Drama
Lower School
The drama classroom is a vibrant space where students learn to tell stories using their bodies, voices, and hearts. A central component of the program is the study of theater as a dynamic, living, breathing art form. Students develop theater vocabulary—such as actor, audience, director, script, warm-up, and ensemble—along with stage directions like stage left and stage right. The physical aspects of theater help students control their bodies, focus their minds, and follow directions, while the emotional aspects teach them to identify and appropriately express their feelings.
Students also explore personal characteristics and learn how to transform their bodies and voices into different characters onstage. All students work toward developing articulate, confident performance voices and projecting a proud, charismatic stage presence. Through theater’s collaborative nature, they learn the value of working together creatively, expressing themselves imaginatively, and performing scenarios and stories they create as a team. Many performances integrate both Drama and Music into multi-modal productions.
The world of theater also teaches students how to be good audience members, practice whole-body listening, and empathize with others by embodying different characters. By honing their skills in creative play and responding to others, students learn the importance of supporting their peers respectfully during performances. Overall, drama provides students with invaluable life skills such as creative storytelling, empathy, teamwork, flexibility, confidence, and positive problem-solving.
Middle School
The middle school drama curriculum offers a variety of opportunities to challenge and guide students in performance. In sixth grade, students begin by learning the essentials of stage performance, including ensemble building, public speaking, and creative problem-solving. They also study The Ten Rules of Staging, which empowers them to become confident stage performers. In the latter half of sixth grade, students are introduced to theater tech elements such as lighting, sound, costumes, and set design, which they use to create well-rounded theatrical performances.
In seventh and eighth grade, students dive deeper into acting, stage management, and theatrical production design elements. While learning the production process, students develop strategies for collaboration, creative exploration, and a deeper understanding of theatrical design, culminating in a Drama Arts Bonanza performance in front of a live audience. Each year, middle school students can also participate in the Drama Club’s fall play or the spring musical. Additionally, students can join the Drama Tech Club, where they collaborate with the Drama Club to work on costumes, set design, and manage the sound and lighting boards.
6th Grade: Drama & Media Appreciation
How do we tell a story together while lifting each other's voices? In this foundational drama course, students learn the fundamentals of performance through improv exercises while building ensemble and creative skills.
7th Grade: Sound Design
This course offers students a behind-the-scenes look at live performances, focusing on the fundamentals of shaping, creating, and organizing sounds to create stories. Students learn how to write and perform voiceovers for trailers, design sound effects to enhance a story, edit audio files for performances, and more.
8th Grade: Stagecraft
In this course, students explore the technical aspects of theater. They learn how lighting, sound, costumes, sets, and props can be used to enhance or tell a story. For example, students study how lighting and sound design influence the tone of a modern play and practice designing sets and props.
