Special journalism workshops in Echo Park and Venice!

Both 826LA East and 826LA West publish student newspapers on six-week cycles. 826LA East is responsible for 826LA Good Times, while 826LA West produces The Venice Wave.

The Echo Park workshop runs on Mondays, and the Venice workshop takes place on Wednesdays; both are 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

For future workshop dates and to sign up, please click through for more information for 826LA Good Times and The Venice Wave.

At both workshops, students ages 6 – 18 are invited to work with professional journalists to write and publish their own web/print periodical. For more information, you can contact Julius; you can also write Danny or Bonnie for info on The Venice Wave (826LA West) and 826LA Good Times (826LA East), respectively. You can also give us a call: 213.413.3388 at 826LA East; or 310.305.8418 at 826LA West.

English Language Learner Camp
Ages 7 – 12
Monday – Friday
July 7 – August 13

826LA West:
1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

826LA East:
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
and
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Over the course of five weeks, students will work on projects covering everything from pirates and poetry to food writing and music reviews, all while strengthening and reviewing English language development skills like sentence structures, grammar, close reading, and story writing. Students of all levels of English-speaking ability are welcome, and all will benefit.

ELL Camp is taught at both of our centers in one-week modules, and students can sign up for individual weeks or all five at our workshop signup page.

8 - 2 = 6 (Eight Minus Two Is Six)
Taught by Julius Diaz Panoriñgan
Ages 8 – 12
Saturday, July 31, 2010
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA East

You see
4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 9 = 8 + 1
= 2 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 1
= 2 + 6 + 1 = 8 + 1
and a writer/mathematician sees The Lord of the Rings (heavily abridged).

This workshop is for those who fall asleep while doing their math (or, even worse, have nightmares too) *and* students who would eat math instead of Cap'n Crunch for breakfast if they could. Every student in attendance will learn to harness the most intense math they know to create an infinitely elegant short story.

826LA Director of Education Julius Diaz Panoriñgan manages 826LA's workshop program (among other things). From time to time, he likes to teach a workshop himself. Julius, interestingly enough, has a degree in Mathematical and Computational Science. (No joke.) He's convinced that both mathematical symbols and written words are just two different ways to tell a story.

Subtext: What I Really Meant to Say
Taught by Nancy Matson
Ages 10 – 14
Sunday, August 1, 2010
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA West

Even the simplest phrase can take on very different meanings depending on who's talking, who's listening, and what went on before the conversation. In this workshop, we'll give the same words a totally different meaning by changing some of the non-verbal variables—and we'll perform the results!

Nancy Matson had a middle-grade novel published by Scholastic back in the day, and more recently has had several essays from her ongoing series on her 70+ jobs featured in SMITH Magazine's Memoirville, Eclectica Magazine, and Weber: The Contemporary West.

Agitate! Propagandize!
Taught by Julius Diaz Panoriñgan
Ages 8 – 14
Saturday, August 7, 2010
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA East

Sometimes, clear, convincing argument isn't enough. You need to stir things up just a bit so that people pay attention and you can get across your message, whatever that is.

In this workshop, students will craft propaganda—speeches, pamphlets, and posters—all of it hard-hitting.

826LA Director of Education Julius Diaz Panoriñgan manages 826LA's workshop program (among other things). He believes it's sometimes okay to teach workshops that're a little bit sinister.

Improv: Comedy and Character
Taught by Joan Hawley McClain
Ages 8 – 12
Satrday, August 7, 2010
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA East

This workshop introduces participants to the core concepts of improv comedy: group mind, space work, character, and, of course fun! Participants will play games, write character monologues, and create scenes using their characters.

Joan Hawley McClain is an Upright Citizens Brigade-trained improv comedian. She holds an MFA in drama, and performs at comedy clubs throughout Los Angeles.

How to Unlock People's Inner Awesomeness (in Interviews)
Taught by Brent Hopkins
Ages 10 – 14
Sunday, August 8, 2010
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA West

The world is made up of fascinating characters. Within everyone lies an inner rock star, vampire hunter, comedian, heartthrob, and fighter of evil. This workshop teaches students how to unlock the personalities that make up their worlds via good interview skills, then commits them to paper.

Brent Hopkins used to make a living chasing after athletes, politicians, movie stars, and criminals, and getting them to talk. In his undistinguished, unintentionally hilarious time in the newspaper business, he interviewed everyone from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to costumed characters dressed up on Hollywood Boulevard. In the process, he learned that the best stories come from regular, everyday people—the ones who really make life worthwhile.

