Primary School
Children develop a variety of communication skills through drama and develop ways to participate as both members of a group and as leaders. The program encourages girls to build their self-esteem and confidence. They also learn basic techniques in performing, enabling them to take ordinary situations and objects and transform them into the extraordinary. In the fourth and fifth grades, students are involved in various creative drama experiences and the production of a short performance. They explore various means of communication, using their bodies as well as their voices. An emphasis on ensemble work encourages children to become responsible members of a cohesive group.
Middle School
The Middle School drama program provides a full range of creative and performance opportunities for all interested students. All sixth-grade students participate in twice-weekly, trimester workshops in creative drama. These workshops provide students with an active experience in ensemble performance work. Each student is encouraged to add her ideas and capabilities to the development of a group performance project, and an informal presentation of the project is offered at the end of each trimester workshop. Seventh- and eighth-grade students may audition for two yearly performance workshops. Each workshop provides time for the preparation and rehearsal of a fully staged play, which is then offered to an invited audience at the end of the trimester. Past plays have included: How to Eat Like A Child, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and What Andy Warhol Never Told Me. From time to time, schedule permitting, the Middle School theatre program may offer production of a full-length musical. Auditions for the musical are open to all students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
Upper School
The Upper School drama program includes full performance and backstage opportunities at all grade levels, as well as courses in introductory, intermediate and advanced acting, and introductory film study. Independent courses of study may also be awarded to senior students who have demonstrated a commitment to their theater work at Kent Place. Recent independent study projects have included solo performance, playwriting, directing, film criticism and filmmaking. The drama program encourages respect for theater and film as living arts and as essential reflections of the human experience. In studying dramatic literature and performance technique, and by participating in a wide range of performance opportunities, each student is encouraged to explore and develop her strengths and capabilities. Two full-scale productions are offered each year, with additional special performance projects scheduled during the spring. The program is committed to the production of musical and non-musical theater and maintains a special focus on the creation and performance of new plays. In Tri-State competitions, Upper School theater productions have received multiple awards for excellence in production and performance. Recent plays have included: Letters to a Student Revolutionary, Funny Girl, Mother Courage and Her Children, Maggie, Spinetingler and Seussical The Musical.