Available Breakout Sessions

Breakout Sessions
Alley-oop!
Try your hand at sports writing with Stevenson alum Kevin Merfeld, whose action-packed columns you can check out each week in the Monterey Herald.
Campfire Stories
Is storytelling a dying art? Circle around a (pretend) campfire and chat about the changing role of oral storytelling in our culture. We’ll talk about what makes a good story. We’ll listen to a story or two and tell a few of our own.
Comics!
Join Eisner-nominated comic book creator, Matt Silady, for a hands-on look at why comic books are so cool to read, write, and draw.
Funny Business
This session will concentrate on the power of language to create humor, especially jokes.
Garland Thompson I
Garland Thompson, an accomplished poet, spoken word artist, playwright, producer, and voice actor, will lead this vocal workshop. How can he alter his voice to sound like a 12-year-old one minute and an eighty-year-old the next? And then you should hear his cartoon characters. He’ll show you some of his tricks of enunciation and pronunciation in this session.
Garland Thompson II
This time the spoken word artist will perform some of his own work and lead a workshop entitled: Conversation: Poetry. Thought-provoking discussion included.
Hip-hop History
Join Stevenson alumni Andrew Nielsen (a.k.a. MC Lars) for a lesson on the history of hip-hop and how the genre has its roots in literature and poetry. We will also look at some of the production tools available for musicians and explore the postmodern implementations of the four elements of hip-hop in 2009 and beyond. Young rappers: bring any recordings or rhymes you've written and we can workshop your flows. Freestyle skills not necessary but will be embraced.
Let’s talk about sex (and all the other stuff that’s hard to talk about)
In this workshop, led by marriage and family therapist Ron Triplett, juniors and seniors will discuss interpersonal communication and will acquire tools for having life’s hard but healthy conversations.
Movement as Language
Explore how movement through dance, gestures and body language serves as a universal language that needs no words to be understood. Participants will have a chance to experiment with using movement to express their ideas in response to a variety of music, poetry and art. No previous dance skills or coordination required!
Pillaging, Plunder, and Pirate Pride
Join Mr. Bates in an effort to create a lasting collection of Stevenson cheers and fight songs. Bring your Pirate pride and creativity, as these chants and songs could become permanent traditions at Stevenson athletic events!
Poets and Process
How do poets wrestle with wordsmithing in their art? Diction, connotation, intent, imagery, and sound all come into play. We will discuss the writing process and lead the session through an actual "work-in-progress." Sessions will work on building a poem together.
Songwriting
Examine lyrics and how to write your own with Andrea Blunt, a song writer and recording artist in the Monterey area who has performed to packed audiences as far away as Paris, France. She can be heard on keyboards and vocals in the touring band for MC Lars.
T.V. Production: Behind the Camera
This session will give you an inside look into NBC News' TODAY Show and what it takes to get a story on the air. A former producer for the show will guide you through the process of producing an on-air piece from an idea on paper.
The Politics of Language
Explore how our political leaders use language to manipulate, motivate, influence, bully, and garner enthusiasm. Analyze how political language reveals a leader's agenda, the climate of the times, and the needs of American citizens.
The Ramsey Method
Want to convince your parents that they must extend your curfew? Or your Spanish teacher that you belong in honors next year? Legendary former Stevenson teacher Wally Ramsey is back to share one of life’s most useful secrets: The Art of Persuasion.
The Trenches
Have you ever wondered what's it's like to report from a war zone, live in Baghdad's "Green Zone," and be embedded with troops in Sadr City or the Afghan hills along the Pakistani border? Join former Newsweek war correspondent and author of I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story, Michael Hastings, and find out. Michael will join us to discuss his experiences reporting for Newsweek in some of the world's most dangerous places, the personal and public tragedies he has witnessed, and the stories of those who fight diligently for a better world.
What the ... ?!
Is swearing really an art? Join us for this provocative discussion on the power of profanity.
Wordplay
A look at how crossword makers use the playfulness and interconnectedness of words to make challenging and oftentimes mind-boggling puzzles. We will attempt to take the rules of how to make a crossword and attempt to build our own crossword!
Words + Art
After perusing the new show in the Treasure Gallery, come to the art studio, where you will make your own original “word art” in this hands-on session.