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Frequently Asked Questions About
SCHOOL OF THE ARTS CREATIVE
WRITING
Where is SOTA?
After many years on the campus of San Francisco
State University, School of the Arts relocated in
2002 to the campus of the former McAteer High
School, at nearly the geographic center of San
Francisco. Plans and fundraising continue
toward a move to a more specialized, permanent
location.
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Is SOTA a
typical San Francisco high school, with admission by
choice/lottery?
No. Admission to SOTA and Creative Writing
is by audition only. See the
Application and
Audition page.
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How long
has the Creative Writing discipline existed at SOTA?
2009-2010 is CW's eighth year as a SOTA discipline. The program was started by its current director,
Heather Woodward.
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How many
students are in the CW program? Will the
program expand? About 28 - 30 students are
typically enrolled in Creative Writing. At
this time there are no plans to expand.
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Who teaches SOTA
Creative Writing? CW is taught by director
Heather Woodward, assisted by interns from San
Francisco State's MFA program, and by an exciting
and rotating faculty of artists-in-residence. See the Faculty page
for bios and the
Program Basics page for a syllabus.
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What kind of
writing goes on? All kinds, from the familiar
genres of fiction, poetry, and playwriting (see
Student Work pages)
to experimental forms such as Neo-Benshi. Many
CW artists-in-residence work with innovative
approaches that cross traditional arts boundaries.
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Do I have to perform?
Performance is an important element of SOTA's
Creative Writing program, and definitely not
optional. The department produces three shows
each year, and students also appear at off-campus
readings and events throughout the City. See
the CW in Performance page.
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Are Creative
Writing students ever published? What about
contests?
CW students are heavily represented in
umläut,
the lit review which it produces but which accepts
submissions from all students at SOTA. Beyond
campus, students have appeared in publications and
on websites now too numerous to list, and similarly
have won many local, regional, and national
contests. To read about their many successes, check out our current and archived
News items. To read a
selection of umläut pieces as they appeared
on the page, see the
umläut
sampler.
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What are
the expectations for involvement beyond the
classroom?
San Francisco is a dynamic city
in the arts world, and CW students are urged to take
full advantage of its opportunities. Field
trips to readings, art installations, City Arts and
Lectures, etc. are common, and help students see
themselves as part of a larger writing community.
In addition, each Monday is "Community" day in CW
(see CW in the Community
page).
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Are there opportunities for parent involvement?
We're glad you asked! Yes,
parent help is welcome, needed, and, dare we say,
expected in Creative Writing. Parents serve as
liaisons between department head Heather Woodward,
the PTSA, and other parents; they provide publicity
for performances, and sell food and lit reviews at
these same events; they lend their time on audition
days to speak with parents of prospective C-dubs,
and lend their homes for potluck dinners. Grant applications written by parents -- along with
financial contributions from parents (see
"Donation" question
below) --
have funded artists-in-residence and department
supplies and software. This website was
created and, for its first three years, maintained
on a volunteer basis by a parent. As the
saying goes, the ways you can help are limited only
by your own imagination. To emphasize the
importance of parent involvement, at least one
parent/guardian is required to meet with director
Heather Woodward at the outset of the prospective
student's audition.
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When do I audition?
Dates for the 2010-2011
school year auditions are January 9, 2010 and March
6, 2010. See the Application and
Audition page for portfolio deadlines and other
information about the audition process.
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How
do I audition?
Audition for CW involves a
combination of portfolio, interview, and prompt
write. Portfolios must be submitted
in advance of the audition. Did we mention the
Application and Audition
page?
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What if I
have other talents and interests?
No use denying it: the arts
disciplines at SOTA, including Creative Writing,
make significant demands on student time. Still,
many students continue to participate and excel in
areas beyond their emphasis. Current C-dub Sayre
Quevedo, for example, is a peer broadcasting teacher
at Youthradio, assisting young people in producing
their own radio programs. Past C-dubs have been
fencers, soccer players, and photographers; they
have been honor-winning guitarists and lifelong
dancers; they have donated significant time to
community groups working with the homeless; they
have participated in mock trial, debate, and in
numerous cases, the theater. It's not always easy,
but it can be done, and the broadened involvement
adds perspective and depth to the work produced
within the department.
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What about college?
Many parents wonder how college
opportunities are affected by the intense, early
focus of an arts school education. This is a
multi-faceted issue -- for example, it's usually
helpful to choose challenging Honors and AP classes
outside the Creative Writing discipline time. Nevertheless, we can say that CW grads
overwhelmingly go on to higher education, and do so
at a wide range of national and international
schools. The list of schools accepting SOTA C-dub
graduates now includes
Harvard, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Sarah Lawrence,
McGill, Edinburgh, Mills, Shimer, Lewis and Clark,
Bard, and various UC branches. Individual
effort always trumps program elements, of course,
but C-dub applications certainly get a boost from
the emphasis on high-level writing and analytical
skills, from close contacts with working writers,
and from four years of internship, community
service, and performance experience.
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Does the Creative Writing program accept donations?
Fuggedaboutit, your money
is no good here! No, we're kidding -- OF
COURSE you can donate. Donations specific to
the department are an essential part of funding
artists-in-residence, umläut, and other
special CW programs. You can donate online or
through printable donation forms; see both options
at our donation page. And thank you!
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