School for Creative and Performing Arts

The School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) is a selective arts school serving grades 4-12 (with plans to expand to K-12) in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools.

The school consists of seven majors: dance, drama, technical theatre, instrumental music, vocal music, creative writing, and visual art. The school produces nearly two hundred productions encompassing all of these majors, including a main stage season.




History
SCPA was founded in 1973 as part of the effort to desegregate Cincinnati's public schools in the wake of a lawsuit. The founding principal was William Dickinson, a Cincinnati music teacher. The school originally met at Mt. Adams Elementary School, with a student body which expanded to fully occupy that building and overflow into the nearby Immaculata Church. SCPA's first major musical was Babes in Toyland. In 1976, having outgrown its original site, SCPA relocated to the Cincinnati neighborhood of Roselawn, where the school's activities were conducted in several buildings including Chabod House, a Lutheran church, and the Jewish Community Center.

In 1977, SCPA moved to 1310 Sycamore Street, site of the former Woodward High School, where it occupied the third and fourth floors, while Abigail Cutter Junior High School occupied the lower floors. SCPA took full occupancy of the building in 1978. The first class of seniors graduated in 1979. The building was given to the school system by William Woodward, whose remains still lie buried on SCPA grounds.

During the early 1990s, the school suffered a series of blows to its reputation. Founding principal Bill Dickinson and other staff members resigned after police investigated allegations of sexual abuse of students, and Dickinson's successor, Rosalyn England, also resigned in the aftermath of the school auditorium's destruction by arson. The third principal, Jeff Brokamp, did much to revive the school's low morale and damaged reputation, and student enrollment again rose.




SCPA Mission Statement

SCPA is dedicated to providing an environment that enables the development of each student's artistic and academic potential.
SCPA exists to…

* Create a world-class academic and artistic environment where students receive training and encouragement for a fulfilling adult life.

* Provide incoming students (regardless of background, ethnicity, race or gender) with the highest level of pre-professional arts, humanities and sciences training available in the country.

* Promote academic and artistic excellence within each student while preparing students for post-secondary success in their selected artistic and academic fields.

* Be recognized as the premier pre-professional arts training and college preparatory program in America.




Performance
The main stage season usually consists of three plays, two ballets, and two musicals. The season begins with a play, usually for junior high students. It is produced in the smaller black box within the school.

Soon after the first play, schoolwide auditions for the large musical begin. In past years, the school has produced Ragtime, The Music Man, Fame, Anything Goes, and in the 2005–06 season, Beauty and the Beast. These shows can be quite complex. In the 2004–05 season, the production of Seussical included over three hundred members of cast, technicians, volunteers and staff.

The dance department is responsible for two ballets, The Nutcracker and a ballet from repertoire later in the spring. Both happen in the school's auditorium.

After winter break is the high school drama, another large event. Past productions include The Diary of Anne Frank, The Madwoman of Chaillot, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Noises Off. The high school drama takes place in Cincinnati's Aronoff Center, within the Jarson-Kaplan Theater specifically.

After this is the small musical in the auditorium, which is sometimes only for younger students. Finally, rounding out the year is an elementary school drama, usually based on a folktale or widely-known story from literature.

---

School for Creative and Performing Arts Art School Location

Other art schools in Cincinnati

The Art Institute of Ohio – Cincinnati History The Art Institute of Ohio — Cincinnati is one of The Art Institutes, a system of 35 educational institutions located across North America. ... Address: 8845 Governors Hill Drive, Suite 100

Xavier University (College of Arts & Sciences) Department of Art The primary objective of Xavier's department of art is the development of a deeply human person, one of integrity, wholeness... Address: 3800 Victory Parkway

College of Mount Saint Joseph (Department of Art & Design) Art Art majors at the Mount will discover a wealth of opportunities to explore and develop their artistic abilities. The newly renovated Dorothy... Address: 5701 Delhi Road

Back to: » Art schools in Ohio » Art schools in Cincinnati

More information: » Marinas » Boats for sale