Art & Play Instructors
Adventures in Cardboard® is now looking to hire full-time, temporary Art & Play Instructors for our 2019 Summer Adventure Camps happening between June 10 and August 23rd. Instructors will act as happy-go-lucky leaders of groups of kids between the ages of 8-17 as they transition through several art and play activities centered around live-action-role-playing games and fantasy storytelling. We work almost entirely outdoors in several regional parks across the metro area.
Adventures in Cardboard® is Low Structure, High-Design. We strive to create an atmosphere that is as far from “school” as possible. We strive to create a summer world of fun where, within safely defined boundaries, kids have the freedom to explore a range of activities on their own time (including the time to just sit and breath when necessary) while receiving invitations from staff and friends to engage in all sorts of creative play and storytelling. This play is both creative and imaginative, it is both theatrical and tactically competitive, it is oriented to both building community and building a legacy of shared stories. All of it is outside, all the time.
Sometimes play takes the form of strategic and competitive games with specific rules for conflict resolution and victory, sometimes play takes the form of free improvisational story-creation, but participants are constantly invited to blend these two types of play in any way they like. It’s a messy, wonderful mix of “Do-It-Yourself” fun. Instructors should be comfortable acting as both referees and comrades-in-play, in both structured games and improvisational free-play.
What is most important to us is helping kids find the inspiration that comes when exploration of the natural world merges with creative and imaginative story-building with peers. If campers go home to organize kids on their block for bouts of creative play with little more than scraps of cardboard and a patch of broken green space then we have succeeded in our small mission.
To this end applicants should have plenty of experience working with kids and still hold them high regard! They should understand how to talk to kids without talking down to them. Applicants should be comfortable working alone with large groups of kids, but should also possess a high social intelligence and enjoy working with other instructors. Applicants should be interested in building a sense of community and camaraderie while at camp. They should be able to spin a yarn, tell a great story and have some sense of how to captivate kids’ attentions when needed while possessing the stamina to invite children into play and social interaction throughout the day.
All applicants:
- must be at least 19 years of age.
- must possess at least two years of experience working with kids between the ages of 7 and 16.
- preferably have skills in theatre, visual arts, carpentry, music and/or storytelling.
- preferably have an interest and knowledge of mythical folklore and fantasy literature and/or gaming .
- preferably be able to commit to all 10 weeks of full-time summer employment between June 10 and August 23rd (there is no camp the week of the July 22nd.)
- must be willing and able to travel to regional parks that could be 15-20 minutes from central Minneapolis.
- must be able to attend a paid staff training the weekend of June 1 & 2, 2019
As with all children’s work under Minnesota law, employment at AiC is ABSOLUTELY DEPENDENT on applicants passing a Predatory Offender Registration check and a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension background check pursuant to Minnesota Statute §299C.62.
TO APPLY:
If interested in the position please email cover letters to: [email protected].
Title your email: Art and Play Instructor Application.
In your email please include:
- a brief description of your experience as an educator,
- your experience in theatre, the arts, folklore, fantasy literature and/or gaming,
- and briefly why you are interested in Adventures in Cardboard®.
A resume is encouraged, but not necessary.
Thank you!