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. Campus Collaborations ACP collaborates with faculty and staff to connect Peak Performances to co-curricular programs in all colleges of the university. Peak Performances artists participate in discussions, workshops and master classes that support teaching and learning across academic disciplines. Partnerships with campus-based programs — such as the Live Literature reading series, curated by the First-Year Writing Program, and Films and Filmmakers, an initiative of the Film Institute at Montclair State — pair academic content with themes from events in the Peak Performances series. ACP has partnered with Montclair State's Institute for the Humanities to develop curriculum-related workshops for high school teachers; developed a series of annual State of the Arts lectures; created symposia around themes connected to the work onstage; and matched students with rare opportunities to work alongside the artists in the series. Creative Thinking A signature initiative, the Creative Thinking project is an interdisciplinary course based on the core premise that it is possible to develop tools and approaches to foster innovative thinking. Guest artists and thinkers collaborate with course faculty to lead the class in hands-on activities designed to help students synthesize an experiential and theoretical understanding of creative processes across disciplines. Artists in Residence PeARL: Performing Arts Research Laboratory The PeARL initiative provides innovative artists with the resources to create a work during an extended residency on the Montclair State campus. The selected artists open their process in an exchange with students, faculty and staff through discussions, lectures, workshops and open rehearsals. Turn to page 41 to learn more about PeARL. Photos by Gennadi Novash and Mike Peters "Visiting instructors and performing artists bring a unique level of integration to the course work. It is a great opportunity for students to ask questions, engage in exercises outside the classroom, and see creativity at work in the world." —Mike Lees, Creative Thinking course instructor "It's extremely important for us to be able to communicate with professionals who are doing what we aspire to do; it's what we're in school for! I'm really happy that I've been able to take advantage of that while I'm here." —Music composition student, John J. Cali School of Music CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT 39 Visit peakperfs.org for the complete schedule of cultural engagement events. Look for "Engage!" in this brochure to denote upcoming events.

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