Seeing Symbols: Reading Stories with 826LA
Taught by Mary Peterson
Ages 8 – 13
Saturday, August 14, 2010
12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
This workshop takes place at the Norton Simon Museum of Art
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105

What does it mean when the Buddha extends his hand just so? The one with the flower—is she a woman or a goddess? Is that crowd marching to war, or joining a wedding procession?

With 826LA and Mary Peterson, students explore the Norton Simon Museum’s Indian collection, learning how the most insignificant symbols—a look or a gesture, a tree or a flame—hold the keys to deeper meaning and understanding. Students then create their own symbols, and finally combine them to tell stories of their own.

Please note that there is no deposit required for this workshop.

Seeing Symbols: Reading Stories with 826LA
Taught by Mary Peterson
Ages 8 – 13
Saturday, August 14, 2010
2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
This workshop takes place at the Norton Simon Museum of Art
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105

What does it mean when the Buddha extends his hand just so? The one with the flower—is she a woman or a goddess? Is that crowd marching to war, or joining a wedding procession?

With 826LA and Mary Peterson, students explore the Norton Simon Museum’s Indian collection, learning how the most insignificant symbols—a look or a gesture, a tree or a flame—hold the keys to deeper meaning and understanding. Students then create their own symbols, and finally combine them to tell stories of their own.

Please note that there is no deposit required for this workshop.

Words, Spoken
Ages 14 – 18
Monday – Friday
August 16 – August 20
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at both 826LA West and 826LA East

In this intensive five-day workshop, high school students will have the opportunity to examine what makes words perform, what it means to speak and embody text, and what we can do to harness our personal histories, our identities, and voices. The workshop culminates in a spoken word event where everyone has their say!

The Adventures of Galileo Greenback
Ages 8 – 12
Satrday, August 21, 2010
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA East

How can one dollar bill change the world? Workshop students will tell us. Selected stories will be turned into commissioned pieces of art for an auction/fundraiser benefiting 826LA.

I'd Like to File a Complaint
Taught by Ryan Stayton
Ages 8 – 14
Satrday, August 21, 2010
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA East

We're a country filled with complainers, which sounds like something worth complaining about until you consider that complaining can often solve problems in positive and productive fashion. We are, after all, a nation founded on the greatest complaint in history: the Declaration of Independence (speaking of potential complaints, I promise no history lessons). In this workshop we'll consider what we have to complain about and how we can file a complaint in hopes of resolving it. For once, you'll be encouraged to complain!

Ryan Stayton (www.ryanstayton.com) will not hesitate to write Pillsbury a complaint letter if his eight-pack of crescent rolls only contained seven—but not because he really wanted that eighth pig in a blanket. It's because he's a principled man who thinks eight means eight. If he has one complaint, it's that there's no such thing as a professional complainer. He hopes you won't have complaints about this workshop, but if you do he insists you tell him.

Musical Phrases, Written Phrases
Taught by Brendan Carn
Ages 8 – 13
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Please note that this workshop is NOT on 8/8, as originally stated.
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at the UCLA Armand Hammer Museum

In this workshop, students interact with improvising musicians using verbal and written language rather than musical instructions. Even without any previous musical background, students will become directly involved with the composition and improvisation process, combining and connecting with music and writing in new and different ways.

Brendan Carn is a bassist, composer, improviser, and educator living in Boulder, Colorado.

The Adventures of Galileo Greenback
Ages 8 – 12
Satrday, August 28, 2010
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA West

How can one dollar bill change the world? Workshop students will tell us. Selected stories will be turned into commissioned pieces of art for an auction/fundraiser benefiting 826LA.

A Guy Walks Into an 826LA…
Taught by Ryan Stayton
Ages 8 – 14
Satrday, August 28, 2010
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
This workshop takes place at 826LA West

Fear of public speaking ranks high on most people's phobia list, with stand-up comedy being the Mount Everest of phobias, but rest easy: it's not as hard as it looks. Developing a stand-up act offers benefits aplenty, from making you funnier to making you comfortable in front of crowds to making you a better writer.

In this workshop, students will watch and study professional comedians, learning how to write jokes and how to turn jokes into their very own stand-up routine. The class will culminate with each student performing on the 826LA Comedy Club stage in front of a supportive and hilarious audience, a video of which can be uploaded onto YouTube if desired. Whatever your goal, this class comes with a funny back guarantee: you will laugh.

As a youngster, Ryan Stayton was superduper shy. When he first gave stand-up comedy a whirl he was so nervous he couldn't hold the microphone, but once comfortable onstage he couldn't imagine a better feeling than filling a room with laughter. He has many comedic pursuits, namely writing and performing, and samples of his efforts can be found at www.ryanstayton.com.