Student Experiences

Introducing the Performing Arts

Each year, more than 15,000 Santa Fe public school students ride school buses to The Lensic to experience an event in the performing arts.

This program provides an essential introduction to the performing arts for many young people. As students progress through grade levels, they see a different event each year, exposing them to a wide variety of performances.

Students see classical music concerts, theater and dance productions, poetry slams, local folk music and opera.

The Lensic collaborates with the Santa Fe Public School PASS Program (Performing Arts for Students Success), and ArtWorks, which provides professional development for teachers to prepare them and their classes for the best possible experience from each performance.

"Loved the Q & A. Can we come again soon? My students were entranced." --Santa Fe teacher, in an evaluation of the day's youth event.

Performing Arts Workshops

To give students an up-close view of the arts, The Lensic offers onsite workshops in Santa Fe high schools with theater professionals. Directors, filmmakers, photographers, performers and writers visit classrooms to share their expertise and experiences.

The workshops include theatrical or creative exercises such as singing, writing, acting and dancing. Students are given complimentary tickets to see the live show featuring their workshop leader at The Lensic.

In 2009, Santa Fe high school students met with the singer Perla Batalla, the kabuki master Lonny Gordon and Andy Paris, a writer and creator of the groundbreaking Laramie Project and its epilogue, the Laramie Project: 10 Years Later.

Desert Academy students produced the original Laramie Project in 2010. Mr. Paris continued as a mentor throughout their rehearsals. See Santa Fe New Mexican story about Desert Academy's production of The Laramie Project.

Student Performances

Once a year, Santa Fe and Capital High Schools perform a musical or theater piece on The Lensic stage. Earlier this year, Capital High performed the Rodgers and Hammerstein production of Cinderella.

The students work with the professional Lensic technical staff to rehearse and produce the show for a public performance. For many students, it is their first opportunity to perform on a grand stage such as The Lensic.

The high school students also perform for elementary school students at The Lensic, and are rewarded with an adoring crowd.