The Arts Department at Gann Academy encompasses a full range of academic courses, clubs, and performing organizations. All of this activity is dedicated to the following goals:

1. Providing the opportunity for students already committed to an art form to develop their skills and artistic vision under the tutelage of working, professional artists.
2. Providing the opportunity and inspiration for those not already involved in the arts to discover their own creativity, and experience the power of the world's masterpieces.
3. For all students to leave our school having gained a level of cultural literacy that will allow them to address the human experience with the open heart and mind required to be an informed and compassionate citizen of our strange and complicated world.

Students are required to take at least eight trimesters in the arts over four years, but are free to choose which courses they take.

Acting is the art of creating something from nothing before the eyes of the audience. It demands a strong imagination, incisive intelligence, focus and discipline, as well as the ability to interact openly and intimately with others. This class will focus on foundational acting skills using group acting exercises, scenes and monologues. No previous experience necessary. Welcome to the theatre!  

Previous acting experience at Gann or intructor permission. Each semester the focus of the class changes. We explore contemporary scenes, classical text, Mask and Clown. This course focuses on individual skills. The class works to develop commitment to the imagination, clarity of thought and intentions, and understanding text. Students work on monologues and scenes with a few exercises thrown in. This class requires self-discipline and personal motivation. Open to students who have previously taken an acting class at Gann Academy. 

This class will focus on the individual actor and his or her role. We will explore the actor’s imagination, text skills, and embodying the dramatic moment. We will also work on external character development. Students will be expected to work independently and come to class prepared to show their work. By the end of the semester, students will be able to analyze a scene on their own and perform it.  

This course will be an introduction to significant ideas and developments in music and art. Students will develop skills in listening to music and looking at art in order to increase literacy in the arts and explore the expression of human development through these media. This will be a fast paced and exhilarating experience meant to challenge any preconceptions that students may have about these art forms.  

Beginning Guitar is an introduction to the fundamentals of guitar playing. No previous experience in music is necessary. By learning music from the Beatles to Bach to the Blues, we will cover basic chords, scales, music notation and both pick- and finger-style playing. Guitars are available to borrow for the semester. 

Get your body and mind in shape this semester! This class will expose students to an array of movement systems based on body/mind connections (yoga, Pilates, dance, etc…). We will also explore anatomy and performance imagery as they pertain to dance, theater, sports, and life. 

This course aims to expose boys to modern dance through creative process (improvisation and choreography). Class will begin with a warm-up to get students comfortable in their bodies, and involve full-bodied physicality. Students will perform their works as an integral part of this class. 

An in-depth exploration of contemporary ceramic sculpture for all levels. Every trimester, we will choose at least one master sculptor and study his or her techniques and stylistic choices and learn from their mastery. This trimester we will be studying the figurative work of Christine Federighi and learning from her expertise. Students will then search into their own lives and express themselves in meaningful ways while learning the basic elements of art and design. 

An in depth hands-on exploration of ceramic vessels through the lens of Greek Pottery for all levels. Every trimester will be a different experiential journey into historical ceramics. As we learn about masterful potters, we learn the techniques and styles that worked so well and have lasted through time. Then, we make them our own in a contemporary teenage Jewish way. Students will learn techniques for personal expression in clay and glazes.  

Must have taken a prior ceramic/scuplture class at Gann. We will use more advanced techniques, such as lidded vessels, larger sculptures, and tile murals. We’ll also move into more specialized and personalized projects. We’ll be guided by the insights of contemporary artists, and explore cutting edge technology in clay.  

Explore the art of clay through a series of cool hand-made projects. We will explore lots of techniques including coiling, slab work, wheel throwing, and surface design. We will gain inspiration from historic and contemporary ceramic artists, and you will have an opportunity to personally express yourself within a series of projects that are ideal for daily use, for gifts, or to display.  

The Gann Academy Chamber Music Ensembles rehearse and perform music in the ensembles ranging from duets to quintets. Students are open to the elements of a varied repertoire including styles from the Renaissance to present day. Students expand their technical skills, musicianship and rehearsal techniques. Class time includes faculty coaching, independent ensemble rehearsal and individual practice. Rehearsals are two days per week and the ensemble performs at our major school performances as well as other events throughout the year.  

We’re restarting Gann's larger mixed vocal ensemble, open to all Students, regardless of singing experience. Repertoire is a varied from both accompanied and a cappella music from the 15th century madrigals to 21st century contemporary songs. The chorus will be a mix of fun singing and developing technique. Students will focus on the improvement of proper vocal technique, sight-reading skills, tone and detail to phrasing. Rehearsals are two days per week, and the ensemble performs at our major school performances as well as participating in several smaller performances each year.  

In this course, we’ll build stories and create writing portfolios while reading some of the world’s best short fiction. A good story is a form of entertainment, a learning tool, and a repository of cultural wisdom. We’ll take a close look at storytelling techniques in the fiction we read, and we’ll use many of these techniques in the stories we write, experimenting with characterization, conflict, dialogue, point of view, setting, mood, and plot. We’ll try to understand how these narrative elements contribute to what Edgar Allan Poe described as the concentrated “unity of effect or impression” in a story, and we’ll explore the importance of theme for creating a unified whole out of a writer’s disorganized and often fragmented life experience. As writers, we’ll appreciate and practice the mindset of the collector, recognizing that we store in our minds the images, feelings, and incidents that are the building blocks of the narrative process. This course will usually feature one class per week focused on reading and elements of craft, with the second class reserved for workshop (peer critique/review). 

