| How
many shows do you do?
The
Department mounts three different levels of theatrical productions.
Each term we do one major faculty-directed show. Students audition
for parts the trimester before, and if cast, enroll in the course
Theatre 520. The production is rehearsed during class time, 1:10
— 2:50 p.m. four days per week. These shows are mounted either
in Tang Theatre or the Steinbach Theatre, depending on the script
and the director’s preference. Recent Theatre 520 productions
have included Man of La Mancha (in conjunction with the Department
of Music), Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Arsenic
and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring, and Henry IV by Pirandello.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet will be formed in Spring 2002.
Each
term also sees one major show produced by the Drama Lab, the student-run
wing of the department. These shows are directed and designed by
students, and the entire process is supervised by one of the student
Drama Lab producers. The shows are often presented in Steinbach,
the black box theatre. During the 2001-2002 year, Drama Lab productions
included The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Jay Allen Presson, The
Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard, Six Degrees of Separation
by John Guare, and No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre. In Spring 2002,
the musical Cabaret will be performed. The shows rehearse during
extra-curricular time, 6:15 — 8 p.m. weeknights.
The
Drama Lab also produces Workshop Theatre performed in the theatre
classroom on Sunday nights at 5pm. Directors apply to the producers
for a Sunday slot and usually have two to three weeks to prepare
the production. These shows use stock black rehearsal cubes for
scenery, a stock light plot and any costumes the actors can provide
for themselves. Experimental by design, scripts are encouraged to
be no more than 30 minutes long. There is usually a production every
Sunday. It’s a great entry-level opportunity for new students
or a chance to discover what directing is all about.
What
about dance?
Twice
a year, the department mounts a major faculty choreographed dance
concert in Tang Theatre. Taught as a course, Dance 400, these shows
are similar in scope to the Theatre 520 productions described above.
Each year, one Dance 400 emphasizes ballet and the other modern.
In alternate years, we produce our own Nutcracker, providing
performance opportunities not only for dance students, but also
for staff and faculty families, as well as town residents.
The
Dance 400 productions are complemented by the annual Dance Open.
Usually produced in the Steinbach Theatre, these shows feature choreography
by students.
Additionally,
smaller performances and exhibitions are frequently mounted in other
campus venues, such as Davis Hall on the Abbot campus, the dance
studio, the Addison Gallery and the courtyard of the Memorial Bell
Tower.
Are
there opportunities for 9th graders?
Unfortunately,
due to the 9th grade schedule, juniors (9th graders) are ineligible
for Theatre 520 productions. Interested students find opportunities
for acting through the Drama Lab major shows or the Workshop Theatre.
Additionally, each year, the department mounts one fully produced
production annually open only to juniors. Faculty directed,
this show is rehearsed during extra-curricular time and generally
performs the last weekend in February or early in April, depending
on the department’s performance schedule. These productions
have been mounted both in Steinbach Theatre and the theatre classroom.
Past productions have included The Servant of Two Masters,
The Real Inspector Hound, The Chalk Garden, The
Doctor from Dunmoor and Black Comedy.
Interested
dancers frequently find in their first year performance opportunities
in the major dance concerts. Though most pieces are performed by
students enrolled in the course, pieces are included utilizing dancers
from the dance sport. Students who wish to participate through dance
as a sport should expect to rehearse these pieces on Wednesday and
Saturday afternoons.
What
else should I know?
Since
1995, the Department has been invited in alternate years by the
American High School Theatre Festival to perform at the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival in Scotland. This is the largest performing arts
festival in the world. For two weeks in mid-August, 25 to 30 students
travel to Edinburgh for four performances of our Theatre 520 play
from the previous spring. En route, we spend two days in London,
visiting the Globe Theatre, sightseeing and taking in a West End
production.
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