Plot
Feb 14, 2008 14:52:50 GMT -5
Post by Principal Vale on Feb 14, 2008 14:52:50 GMT -5
GORDON PARKS' ACADEMY FOR THE ARTS
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Founded in 1968, Gordon Parks' Academy for the Arts - named after, and not founded by, the notorious artist as a recognition for his amazing work as a photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist and film director - is today known thorough the world, on a level that its founder couldn't have ever expected. First started to help America's youth to learn while developping their passion for their arts, Gordon Parks' evolved through the year, opening its doors to teenagers from around the globe, rich and poor, to learn and improve their artistic skills.
Open minded and filled with a sense of freedom that excites the young creative minds, Gordon Parks holds merely a few precious rules that students must strictly obey - their behavior must be respectful, proper and decent, their grades must be at their best, and flunking is not an option. Excellency is what is expected of you at Gordon Parks', with the help of brilliant teachers. In spite of the very high standarts one must meet to be accepted, the school strongly encourages students to express their individualism - dress code is minimal, and so students don't feel a need to push the boundaries of what is socially decent as they don't feel repressed or disrespected.
The school itself is open to students from six in the morning until eleven at night, free for all to roam through its halls so to be able to reach their specific classrooms and practice their skills after class hours - under the supervision of cameras, of course. Students are expected back in their dorm rooms by their curfew, midnight, and must be in class at eight sharp every morning.
Built in the middle of large grounds where students can roam and relax in the shade of the numerous trees growing on it, the main building of Gordon Parks' is large enough to hold in all of what might possibly be needed by anyone and everyone attending it. Classrooms resembling of University's, large enough to fit over fifty students if the need for it comes, fills up the entire middle section of the school, large and airy, with walls of creamy white and wooden floors. The cafeteria, which can sit over five hundred people at once, is lined up with massive antique looking wooden tables and matching benches, and the food served, though nowhere near gourmet, is satisfying enough to the fussiest kid.
The gym, which can be divided in four section by large, heavy curtains, is situated next to the administrative section of the school, where the principal, professor and other professional's offices can be found. Behind the building, connecting to the hallways by a small footbridge, is the indoor pool and skating rink, open to students all day long. By the edge of the main building, a library is built, practically separate to host all of the books and information that could possibly be needed by someone who thirsts for information.
The dorm buildings are set on either side of the school, boys on the left and girls on the right. They are large, three leveled buildings, holding many more rooms than what is needed, which are all painted white, large enough to hold two twin sized beds, two bureaus and two desks, with a private bathroom connected to each and a window over the bedside tables that separate both beds.
A bit further away from the school building, built on a back corner of the property, is the theater, where classes for acting students take place a good deal of the time, when they're not in the large classroom where theorical classes are given. With a large stage, velvety red curtains and comfortable black audience seats, it looks ready to welcome a large amount of spectators in spite of the fact that it's never open to the public - all shows are given in a theater within the city. It has all the technical equipment that could ever be needed, lights and soundwise, and students are welcomed to pratice there whenever they please.
In the Lower Right Wing, the Arts classes are numerous and all interconnected, the main room filled with folders and wooden cases where students can put their older drawings or leave their paintings to dry. Some of the rooms are decorated, others are bland - some have tables, others use easels, and some are simply entirely empty. All of them are lined with large windows that give view of the school grounds, and the students are often allowed outside to paint and sketch when the weather is nice.
Situated next to the artists' lair can be found the Creative Writing rooms, again as diversified as can be from one to the other so to match whatever the writer needs for inspiration. Basic classrooms filled with simple school desks, others have large couches and sofas, bean bags or simply fluffy carpets to lie or sit on and let the creativity flow.
Finally, the Fashion Design rooms, a majority of which are equiped with high tech sewing machines and any other type of tools needed for designers, bright lights, and large tables to sketch and make patterns. Within those, two rooms stand out, one of which has a small runway for students to practice the fashion shows they must prepare to be graded on, the other resembling a gigantic, oversized closet that is entirely filled with more types of fabrics than most stores hold, buttons, zippers, ribbons, accessories and so on.
The Photography studios can be found in the Upper Right Wing, each of them holding a certain amount of dark rooms where the students can develop their photos, along with Mac computers for their digital needs, and large tables that can be used to look at pictures more closely and assemble montages. Two thirds of the classes are spent in those rooms - the other third is spent roaming around the city and the school grounds, according to whichever assignment was received.
Next to those, the Film rooms complete the wing, where students can be found working on their scrips and upcoming films. This section is divided in two - the first is filled with large tables, chairs and small couches and used mainly to work on scenarios, storyboards and discuss ideas with other classmates for group projects. The other rooms, much bigger, are those filled with the most upscale computers that can be found for editing. Finally, a smaller room can be found in between the two sections, filled with whatever equipment might be needed.
The Upper Left Wing is where the Vocal classrooms are found. Mainly constituted of recording studios, it also holds a few regular classrooms for vocal exercices and group practices, all walls soundproofed so that not a single sound can go through their, leaving the students free to sing their heart out without disturbing their schoolmates.
The Music rooms are some of the largest in the school, mainly because of the large instruments most of them hold. With no windows to make sure the rooms are soundproofed as much as they can possibly be, students can practice their respective instrument in group or by themselves, as rooms work through a reservation system and the two hours classes are usually divided in half, the first of which is spent with all of their classmates, going over compositions, technical learning and such, before they are free to go and practice so to improve their skills. Appointments are taken with the Music teacher so that each student can have her attention all to themselves according to the time they have asked for.
The Dance classrooms conclude the tour, situated on the Lower Left Wing to make sure that the sound of students moving around would not disturb others as it would have had they been on an upper floor. They are each arranged accordingly to the type of dance that is practiced in them, modern dance rooms looking more like large studios whereas the ballet rooms have the mandatory large mirrors covering the walls and bars going across them. Each dance classroom has its own shower room so that students can wash up before going on with their day.