In this course, we’ll compose poems and create writing portfolios while reading some of the world’s best poets. Modern and postmodern poetry breaks with conventional approaches to imagery and language, seeking a new aesthetic that mirrors the conditions of our time. “Make it new,” said Ezra Pound, and so we will seek in poetry both its transformative and transcendent qualities. The vocabulary of this terrain includes many popular though often misunderstood terms, such as modernist, surrealist, imagist, Beat, confessional, and minimalist poetry. We’ll examine these labels as we sharpen our interpretive skills and tease out the nuances of poetry through close reading. In both our reading and writing, we’ll explore how a poem is made, paying close attention to the rhythms and musicality of words. Robert Creeley, writing about poetry, said that “form is never more than an extension of content.” If this seems true in the process of our writing, then we’ll try to understand how the making of a poem represents the body and mind of the poet and the spirit of the age. This course will usually feature one class per week focused on reading and elements of craft, with the second class reserved for workshop (peer critique/review).  

Dance Team is a hip-hop/jazz performing group made up of dancers who are chosen by an audition process. Dance Team performs at Gann Academy sports events, performance events and outside competions. Dance Team meets twice weekly during an arts block to study technique, choreograph and rehearse numbers, with possible additional practices as needed. Dance Team is a serious year-long commitment to excellence. There is a major leadership component to the group, with students taking charge of organizing and some choreography.  

Documentary filmaking is just about the most fun any person can have with a camera, so come explore the various techniques related to the genre, all the while documenting the areas of our world that concern you the most. This course will provide the tools to take your world, package it the way you see it, and leave your own person mark for years to come. 

This course will focus on theater as a collaborative art. The class will explore elements of the imagination, focus, character, personal interaction, and working as a group. This is not an improv class, but students will use many improv exercises throughout the year. Emphasis will be placed on personal application and cooperation. No previous acting experience required. 

Everyone likes "Who's Line Is IT Anyway?" but can anyone play those games? YES! It just take learning some basic skills and practice. Improvisation is the foundation of all acting. It relies on collaboration, trust and being open to whatever the moment throws at you. In this class we'll learn the fundamentals of Improv through Improv games. No experience required, just the willingness to play together. 

Students learn traditional techniques of observational drawing and painting using a variety of media including charcoal, ink, and paint. This is a foundation course which is required for more advanced painting classes. 

Students in this course learn both modern and traditioinal Israeli dances. The students also learn choreography in order to perform dances and to choreograph their own pieces. Students perform in both school and local venues.  

The Jazz Ensemble is a combo-sized improvising band. We perform standard repertoire by artists such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and many others. All instruments are welcome.  

This class is open to anyone with an interest in movement and dance. Class will begin with a warm-up to get students comfortable in their bodies, and will expose students to both modern dance technique and creative process. Trimester option. 

This is a course for the more experienced musician. (All style backgrounds are welcome.) By working through a series of composition projects and ear-training we will learn how the elements of Western Music; melody, harmony, rhythm and form together create a complete musical experience. Students will have created a portfolio of short pieces at the end of the course.  

Must have taken Introduction to Painting and Drawing. Advanced Painting and Drawing will cover different topics each trimester with projects influenced by music, narratives, world events and ideas. The class is designed to enhance the student's visual awareness and promote the individual's voice.  

Using a variety of materials including paint, charcoal and collage, students will learn how to draw what they see and what they imagine. This is a course for both the artistically gifted and those students who "think" they are artistically challenged. It is a primer and prerequisite for all other painting and drawing classes.  

Students are responsible for providing their own 35 mm manual camera (not just point and shoot). Students also must have taken Introduction to Photography. For those who have darkroom experience, this advanced photography class will use traditional darkroom techniques, in addition to experimental and alternative methods of creating and displaying a photographic image. The class will revolve primarily around the creation and critique of black and white photography, but will also address digital color photography.  

Students must provide their own 35mm manual camera (not a point and shoot) This introductory photography course covers the fundamental elements of picture taking and darkroom developing. Students will learn technical and expressive ways of analyzing, capturing, developing, and printing black and white images. This class is a good opportunity for beginners, or those that may just want a refresher.  

ShenaniGanns is a select group of singers that study and perform a wide range of Jewish, soul, and pop music in the close harmony, a cappella style. Students gain skills in blend, balance, tone, and healthy vocal technique. Participation includes performances on occasional evenings or weekends throughout the year at public and private events around Boston.  

Bringing Hollywood one step closer with every class--come and learn the basics all independent filmmakers need to know! Scripting to storyboarding, lighting to shooting, editing to distribution: everything you need to take your ideas from inside your head to the silver screen. Whether drama, comedy, horror or sci-fi is your genre of choice, you will find the building blocks to make your very own short films right here.