About

The Märchen Sagen Academy is a non-profit, arts and technology centered after school program.  Our unique name is derived from the two main groups of which folklorists usually divide all oral tales.  The words are old German terms of which, there are no English equivalents, but there are approximations.  Märchen loosely translates to a fairy-tale, or something clearly not meant to be taken as true.  Sagen, on the other hand, is understood to mean “legend”, or something that actually happened.

Our focus is on audio and video production, in an environment that blends a little Skywalker Ranch with a little Hogwarts, in a warm and nurturing, century old historic home in the middle of Downtown Decatur.  Anticipating an opening in the Fall of 2016, The Märchen Sagen Academy will serve the City of Decatur elementary school students and their families.

It is the intent of The Märchen Sagen Academy to provide an environment of academic, artistic and social development. The Academy’s after school program will furnish healthy snacks, play time, in class lectures, in studio exercises, field trips, hands on, collaborative and supervised use of professional cameras and equipment, as well as guest lectures by industry experts as guest speakers.

With the increase in the dissolution of arts and recreational programs within the school systems, a hole has been left in the creative hearts of the communities of the cities around the country. Band, theatre, and physical education classes are disappearing. The goal of the program at The Märchen Sagen Academy will be to provide a creative outlet for kids to immerse themselves in the art of creative storytelling through video and audio production. This will require experiencing both the audio and video recording and editing processes, in-studio song and voice-over production, as well as shooting and editing their own videos using iPhones and other Apple based programs, computers and various video recording apparatus, allowing children’s inner spark to become aware of the fundamentals of the art and science of creating engaging, impactful videos and music.

Through free, in-class lectures at local elementary schools and a tuition-based after school program,  The Märchen Sagen Academy will create a nurturing infrastructure where children learn the process of creating inspirational videos through a curriculum based program, field trips and the hands on use of production devices and software, cameras and basic video and audio recording equipment.