Students attend Teen Arts Festival
Clark Public Schools
Art teacher, Thomas Peitz, along with school play directors, Danielle Keeley and Michele Greenspan, brought a group of select visual and performing arts students from Carl H. Kumpf Middle School to attend the Union County Teen Arts Festival. For its second year, the festival was held at the Watchung Reservation in Mountainside on May 17 with organized workshops under tents, in the open fields. Students were able to participate in a variety of visual and performing arts workshops such as cartooning, sculpting, painting, drum circles, drama, and lots more. Visual arts students had their artworks displayed for all Teen Arts participants to see. Frank Falatico, art educator from duCret School of Art and local artist, visited the Kumpf students at the event and critiqued their artwork individually, giving feedback and encouragement. Frank commented on the importance of the arts, “Art is more than just art. It encompasses all subjects and a little bit of everything.”
The Kumpf Musical Theater students and the Drama Club performed in the Trailside Nature and Science Center’s auditorium in front of a wide audience of students from other Union County middle schools. “Work This Out,” a number from Kumpf’s recent school play, High School Musical 2 Jr., was performed by the musical theater students. Improv was introduced for the first time this year, and the Drama Club performed improv games, which included comedic games “Freeze and Justify,” “Bad Invention,” and “Remote Control.” The performances were very successful and the students had a wonderful time.
All of the students loved all the workshops, and thoroughly enjoyed the artistic atmosphere. Mrs. Keeley commented, “It was so wonderful to see the kids have a chance to shine in front of other members of the arts community. They truly enjoyed learning in the informal setting and connecting with both professionals and peers from around the county over their shared passion for the various facets of art.” Ms. Greenspan added, “I have been hearing about the Teen Arts Festival for years and never thought that we could also bring the theater students. I am so glad that Mr. Peitz thought of including them. I loved seeing them thrive in this environment and show off all of their hard work. It was also wonderful to see it so well received by the judges.” As Kumpf School continues to expand the arts, they hope to bring new students to Teen Arts next year.
