre (THE).  Students who are interested in Animation will want to prepare for this area by taking basic drawing classes, software studies in Photoshop, Maya, and Flash; acting, and dance.  Students interested in composing music for film, animation, and other media, should take MUS 8--MIDI, with Dr. Steven Schmidt or courses in Audio Technology in FTV.  Students interested in Photography, should contact Professor Nancy Gall or search the offerings in PHO.

Since the digital world has an increasingly important and powerful role in the arts, RSA programs will utilize technologies across several media as an integral part of the educational experience, and students will use the Internet as a vehicle for communication, social networking, mentoring, and as a medium for artistic expression. 

Students and faculty began to participate in the ACME Animation Network both online and through the community college telecasts on the CENIC Network in Fall 2008. Through these weekly telecasts, students in classes taught by Ross Clark, Bud Tedesco, Sharon Gillins, Donivan Howard, and Susan St. Peters are able to interact regularly with ACME Animation founder and RSA designer, Dave Master, and with professional animators, storyboarders, CGI technicians, and other volunteers from major animation studios, including Pixar/Disney and Dreamworks.  As a non-profit educational organization, ACME helps students in high schools, community colleges, and other colleges make connections that can result in employment opportunities and long lasting, professional relationships.

MISSION

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. (adopted by the design team led by Dr. James Catterall, 2002)

VISION

The Riverside School for the Arts will attract extraordinary, talented students who will work with industry leaders, outstanding faculty, and leading community supporters. RSA students will be in high demand by industry, professional companies, and transfer institutions. Partnerships with arts, media, 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.

DOWNTOWN RIVERSIDE ARTS SHOWCASE

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 exploring new ideas. Students will create performances and exhibitions for the community and participate in internships with film production companies, 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 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.

FUTURE FOR RSA GRADUATES

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 scenes or run the cameras as well. Those students who dream about writing for film, television, or video will also learn how to create special effects using CGI or compose sound tracks using MIDI and Digital Audio.

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 or transfer institution 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 new ideas.  They will have achieved flexible performance capability which will allow them to move across many careers and adapt what they have learned at RSA to related and unrelated fields in arts and media.  They will know how to apply their skills to new situations and adapt to different environments.  They will continue to learn from and flourish in environments where they appreciate criticism and constantly revise their work while working alone and as part of a larger team of creative individuals from many disciplines.  They will graduate with respect for the skills and talents others bring to a project and the self-knowledge they need to be confident in intense working environments.

CREATIVITY, COOPERATION, AND COLLABORATION

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.

PLANNING DOCUMENTS

Catterall Report 1999.pdf (1.8 MB)

Catterall Report 2002.pdf (3.6 MB)

RSA PROGRAMS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Agendas

4/24/09	3/27/09	2/27/09
11/14/08
2/29/08	RSA Retreat 3/20 - 3/21	4/11/08
10/12/07	11/09/07	11/30/07

Committee Members