Tisch Special Programs

New York University Tisch School of the Arts offers a summer program in Amsterdam exposing students to a range of approaches to live performance and the creation of original work. But for those of you who can't wait until next summer and want to experience experimental theatre now, check out the New Island Festival at Governors Island.

The event offers a variety of performances and installations, including an improv comedy group, a silent disco, and dinner of stamppot, a hearty potato dish, and klapstuk, a veal stew, while dancers perform on your 400-foot-long wooden table.

Photo courtesy of Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times.

Inspiration for the festival comes from two similar events in the Netherlands: the Terschellings Oerol Festival, which takes place on Terschelling, an island in the north, each June; and De Parade, a traveling festival that moves around the country in summer. Read more and see a slide show at The New York Times.

Born in Suzhou, a city right outside of Shanghai, Bean began her journey through film development at the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 1997. After graduation in 2001, and a few years of traveling abroad, Bean came back to the Shanghai Theatre Academy to work as a language professor and as an instructor in acting and directing. Bean has had an interest in attending NYU’s film program since 2004 when she realized how famous and amazing it was. Her biggest draw was her need to “re-warm” her energy and enthusiasm for film, art, and life.

During her summer here at NYU Bean has been taking Sight and Sound: Film with Arnie Baskin, who she finds to be both funny and extremely entertaining. Although she loves this class very much, there were hardships she had to endure when she first began. She had to overcome a tough language barrier, which plagues so many of our international students, and being almost a full decade older than her classmates, which spawned a sincere feeling of loneliness. Bean even updated her Facebook status, to “Never felt like a baby that can’t speak at 31 yrs old”, to reflect her dismay. This was especially frustrating since Bean had been learning English for almost 20 years! To combat all these elements Bean placed her feet firmly in the ground and made her work speak volumes to her classmates, at which point the burden of language lessened.

More and more students have since opened up to Bean and she was even invited to join an all female film crew that included two Americans and one British student. They get along so well that her initial anxiety has since faded, and she is able to comfortably fit into her new class. Although language is still an issue when she needs to give direction, Bean confronts this with her head held high and her eyes firmly on her prize. If you’re wondering, this prize is attaining her Master’s Degree by next summer. We wish Bean the best of luck on all her future endeavors!

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in her New York University commencement address on May 13 that funding for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program will increase by more than 40 percent.

Photo courtesy of CNBC

"You know, study abroad is like spring training for this century. It helps you develop the fundamentals, the teamwork, and the determination to succeed. And we want more American students to have that opportunity," Secretary Clinton said last week.

The Gilman Scholarships provide funding for undergraduate students seeking to study abroad for a semester or a full year. Additional funding is offered to students who wish to study in 'non-traditional' study abroad places. Read more about this scholarship on the Web site for the U.S. Department of State.

Secretary Clinton received an honorary degree at the 177th NYU Commencement held at Yankee Stadium. Watch Secretary Clinton's video for her full commencement address.

New York University Tisch School of the Arts offers semester-long fall and spring study abroad programs for all undergraduate NYU and visiting students. Short-term summer undergraduate and graduate programs are also available.

Planning on studying abroad in France this summer? Well don't miss a chance to visit France's national museums and monuments--for free! The New York Times reported today that starting April 4 visitors under 25 can visit places like Paris' Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay free of charge.

So whether you're with Tisch School of the Arts in Nice studying Experimental Video and 3D Animation or in Paris studying French cinema and Creative Nonfiction Video Production, make some time to see the sights around town!

The New York Times reports today that a "record number of students are studying abroad," with less traditional destinations like China, the Czech Republic, and South Africa increasing in popularity. Not one to be outpaced, Tisch Special Programs offers you programs in all three of these artistic and cultural hotbeds, not to mention many others.

The article—which cites the Open Doors 2008 report from the Institute of International Education—goes on to state that the number of Americans studying in China increased by 25% last year over the previous year. The number of Americans studying in South Africa is up by a whopping 28%.

We at Tisch Special Programs are committed to bringing you an intensive academic and artistic experience in an ever-broadening list of countries. We continually develop new programs in new locations so stay tuned!

Graphic credit: The New York Times

Dublin may have made it's stamp on the artistic world at the pens of literary titans like James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and George Bernard Shaw, but Tisch Special Programs is bringing a whole new type of storytelling to your bag of tricks.

That's right, puppetry. Tisch Special Programs has brought on Creator Producer Yvette Edery to teach Puppetry Performance: Ireland Workshop and Summer 2009 is your chance to be a part of this exciting new program.

Spotlight on Cuba, an art review from The New York Times, explores an exhibit at the Hunterdon Museum of Art.

NYU graduate students with an interest in the visual arts of Cuba should apply for the Graduate Seminar: A Global Observatory on the Visual Arts in Cuba.

It's offered only in the summer!

Are you thinking about a summer in Paris? In this story from the New York Times, A Certain Uncertain Je Ne Sais Quoi, French filmmaker Jacques Rivette is profiled.

This summer, Tisch Special Programs will offer Creative Nonfiction in Paris: A Video Production Workshop and French Cinema: Paris and the New Wave.