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Bricolage

Jeff Carpenter - Artistic Director & Founder

Sam Turich - Head of Education Bricolage

2018 - 2019
2019 - 2020

Brownsville Area High School

Fayette County, Pennsylvania

2019 - 2020

Waynesburg IU1 - Alternative School

Greene County, Pennsylvania

2021

Waynesburg IU1 - Alternative School

Greene County, Pennsylvania

                                                                                                                                               2021
                                                                                                                                      North Elementary

Morgantown, West Virginia

Bricolage in North Elementary, Morgantown, WV. 

Dominion Article

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2022 - 2023

Albert Gallatin South Middle School

                                                                                                                                    December 2022

                                                                                                                         Bricolage at Greensburg Salem

Bricolage -


"Thanks again for coming in and working with my students here at Greensburg Salem Middle School. It was great to see all their hard work pay off in the final performance. The feedback from both staff and students has been overwhelmingly positive. It was great to see my students really shining on stage, and that is all due to the hard work of you and your staff. Thanks again and have a great holiday season."


Sincerely, 

Ryan Cameron

8th Grade American History 

Greensburg Salem Middle School

2012 - 2018

Washington Middle/High School

Washington County, Pennsylvania

2016 – 2017

Triadelphia Middle School

Ohio County, West Virginia

2017 - 2018

Frazier Middle School

Fayette County, Pennsylvania

2018 – 2019

Burgettstown High School

Washington County, Pennsylvania

Laurel Highlands

Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Trinity

Washington County, Pennsylvania

2019 - 2020

Brownsville Area High School

Fayette County, Pennsylvania

2019 - 2020

Waynesburg IU1 - Alternative School

Greene County, Pennsylvania

2021 - 2022

Waynesburg Campus IU1 - Alternative School

Greene County, Pennsylvania

2022 - 2023

Albert Gallatin South Middle School

Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Greensburg - Salem Middle School

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania


The Ten Sessions break down as follows – details of each session detailed in the full toolkit provided to participating schools

Session 1 – Midnight Radio professional performance in the school followed by hands on Foley workshop

Session 2 – Team building, brainstorming, and research

Session 3 – Research continues – Students pitch stories – Playwrights assign outlines – genre workshop

Session 4 – Playwrights review outlines, assign first drafts, commercials – dialogue workshop

Session 5 – Playwrights review first drafts – deliver notes for second draft – choose one script for each class – deliver scripts to Foley construction team

Session 6 – Playwrights review second drafts – Playwrights polish drafts between sessions – Foley construction continues

Session 7 – Casting and Rehearsal of polished scripts – Foley assignments

Session 8 – Rehearsal – Music/Singing/Songwriting with Musical Director

Session 9 – Dress Rehearsal

Session 10 – Performance


The goal of the residency program is to engage the students in inquiry-rich, project based learning by leading them through the process of researching, writing, rehearsing, and performing original radio plays for live audiences. The students perform all the vocal parts and provide live sound effects using Foley equipment (which they have the option of designing and constructing themselves). These plays are performed live for an audience of fellow students, teachers, administrators and, if possible, parents and the community. They may also be recorded for podcasts, or a school’s television network.


Mission

Bricolage’s mission is to immerse artists and audiences in adventurous theatrical experiences that foster connections and alter perceptions.


Artistic Vision

Bricolage envisions theater not as a passive experience, but as a vehicle for heightened involvement for artist and audience alike. Our approach encourages artists to take the creative risks necessary to create full-blooded, high-quality theatrical experiences that challenge audiences to engage in new ways, react, and express openly their opinions about our work – to have a stake in the creative discussion.


The word Bricolage means “making artful use of what is at hand.” What excites us is the connection and interaction between seemingly disparate elements, and the potential for these components to resonate as one cohesive event. We use the distinctive resources of the Pittsburgh region to create theatrical experiences that stimulate a heightened sense of involvement for the audience. “What is at hand” is the city’s changing landscape, its plentiful human and material resources, and the salient political, cultural, and ethical issues we all encounter and react to each day. By combining different artistic mediums, nourishing local talent, producing provocative work, and facilitating audience engagement, Bricolage seeks to revitalize live performance for a new era.


Working as a Team

At Bricolage, we believe that the best work is created by bringing together talented people and working collaboratively towards a goal. We strive for every person who works with Bricolage, both on stage and behind the scenes, to feel welcome and vital to the process.


In the Bricolage administrative offices, each of the eight full-time staff members is given voice during planning sessions for the year. Artistically, we strive to form our creative teams from diverse local talent that represents our community. Bricolage is committed to making its programs accessible and inclusive to all. We take a non-traditional approach to creation and encourage contribution to each stage of the process.


Dr. Keith A. Hartbauer

Superintendent

Brownsville School District

Bricolage Midnight Radio Jr. Education Project

     We have a very limited Arts program in our district and our students really never have a chance to experience the vast array of opportunities the Arts can provide. This program ignited a flame for us to pursue alternatives avenues to integrate more of the Arts into our middle school curriculum.

     The artists worked extremely well with our teachers. Their collaboration, organization, and implementation of this program was seamless.

     We had students who would never participate in the instructional day for the first time take an active role in their education. All students were engaged and enjoyed a different way of learning.

     We have had an attendance issue at our school, but during these presentation days our attendance in our 8th grade hovered around 100%.

     Without a doubt our students improved their attendance and behavior. They were all actively engaged and took pride in their presentations.

     Having this program in our district has provided an opportunity for our students that has never existed before. Increasing their knowledge in the Arts through the aforementioned skills allowed them to open up as an individual, along with understanding the importance of collaboration in order to be successful. They witnessed firsthand that a project, team, program is often more important than an individual need. More importantly they were able to share success with one another.

    


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