Teachers Training for Scenic Painting

June 24 – 28, 2024  – FIVE DAYS

TTSP: FORMAT OF THE SESSION

Course instruction is a minimum of 7 hours daily in class.  Anticipate lively discussions over dinner.  Otherwise spend time sitting on the front porch, browsing through the books, working in the studio, or going off to visit friends or the city (that’ll be New York City!).  Evenings are unscheduled.

Throughout the sessions we will be working within the following framework:  we will define what constitutes instruction needs.  Participants will receive training combined with insight into how and what to teach in your circumstances.  We will be learning the foundations and in many cases discussing how modern technology can be utilized to save time and money. Cobalt Instructors will share their teaching techniques, explaining why sequences are made up the way they are and discussing the parameters of project choices and assignments.

HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS THROUGH COLLEGE STAGECRAFT CLASS

Taught by Jenny Knott and Gwen Cox

This session is designed to aid teachers in creating a basic scenic painting class as well as supply more techniques to increase the depth of their department’s painting ability.  It is aimed at the teacher at either the high school or college level who has little support or training in the scenic arts and seeks greater knowledge of procedures and techniques.  Discussions include how to assess skill with a new paint crew as well as how to deal with the non-major in the theatre world.  The workshop is broken into training components that demonstrate the technique to be learned as well as how to teach the lesson.

Topics covered are:

  • Basics of painting from the tip of the brush to the bottom of the bucket !
  • Faux paint basics include wood, brick, and marble and stone as well as basic light and shadow.
  • Additional tips on texture creation and stencil techniques will be covered.
  • Scenic and Lighting design and their interactions with painting will also be discussed.

TTSP GENERAL INFORMATION – Financial

The non-refundable application fee covers application processing and other administrative costs while assuring us of your commitment to attending the seminar.  Tuition covers that student’s share of instructor fees, class and office supplies, and utilities, overhead and insurance. Room and Board includes a room, sheets and blankets, and all meals at the house, excluding mutually agreed upon meals eaten “out.” Personal expenses and equipment (such as personal trips, clothing, and personal tools and brushes) are not included in the fees and tuition.

Tuition and Room and Board are due at registration on the first day of class.

  1. Non-Refundable Application Fee: $150.00
  2. Tuition: $900.00
  3. Room and Board: $300.00
  4. Brush kit (optional): $248.40 tax included

Brush kit includes 8 brushes: one each of a 4” bristle lay in brush, a 3” 2” 1.5” and .75” Scenic Fitch, a 1.75” Husky and a 1” and 1.5” angled Purdy.

We accept all major credit cards.

TTSP – APPLICATION

There are three easy ways to get an application:

Return completed application and fee to:

Cobalt Studios, Inc.
TTSP Application
PO Box 79
White Lake, NY 12786

TTSP Admission Information

Admission is open and is a rolling admissions process with a maximum number of ten students per session.

And now, prepare yourself for the nitty gritty info on attending TTSP

Arrival and Departure:

Plan to arrive the Sunday afternoon or evening before the class begins.

Stay till Sunday and take advantage of some of the fine things to do in the area.

Your Cobalt Experience:

Located in White Lake, NY between the Catskill and Pocono Mountains, Cobalt Studios is situated on 28 acres of fields and woods.  The farmhouse easily accommodates up to 12 people.  Students and faculty both stay on the grounds.  Kitchen and laundry facilities are large enough for all.  The painting studio is a short walk from the house on a woodland path.  Built specifically as a painting space the deck is a spacious 40’ x 135’ with good lighting.  Other studio facilities include a library, a large paint mixing room, stockrooms and an office.  Smoking is permitted outdoors only.

Cooking is an event when we have a house-full. For dinner everyone shares in a rotation schedule of preparation and cleanup for dinner, so some nights you just show up! If you think you can’t cook, relax – we’re flexible. It’s a wonderful and relaxed way to get to know everybody.  Breakfast and lunch are “fix your own” and “clean your own.”

The nearest towns, Monticello and Liberty, are both about 15 minutes away.  The surrounding area is a summer vacationland with plenty of lakes for fishing and boating.  Swimming in the lakes may be a bit cool but is also possible.  Monticello Raceway is a trotting track just down the road where “you can put a bet right down on the horse!”

We are located about 4 miles from Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, an outdoor music venue located on the site of the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival.  There is a museum on the grounds as well.  Good for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon visit.

New York City is 90 miles southeast via Route 17, “The Quickway.”  Students can plan to spend some weekend time taking advantage of the many cultural opportunities offered there.  Or stick around the old homestead.  The front porch is wonderful on our cool Catskill summer evenings!

What to bring to TTSP

  • For starters… favorite recipes for dinner or dessert
  • Your favorite pillow.  We provide the blankets, sheets and towels
  • Sleeping bag (if you want to sleep under the stars)
  • Alarm Clock
  • Paint Clothes
  • Clothes for special trips to NYC or the rest of the civilized world
  • Some warm clothes, as cool weather can show up any time
  • Rain gear

For Class:

  • Your portfolio and a copy of your syllabus, as it stands
  • Any personal brushes you’d like to bring along to practice with (please mark your tools clearly)
  • A camera

The use of Cobalt brushes, tools and all paint and fabric is included in the price of the seminar.