Sunday, August 10, 2008
Day 2 By The Counselors!
We counselors are here to let you know the extra things that are happening behind the scenes at arts-X-press. Your children are still having problems adjusting to the three minute showers. Our current record for the fastest shower is 45 seconds, if you call that a shower. For the first time this session, we did our room checks to evaluate how clean your children are. Some of the rooms looked excellent and others looked as if a tornado had hit. You can decide which category your child falls into. Your children are so sweet, some of them even tucked their teddy bears into their beds for the day. At lunch and dinner, the students rush through their meals that include something grown and a glass of water, so they can eat some delicious sweets and ice cream treats. Lastly, your children are excellent at getting ready for bed. NOT! :) Actually, your students are quite mischevious with us sneaking around and whispering with their roommates. However, we are all trained professionals and have experience these areas. The students' PASSION for the arts is growing minute by minute and they are taking countless risks whenever possible. We are so proud of each and everyone of them. Currently, the boys and girls are sleeping and dreaming of the excitement to come tomorrow. Good times!
With love,
Session Two Counselors
DAY TWO Session 2
The students woke up, took a trip to the artsMart where they had the opportunity to purchase sweatshirts, tshirts, water bottles, cameras, etc. From there, they had a small morning meeting with the Program Director, Darci, then headed up to breakfast.
After a quick meal, it was time for Creative Expression again. The students were getting busy on fun projects and socializing with their peers. They’ve all made friends so quickly! Then it was time for a short bathroom break before Arts Workshops. All the Arts Workshops are busy working on their presentations for the Parent Presentation on Tuesday. They all seem to be having fun and learning more about the arts!
A quick stop for lunch after Arts Workshops and then it was off to Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the American Ballet Theatre perform. It was the West Coast Premiere of a new ballet by Twyla Tharp with music by Danny Elfman. After the show we had the opportunity to talk with some of the dancers! What an amazing opportunity!
When we got back from our amazing performance, we went to dinner then went over to one of our first Spotlight Workshops. We had Leslie lead a special vocal spotlight workshop with all the students together. The students jumped right in and had a blast!
Then the students had some time to prepare their act for the talent show. With counselors there to help them, we have some amazing acts developing! We can’t wait to see what they will bring to the stage. Then we had bonding. A time for each student to share with the group someone at arts-X-press who they appreciate and someone at home they appreciate.
It was a long and busy day and tomorrow, we will be spending a lot of the day in Laguna! So it was definitely time for some 3 minute showers and then hop into bed to get a good nights sleep.
arts-X-press Week 2- DAY ONE
By the time that was done, all the students changed into their arts-X-press Tshirts, hopped on the arts-X-press party bus again and headed off to
Once it was over, it was time to head back to UCI, get unpacked and get ready for bed. They all survived their first 3 minute shower! It was a great day and everyone’s getting rest for another b
Friday, August 8, 2008
arts-X-press Session 2 TOMORROW!
Session 2 starts tomorrow! We are looking for a great week full of fun, excitement and immersion in the arts! We're so excited to see you all at the bus stops in the morning!
Sincerely,
arts-X-press Staff
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Don't forget that our Parent Presentation is Tuesday night:
Date: Tuesday August 5
Location: Winifred Smith Hall at UCI
Time: 6:45 pm
Parking: $7 at the Mesa Parking Structure (off Mesa & University)
Here are directions:From the 405: Exit at Jamboree. Proceed West on Jamboree. Turn left onto Campus. Turn right onto University. Turn left onto Mesa Drive. Proceed to the first stop sign and turn right into the Mesa Parking Structure. We will have volunteers to guide you to the performance location.From the 73: Exit at University. Go East onto University. Turn right onto Mesa. Proceed to the first stop sign and turn right into the Mesa Parking Structure. We will have volunteers to guide you to the performance location.Below is a link for a map of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UCI: http://www.arts.uci.edu/uploads/files/Directions%20Map%2011.06.pdfPlease feel free to call our hotline is you have any further questions.
We hope to see you there!
Day 3 Session 1


They then went to CE, arts-Workshops, lunch and right after that loaded onto the bus and headed for the Festival of the Arts in Laguna Beach. The students got a backstage tour of Pageant of the Masters then worked on their own pieces of art!


