Begin to identify your own voice and help your classmates identify theirs.

There are no available registration dates at this time.

NOTE: This class will be held online using the Zoom Platform. 
View Class Schedule Below
This course is part of our Young Artist program, Open to all high school-aged students

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.” (Harry Potter)

We are drawn to these lines. We are pulled into the story by the unique voice of the writer. We each have our own voice. You have your own voice, your own rhythm and tonality. You created it over the years informed by the earliest sounds you heard, by your family, your ethnic group, your economic class, your geographic location and where you go to school. You may have a favorite uncle or singer whose voice you imitate. You may not even know you do it.

During this week-long class you will begin to identify your own voice and help your classmates identify theirs. You will also learn to write a scene with the help of an exercise called image/moment.

Image Credit: Darcy Aders

By the end of the week you will have a first draft of a story, a poem, or an essay.

Each class will begin with a free write or writing to a prompt, or, reading from your work in progress. You may source a photo, a piece of music, overheard dialogue.

To help discover (identify) your voice, I will invite you to listen to your favorite music, to identify the rhythm and tonality and to mimic it in your writing.

Exercises will include work on an Instagram account, taking a picture and writing the story you see in it, identifying a childhood memory and writing it, exploring your inner monsters and your outer angels. Using all kinds of ways to access your voice- to discover who you are.  We will map out characters, create a poster.

This is an inquiry, a search. It’s play with a product in mind.

Each evening I’ll give you pages to read, a bit of homework to do as we move toward our goal.

At the end of the week, we’ll have a reading. You’ll each get to choose something to read, no more than five minutes, a piece you’ve written in the class. We’ll share our work and celebrate.

Monday – class will meet from 9:30AM EDT to 12:30PM, students will spend the rest of the day with an assignment while Kathrin will be available for 1:1 mtgs. Class will meet back up from 4pm-5:30pm for Review and Feedback.

Tuesday – class will meet from 9:30AM EDT to 12:30PM, students will spend the rest of the day with an assignment while Kathrin will be available for 1:1 mtgs. Class will meet back up from 4pm-5:30pm for Review and Feedback.

Wednesday – class will meet from 9:30AM EDT to 12:30PM a few hours, students will spend the rest of the day with an assignment while Kathrin will be available for 1:1 mtgs. Class will meet back up from 4pm-5:30pm for Review and Feedback.

Thursday – class will meet from 9:30AM EDT to 12:30PM, students will spend the rest of the day with an assignment while Kathrin will be available for 1:1 mtgs. Class will meet back up from 4pm-5:30pm for Review and Feedback.

Friday –  class will meet from 9:30AM EDT to 12:30PM, students will spend the rest of the day with an assignment while Kathrin will be available for reading preparation. Class will meet back up from 4pm-5:30pm for Reading and Celebration.

Image Credit: Kara Birnbaum

Students may request a transcript be sent to their high school for possible credit.

Header Image:  Jacques Pellet (Young Artist, 2015) 

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Instructor: Kathrin Seitz

Kathrin Seitz is a writer, editor, producer and professional coach who spent thirty years as a creative executive in the publishing, television, film, animation and toy industries in Los Angeles and New York City. As a coach, she works with private clients around the country and conduct Method Writing Workshops in Midcoast Maine, New York City, and Florida. Her writings have been published in Evergreen Review, Lear's Magazine, Onthebus, Method Mad (a magazine she created with her students), The Herald Gazette, and Maine Home+Design. She received her MFA in Fiction at Spalding University (Class of 2015).

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