Perpich Center. A major addition to the main school building was made in 1998-99. Art areas Theater The theater program at Perpich offers a general introduction to theatrical practice, with a primary focus in acting skills. Students gain a working understanding of the Stanislavsky System, with particular emphasis on ensemble performance and physical expression. The program explores both classical and contemporary performance theory and practice, including work in musical theater. All students in the program are engaged in class and production work throughout the year. Dance The dance program at Perpich, under the direction of Mary Harding, is focused mostly on modern dance, with ballet and jazz training. Students are taught improvisation, dance history, theory, and choreography. Three dance concerts are performed per year along with additional collaborative performances on campus and in the community. Music In the music department students perform in small ensembles. Unlike a typical high-school music program, there is no orchestra or band. There is a choir for the first part of the year. Students form ensembles of two-to- five members, and work collaboratively to arrange or compose music for their voices and instruments. They perform in many concerts a year. Students also study a wide range of music topics in seminars, including theory and ear training, several seminars in electronic music, African drumming, guitar techniques and styles, soloing, recording, Literary Arts In the junior year literary arts students start out with an intense study and practice of memoir, and then move on to short fiction, eventually creating a research-based, character-driven short story. In the senior year students focus on work in a variety of genres, with a strong emphasis on poetry. In both their junior and senior years, students are given the opportunity to read selected pieces of their own writing in public readings that are arranged through the school. Literary students are also encouraged to arrange their own public readings that are not affiliated with the center. Several collaborative works have come from the literary arts community at the center, including an anthology independently published by the graduating classes of 2006 and 2007: "Lit Kids: Mama Bird and the Electric Rabbit" (Mill City Press, 2007). Media Arts The media arts program includes work with digital and traditional photography, computer animation, digital film along with film history and criticism and screenwriting. The department competes annually in national competitions, and the students are required to present