Background
The Maricopa Institute for Arts and Entertainment Technology (MIAET) was founded in 1998 by a group of Fine Arts educators from Scottsdale Community College. With the support of Maricopa Chancellor Emeritus Paul Elsner, the Institute was created to act as an occupational "bridge" for students from throughout the district that have completed their studies, but are looking to strengthen their portfolio before entering the art and entertainment industries. The MIAET program provides this "bridge" by giving students the opportunity to work on professional-grade projects while still in school. Often, these projects are highly collaborative with professionals from their chosen field, as well as students from other disciplines, creating a "real world" work environment. Creating this environment is the underlying philosophy and practice behind every activity of MIAET.
Curriculum and Students
The MIAET program trains students in the following areas: 1) Animation, 2) Dance Performance and Technology, 3) Graphics, 4) Music Performance and Technology,
5) Sound Design and Composition, 6) Video Production and Post Production, and
7) Web Design. The training program is uniquely project based: MIAET acts as a full-service "production house" for Maricopa Colleges Television (MCTV), the District's digital cable television channel serving the greater Phoenix area. Although based at Scottsdale Community College, instruction (delivered primarily by adjunct faculty/industry professionals) takes place at various campuses and locations. The 200+ students that have been enrolled in the program since its inception have come from all of the Maricopa Colleges, as well as Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, and University of Arizona.
Performing Ensembles
The MIAET curriculum is based loosely on several well-known programs in California and Vancouver, B.C. However, unlike those programs whose sole curricular focus is technical (i.e., hardware and software training), the MIAET curriculum also includes dance and music performing ensembles. These ensembles, Instinct Dancecorps and Emusic, provide MIAET students with the unique opportunity to test their skills under the stress of live performance, and to do so with the immediate feedback of a live audience. MIAET uses performance projects as a means to bring students from each discipline together for a single project. This part of the curriculum is designed to prepare students for real world application of their training, especially the all-important ability to communicate with others of different technical or artistic backgrounds. And it is this process that MCLI has supported through the years so generously with Vibrant Arts and Learning Grants. These grants, while providing only partial funding, have been an integral part of the continuing success of MIAET's performance ensembles.
Grant-Supported Projects
MCLI-supported, MIAET performance projects include: "Maya Deren: Goddess of Illusion" (1998), "Carmina Burana" (1999), "The System" (2000), "Let the Games Begin" (2001), "Songs of Sanctuary" (2002), and the newest program, "Cantata Mundi." MIAET projects have won acclaim throughout the US, and have been honored with several awards, including a 2001 Telly Award, a 2002 AZ Governor's Arts Award nomination, a 2003 Crystal Communicators Award, and performances at the 1999 League for Innovation Conference and 2000, 2001, and 2002 Sedona Conferences. In addition, Instinct Dancecorps, under the direction of Patricia Bodell, and Emusic, under the direction of Don DeLong, are both members of the Arizona Commission on the Arts Touring Artists Roster, an honor rarely accorded to college or university-based ensembles.
Maya Deren: Goddess of Illusion (Vibrant Arts Grant, 1998)
"Maya Deren: Goddess of Illusion" was the winner of a Vibrant Arts Award and was named Innovation of the Year at Scottsdale Community College. It was conceived and written by Penelope Price, Steven Meredith, and Patricia Bodell. The performance is a multimedia work based on the life of Maya Deren, early independent film pioneer and winner of the first Guggenheim Fellowship for film. Her colorful life is explored through her films, and through original dance, music, and film footage, outlining her tumultuous journey from pre-revolution Russia to the U.S., Europe, and Haiti.
Carmina Burana (Vibrant Arts Grant, 1999)
"Carmina Burana" is a multi-media version of Carl Orff's choral masterpiece. The final version of the piece included a choir of 150 singers, 40 dancers, 32 separate video monitors, a full orchestra, and a set design that used construction scaffolding to evoke images of a gothic cathedral. A "small Carmina" (using MIDI keyboards instead of live orchestra) toured throughout the southwest, including performances at the Sedona Conference and the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, CO.
The System (Vibrant Arts Grant, 1999)
"The System" was conceived and written by MIAET students Maria Patty and Dee Ann Kincade in conjunction with faculty members Penelope Price, Steven Meredith, Steve Gompf, Rachel Woodburn, Robert Powell, and Patricia Bodell. This multimedia work is based on the lives of individuals who attempt to make all of their fantasies come true by entering the ultimate dream world: cyberspace. Full of exciting digital effects, original music by L.A.-based composer Dick Wells, and outstanding performers, it is, at its core, a morality tale for the cyber-generation.
Let the Games Begin (Learning Grant, 2001)
"Let the Games Begin" was to have been a 60-minute original performance work. The concept for this show was that it be "modular," i.e., a show created in sections that stand alone as significant pieces, but also have the unifying thread of a common story line so that they may be performed together as a whole. A 45-minute workshop version of this show was created and performed in spring of 2001. After the events of 9/11/01, the project was discontinued, and work began on "Songs of Sanctuary."
Songs of Sanctuary
"Songs of Sanctuary" is a multimedia celebration of the human desires for beauty, shelter, ritual, achievement, and peace. Although created as an artistic response to the tragic events of 9/11/01, it is by design not specifically referential to those events. Instead the work focuses on the human response to events, both global and personal, that constitute our collective life experiences. The piece was performed at the Orpheum Theater on 9/11/02 as the centerpiece of the District's observation of the one-year anniversary of 9/11/01.
Cantata Mundi - Songs of the World (Learning Grant, 2003)
"Cantata Mundi," when completed, will be an original, 60-minute, multi-media work suitable for live and televised performance. It is being designed as a high school residency opportunity for MIAET students in production and performance. The words "Cantata Mundi" are Latin for "Songs of the World," and this is the essential concept for the work, i.e., music, dance, costumes, video, and lighting that are evocative of, but not strictly imitative of, any particular world culture. The completed work will create "cultural impressions" on the mind of the viewer, rather than being a cultural travelogue of the world.
Conclusion
Because of its district-wide focus, project-based training, and opportunities for "real-world" experiences, the MIAET program offers Maricopa students a unique opportunity to prepare themselves to enter a very competitive occupation. MCLI's support of MIAET performance projects (and indeed for all fine arts activities throughout the district) acts as a catalyst for creation, innovation, and artistic education. For more information on the MIAET program, visit their website.
 Steve Meredith, D.M.A., mcli
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