Finally, before Pageant of the Masters, students walked down to Heisler Park for some pizza and new games.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Supper Time!
Sunday, August 3, 2008

Saturday, August 2, 2008
First Day Workshop Pictures
Garret & James Counselor Post
Yo yo yo dawgie fresh. This is James and Garret bringing you an inside scoop on the nightly procedures of AXP. We just put your boys to bed and we have word from the girl counselors that the girls are doing fine. But anyways, let us get back to the big story of the night. They survived the three minute showers! That’s right, it was a rough, tedious journey between making their beds, brushing their teeth, and showering in under 15 minutes. We had a busy day so the showers were much appreciated. =] While one was in the shower, another was their brushing teeth, and yet another was making their bed and preparing their clothes for tomorrow's busy day. This may seem chaotic to you parents, but don’t worry, we are experienced counselors and are extremely time efficient; basically we are the best in the entire world. Period. But enough about us, we can have a whole blog dedicated to how great we are in a few days. We have exactly seven hours to recharge, replenish, and revitalize our bodies for an exciting day at the theater. Until next time parents, this is James and Garret leading the way to greatness. Over and out; peace!
arts-X-press Session 1 Day 1 "THE FUN BEGINS!"

ents broke the ice, they prepared for tonight's concert by listening to staff member's presentation about concert etiquette. Students and staff then headed to lunch where we got to know each other by mixing it up at the tables! After lunch students found out what arts workshop they had been assigned to and headed to their classrooms. Wednesday, July 30, 2008
arts-X-press starts SATURDAY!
arts-X-press Session 1 starts this weekend!Please put in subject line:
Snail Mail:Please send snail mail at least 3 days in advance
Student’s Name
Attn. arts-X-press
Pacific Symphony
3631 S. Harbor Blvd., Suite 100
Santa Ana, CA 92704
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
arts-X-press is on the Countdown
arts-X-press Session 1 begins in 11 days!
arts-X-press Session 3 begins in 25 days!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
arts-X-press Pacific Symphony Concerts
We are so looking forward to seeing you at arts-X-press this summer! We hope you are getting excited about the program too. For those of you in Session One, we are only 5 weeks away!
Here is informations on the Pacific Symphony Concerts each session will be attending!
Session One:
- The Pacific Symphony Concert on Aug. 2 in Mission Viejo is FREE. Click here for more information.
Session Two:
- The Pacific Symphony Concert on Aug. 9 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater has a special price for arts-X-press friends and family members. We can offer tickets at the reduced price of $22 per person. If you would like to purchase tickets for this concert, please contact Sheri Mitchell at (714) 876-2384 or smitchell@pacificsymphony.org. Be sure to mention you are a part of arts-X-press to get the special price. PLEASE NOTE: Tickets purchased for this concert are not guaranteed to be near the arts-X-press student seats.
Session Three:
- The Pacific Symphony Concert on Aug. 16 in Irvine is FREE. Click here for more information.
Don’t forget, the arts-X-press 2008 Reunion is still to come! Please save the date on your calendar for Saturday, September 6, 2008. We will be attending the Tchaikovsky Spectacular Summer Festival Concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Click here to read more details about the concert or hear some of the music in advance!
We hope you will be able to stop by some of these performances and say hello to us! Remember, even if you are attending arts-X-press in a different session, you are invited to get tickets to the events in other weeks and stop by our group to say a quick hello. See you in a few weeks!
Warmly,
arts-X-press Staff
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
DARTS Begins Their 40th Season!

Feel free to visit the DARTS Blog and keep up with what they are up to!
As some of you may know, DARTS, our sister program, was the inspiration and model for arts-X-press.
We wanted to congratulate them and wish them an amazing summer of exploration in the arts!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Meet Your 2008 arts-X-press Counselors!
arts-X-press is approaching quickly, we wanted to introduce you to the Counselors for arts-X-press 2008!
Many of our counselors have attended arts-X-press themselves or started their involvement with arts-X-press as members of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Rylee, Kit and Tina
"It was amazing. I love sharing with the students." ~Kit


James
Yolanda
"It's such a great memory that I want to share with others."~Yolanda
Stacy
Elyse
Jack

Greg
Stephanie and Kristen
Why have you returned to arts-X-press?
"To help the students discover new skills." ~Kristen

Laurel and Ruthie















