Lara Hincapie
I am Lara Hincapie, an accomplished artist and thespian, and a current student in graduate school. From a very young age I joined the exciting world of theater as an aspiring actress, singer, and dancer. Throughout my youth I trained not only as a performer, but I was also introduced to what would become my first passion–scenic art (painting) and design.
I graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, with a Bachelor’s of Art degree in Theatrical Design and Technology. After earning my degree I spent several years working as the Charge Scenic Artist for The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and was published by The Guild of Scenic Artists for an article about a faux texture process I created and implemented for an award-winning set at there at the FAC. I also have years of experience freelance set designing for different theaters’ for-youth productions. I am currently enrolled in graduate school and am an MBA candidate at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. I spend my free time working with my best painter friend for our self-started company, Scenic Spark, painting murals, faux-finishing, and specialty painting for residential and commercial properties throughout the state of Colorado. I also enjoy teaming up with my brother, who is a poet, to create children’s books, which he writes and I illustrate.
I have long been drawn to arts education for young people, in large part due to my own childhood and that the arts shaped my life from a very early age. I have taught musical theater acting and dancing to ages ranging from 4-18, as well as studio painting and theatrical painting to high school and college ages. I enjoy teaching art to younger ages, because it helps kids discover themselves, to better understand who they are and who they might want to become; art teaches us about life in so many ways. For me, as a kid, participating in drama was a way to push the limits of my comfort zone, and the perfect challenge to my restless spirit. I have a new found love for teaching literary arts as well, including play studies. But I love teaching the arts in general, especially to youth, because I seek to guide the growth of their inner artist, so that they might find a sense of direction in life through the arts (whether literary, theatrical, or visual arts)– like I was so lucky to find for myself as a young person and turn into my life’s work.
You can check out some of my professional and personal artwork on my portfolio website:
What better way to spend Halloween month than studying the classic book Frankenstein! In 4 weeks, students will read the novel and compare it to the film version- and maybe get some costume ideas! :)
In this 4 week course, students will study Orwell's classic novel, Animal Farm. After reading and analyzing the book, students will compare it to the film version.
This 1-week course will introduce students to two major short stories from Edgar Allan Poe, whose work has become known as one of the “classics” in American literature.
In this 1 week course, students will read and explore 2 different short stories by American author Flannery O'Connor, and compare the two.
This 1-week course will introduce students to one of the great short stories from Jack London, whose work has become known as one of the “classics” in American literature.
This fun class on the Art of Persuasion will teach students how to argue effectively through the process of proper rhetorical writing. By the end of the course, they will have created a peer-reviewed argumentative essay!
This class explores the beginnings of theatrical performance up to 1700--from ancient Greek theater to the Italian stage of the Renaissance, to the Bard himself- Shakespeare!
Explore the art of the ancient world in this 8 week couse that is part of our Western Civilizations series, and goes hand in hand with our Introduction to Ancient Civilizations course!
Part of our full year Art History series, this course will serve as an introduction into the art and architecture of Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages
In this 4 week course, students will learn how to recognize, identify, and interpret the art of the indigenous American peoples- including Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, and First Nation tribes.