Performing Arts

2018-2019

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Theatre at The New School is a team building experience. Both of us teched this year’s show, Almost Maine, and Sofie performed in it as well. The work it takes to tech a show is hard, but it’s fun when there’s an amazing community of techies that you get to work with. The same goes for performing. Jonathan, our tech theatre teacher, does the set and lighting design for the show and then guides us through the light hang and focus process, set build, and props design. Through theatre performance
and tech, New Schoolers are able to find a new passion, make new friends, and learn skills that they can carry with them in the future.

Sofie Strompf Isabella Chevez
Class of 2021 Class of 2020

My Story, Myself

In the first quarter of my first year at The New School, I had the opportunity to study in My Story, Myself class. The class is one of the most beautiful and meaningful classes I’ve ever attended because the teacher, Steve Elm, gave students the chance to express their stories and emotions while understanding the feelings of other students. Although the class was great, I was devastated, and a little terrified when I had to read my story in front of many people. At the end of the quarter, I realized that experience was probably what made me finally reach out to develop new friends and gain my bravery in public speaking. Steve and my friends encouraged me to develop my story about my life before I came here. More importantly, that experience of standing in front of many audiences and reading out loud my story gave me a lifelong passion for helping and involving myself in many in school and outside of school activities in the future.

Vy Vo
Class of 2020

Middle School Play – Hamlet

During my second year at The New School I was held hostage and forced to be a part of the middle school drama program. Clearly I learned something from it, since that previous sentence was very over dramatic. Regardless, as part of the drama class that I took, my class and I worked on a 30-minute long production of Hamlet. I played the role of Hamlet in the play. Throughout the course of one quarter, we rehearsed the play, memorized lines, and choreographed various movements on stage, including the famous duel between Hamlet and Laertes. At the end of the quarter we performed the play in front of our teachers, parents, and anyone else who felt compelled to see it. Initially I did not enjoy the idea of having a middle school class of amateur actors try to go onstage and pretend to be qualified enough at acting to play a role in Hamlet, but as the quarter went by I grew to enjoy it more. In the end it was very amusing watching myself and my classmates perform onstage in a production of Hamlet, even if it was only for thirty minutes, and I am glad that I was forced to do it.

Jamie Testa
Class of 2023

Middle School Play – Macbeth

Doing Macbeth was a fun experience that I really enjoyed. I got to learn how to improve my acting skills and I got to bond more with my friends. During rehearsals my friends and I got to learn more about each other. I learned organizing skills from having to balance learning my lines and school work which helped me in the long run.

Collin Bailey
Class of 2024

ArtsFest

Preparing for the ArtsFest was nerve wracking. After my performance, I received the utmost encouragement and compliments from all of my peers, teachers and parents. The New School community is driven on positivity and enthusiasm for one another. I could not have asked to be part of a better family than The New School community.

Lauren Hailey
Class of 2019

Dance

This school year I took two of Eden ́s dance classes. This is my first year at The New School and while I was browsing through the course catalog I decided to take the dance repertoire class during first quarter. I have danced in the past so I came in with some basic experience. In the class we learned various styles of dance including jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. I even got the chance to do a solo for the first time ever! The dance class I took during the spring semester was called dance exercise, in this class we learned a number of routines and exercises to get a nice full body workout. My experience with both the spring and fall dance classes was amazing, I loved getting the chance to dance again and even choreograph some of my own solo. Dancing for exercise and for fun I felt was beneficial to my health and wellbeing. I’m so glad I got the chance to take these two wonderful classes.

Amy Horowitz
Class of 2019

Almost Maine: A Play Review

Reprinted from the April 2019 Newsletter

As many of you know, The New School recently ran a production of Almost, Maine. I was in the show, playing Hope in the scene “Story of Hope,” and I am going to give you an inside look at the production. Almost, Maine follows the residents of the town of the same name as they learn just how complicated love really is. Written by John Cariani, Almost, Maine is a true romance comedy and just as likely to make you tear up as laugh.

Our stage crew, headed by Jonathan Rushbrook, worked tirelessly to build the set, configure lights, manage props, and work sound. During rehearsal and performances, their practice paid off as they were quick, quiet, and efficient when taking props on and off stage and managing the cast. Our cast was made up of 12 students between 6th and 12th grade. The cast spent dozens of hours memorizing lines and rehearsing with director Steve Elm. They gave up after-school free time as well as some weekends so that they could make the show the best it could be.

On opening night, nerves were high as students, teachers, and parents alike gathered in the black box to watch us perform. Backstage we waited for our cues, whispering and shushing each other in the hopes we weren’t heard by the crowd.

After we performed for the last time, the mood was bittersweet. But we will always have the memories of the show.

Sarah Paskow
Class of 2021