This guide provides tips, how-to’s and best practices for high school and middle school Muse Machine advisors.

Over the months ahead, a great deal of information from the advisor archives will be adapted and added to this new online version of the Advisor Handbook. We’ll launch with info about getting a new Muse club up and running, in-school performances and student Muse Captains – read on!

What are They?

Muse Machine recommends that all club advisors use the Muse captains in some way. The system helps take some of the responsibilities off of club advisors, but more importantly it gives Muse members an opportunity to grow into leaders and gain experiences to help them after school.
Many different possible roles fall under the label of Muse captain including:

1. Muse News Editor

a. Great for a student that is interested in writing or a future in public relations. This student is in charge of pulling together information from all the arts disciplines in the school or represented by Muse Machine into an in-school newsletter called Muse News.

2. Muse Photographer

a. Responsible for recording Muse Machine events as stills or videos. Great for the budding photographer who is great at taking photos without flash to minimize disruptions to performances and demonstrations (when they are allowed to capture them).

3. Social Media Coordinator

a. This student understands social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and is ready to use those mediums to promote the Muse club.

4. Out-of-School Program captain

a. This Muse captain and their team works to plan Out-of-School Programs with guidance from the club advisor

5. In-School Performance representative

a. This Muse captain and their team works to plan In-School Programs with guidance from the club advisor

All Muse captains, regardless of title, should be prepared to promote the Muse club around the school to prospective members or performance attendees. They also should be ready to help with In-School Performances and selecting Muse members to work with on their teams to make sure all tasks are accomplished as efficiently as possible.

Each captain should have a team of about five students (more or less depending on the size of your club) to work with to accomplish their tasks, as part of being a good leader is learning how and when it is appropriate to delegate. This will also help future Muse captains see the role in action, nurture interest in each subject area, and prepare members to lead the team themselves.

Finding Your Muse Captains

When looking for the ideal Muse captain, you might be tempted to gravitate towards students recognized as leaders throughout the school. Do not let these preconceived ideas blind you to the other students in your Muse club that are ready to volunteer and develop their understanding of different art forms. The selection process for new Muse captains should begin in the spring for the upcoming year (except for the first year of the Muse club, when they will be selected in the fall).

To get the best applicants, we recommend that you write up the responsibilities of each Muse captain role so that students understand what is expected of them before they apply. How you handle the application process is up to you, but we suggest that it be a formal system that is repeated each year to convey the responsibility the role entails. For example, some Muse clubs let current Muse captains have input into the choice of their successors, others do not.