OFA Wintersession January '24

Office for the Arts Wintersession

Snowflake graphic on icy blue background with text "Wintersession 2024," "Make art. Office for the Arts at Harvard."Thank you to everyone who participated in the Office for the Arts Wintersession offerings January 18 and 19, 2024. See you next year!

Pursue your creative passion, explore arts and entertainment career options, and learn from leading artists and arts professionals during Wintersession 2024. Our sessions offer Harvard undergraduate students the time and space to try something new that would not be possible during the fall or spring semesters. Visit the Dean of Students Office for updates and more information about Wintersession. NOTE: Deadline for applying to all OFA Wintersession programs is January 9, 2024. All program sites are accessible. 

For information and accessibiltiy questions or requests, please contact Jesse Ellis.

Entrepreneurship in Creative Careers, with Jim Augustine '01 

Are you an entrepreneurial Harvard undergraduate student looking for a dynamic skill set and tool box to market yourself successfully as a creative leader or to launch a project? Apply to participate in this two-day, onsite Wintersession program, sponsored by the Office for the Arts and the Mignone Center for Career Success, and led by Jim Augustine ’01, COO of Zuckerberg Media and Resident Artist at the OFA First-Year Arts Program. Augustine is a media entrepreneur whose career has spanned theater, film, publishing, technology and business consulting.

Apply for the program here and leave empowered to make creative visions a reality on your unique path to success. The deadline for the application is Tuesday, January 9. Update: The deadline for this workshop has been extended, see below. Find out about more MCS January offerings here. Contact Dana Knox at OFA or Amy DiGiovine at MCS with questions.

Capacity: 25 Harvard undergraduate students
Time: Thursday, January 18 and Friday, January 19
Location: Mignone Center for Career Success, 54 Dunster Street
Apply here by 12pm Tuesday, January 9, 2024Update: Harvard undergraduates are welcome to register as long as the application form link is open.

The Architecture of Poetry

This poetry workshop will emphasize poetic structures. This doesn't mean that students need to be writing structured verse. But if they are writing free verse, emphasis will be how it relates to those structured forms from which free verse is a historic departure. Students should bring copies of their poems (3-6 pages) to class. If at all possible, these should be submitted to the instructor by email a week or so ahead of time. Taught by poet Brad Leithauser '75, JD '80. Read about his book Rhyme's Rooms: The Architecture of Poetry

Capacity: 10 Harvard undergraduate students
Time: 11am-2pm Thursday, January 18 and Friday, January 19 
Location: TBD
Apply here by 12pm Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Update: This workshop is full. To be placed on the waitlist, email Jesse Ellis.

DIY Terrarium Building 

Bring some green back into your life during winter! Build your own live terrarium, a super-easy-to-care-for mini ecosystem and statement piece for your dorm. A terrarium is a closed or open-air container housing live plants, mosses and decorations. They are largely self-sustaining and easy to care for, needing less frequent watering than a conventional house plant. Bring one or more small trinkets — such as a stone, mineral sample, small figurine or jewelry — to build a little world around. All other supplies will be provided. Jesse Ellis, OFA Program Staff Assistant, will lead participants through building a terrarium and how to care for it, whether you’re looking for a novelty item or exploring a potential new hobby.

Registration required by 12pm on January 9. This Wintersession workshop is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Confirmed attendees will be notified by January 17. Lunch provided!

Capacity: 10 Harvard undergraduate students
Time: 12 pm - 2:30 pm; Thursday, January 18
Location: Office for the Arts, 74 Mount Auburn Street
Apply here by 12pm Tuesday, January 9, 2024.  Update: This workshop is full. To be placed on the waitlist, email Jesse Ellis

First Chapter, First Impression: A Fiction Novel-Writing Workshop

In this one-day fiction writing workshop led by author and OFA Artist-in-Residence at Cabot House, Aislinn Brophy '17, students will explore techniques for crafting a first chapter of a novel that will hook a reader and keep them coming back for more. Through this intensive, we will examine questions such as, “What is the most powerful moment for your story to start?”; “How do you quickly create a sense of the world of the novel?”; and “What are the key elements of a successful first chapter?” This is a practical workshop, so much of the day will be spent writing, though we will also analyze examples and discuss craft. Lunch provided!

Capacity: 10 Harvard undergraduate students
Time: 10am – 3pm; Friday, January 19
Location: Cabot House Common Room, Entry way A
Apply Capacity: 10 Harvard undergraduate students
Time: 10am – 3pm; Friday, January 19
Location: Cabot House Common Room, Entry way A
Apply  by 12pm Tuesday, January 9, 2024Update: This workshop deadline has been extended to 11:59pm EST on Monday, January 15, 2025.

Crafting a Late-Night Packet

 Late-night is a scripted television format that consists of desk bits, news-inspired monologue jokes and sketch comedy. These shows often make politics digestible to audiences nationwide and are known for weaving a narrative of satire or silliness into the topical and/or pop culture landscape.

To prepare for this workshop, writers will come in with an idea for one of the necessary elements of a Late-Night packet:

  • Monologue jokes (1-2 pages of set-up, punchline jokes are the typical packet submission requirement)
  • Standing monologue (e.g. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel)
  • Desk monologue (e.g. Amber Ruffin, John Oliver)
  • Celebrity guest segment (e.g. Seth Meyer’s “Day Drinking”)
  • Desk bit (e.g. Jimmy Fallon’s “Thank You Notes”)
  • Field reporting (e.g. Jordan Klepper at MAGA rallies)
  • Character sketch (e.g. Saturday Night Live) 

The goal will be to leave this workshop with a concrete submission for an element of their Late-Night packet. Lunch provided! Taught by Alexa Albanese, OFA Administrative Assistant to the Director.

Capacity: 12 Harvard undergraduate students
Time: 10am - 4pm; Friday, January 19
Location: Office for the Arts, 74 Mount Auburn Street
Apply 
here by 12pm Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Update: This workshop is full. To be placed on the waitlist, email Jesse Ellis.