D R A M A

DRAMA TEACHER POSITION

PIE has funded the K-12 Drama position at the Vinalhaven School to enrich the students in a new arts forum since 2003. The drama position really does reach every level at the school.

In September Irene Dennis joined us at Vinalhaven School as our new drama teacher.  Irene comes to Vinalhaven from the Boston area, via Orono and Bangor.  She first fell in love with drama when she played Moonshine in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the age of nine. That was over thirty years ago, and since then Irene has acted, sung, danced and directed in theatres large and small all over Massachusetts and, more recently, central Maine.  She studied Musical Theatre at the Boston Conservatory before graduating from UMaine, Orono and is now finishing a Master’s Degree in Theater and Anthropology.  She is also the proud mom of a daughter, Emma, who is in Kindergarten.
 

HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA

High School Drama students are hard at work rehearsing two one-act plays for performance in April.  The Freshman/Sophomore class brings their considerable energy to a fast-paced farce by Molière, “The Love Doctor,” which lampoons the medical profession, courtship rituals, and other social morés.  The Juniors are rehearsing a more contemporary take on the absurdity of courtship in David Ives’ “Sure Thing,” which, in our version, resembles a timed “speed-dating” session gone wrong.  The performance will be on Wednesday, April 9.

High School Drama and English students also recently traveled to Portland Stage Company to see a professional production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”  Having just studied Shakespeare and the commedia dell’arte in Theatre History, Drama students were well primed to appreciate the similarities between Italian comic characters and Shakespeare’s.  A great time was had by all.

MIDDLE SCHOOL DRAMA

Students in Middle School Drama have been busy this year learning all aspects of theatre production, including lighting, sound, costume and set design.Their latest project is the set design for the upcoming spring production, “You Can’t Take It With You.”After weeks of script analysis, research, drafting and sketching, the students have created a scale model of the final design: the living room of the wacky Sycamore family, whose hobbies include xylophone-playing and snake collecting.The production is scheduled for early June.

Recently, Middle Schoolers also had the opportunity to explore different kinds of performance in a workshop led by visiting artist Libby Marcus, a mask-maker and puppeteer.  Libby arrived in March with a cartload of supplies, including a suitcase full of masks from the commedia dell’arte, an Italian performance form from the Renaissance based on improvisation.  Students met on stage after school to try out various character masks, and Libby led them in games and improvisations to develop a different physical presence for their character.  The participants had a great time creating silly walks and exaggerated gestures to match their new faces! 

For more about artist Libby Marcus, visit her website at libbymarcus.com.

ELEMENTARY DRAMA

In January, students from grades K-5 presented a lively stage performance of “Folktales from Here, There, and Everywhere.”  These stories, from Native American, Scottish and Norwegian folklore gave students the opportunity to play a wide variety of roles including mischievous fairies, troublesome trolls, princesses with attitude, and mysterious old women with magic powers.  With the help of many volunteer parents and teachers, over eighty students took part in this fun and entertaining performance.

Our next production will be selections from “Free to Be…You and Me,” the landmark 1970s children’s book.  This classic anthology includes hilarious scenes, poems and songs which playfully explore issues of identity, self-esteem, gender stereotypes and sibling rivalry.  The performance is slated for Tuesday, April 15.

THEATER TIMELINE

School Year 2007-2008

Remember Me, original pieces by Vinalhaven students (integrated arts)

Folk Tales from Here, There and Everywhere (Elementary)

Selections from Free to Be...You and Me (Grades 3, 4, and 5)

The Love Doctor by Moliere and Sure Thing by David Ives (High School)

Our Town (Vinalhaven Players Community production)

You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (Middle School)

School year 2006-2007

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie (Community and MS tech. class)

A Case of Belonging by Jan Allred and Word, Words, Words by David Ives (High School)

A Taste of Impressionism and Through the Decades (Elementary integrated arts)

A Merry Regiment of Women by Rae Shirley (High School)

Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (Community)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream or the Night they Missed the Forest for the Trees by Nancy Lineham Charles (Middle School)

School Year 2005-2006

Amy Goes Army & Happily Never After by Tim Kelly (High School)

101 Dalmations, Disney (K-5)

The Jungle Book, Disney (K-5)

Murder Well Rehearsed & If Sherlock Holmes Was A Woman by Jhn R. Carroll (High School)

Beauty and the Beast, Disney (Community)

MacBeth, Shakespeare (condensed) (Middle School)

School year 2004-2005

From the Halls of Vinalhaven High School

The Best Christmas Pagent Ever by Barbara Robinson (Grades 4-12)

Southern Fried Murder by Billy St. John(High School)

The Wizard of Oz by Noel Langley(Community)

When Men Are Scarce by John Kirkpatrick(High School)

School year 2003-2004

Elementary Talent Show

Chicago Dance performance (Adults)

The Audition is Over by John Kirkpatrick (HS Drama)

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (MS Drama)

Annie Jr. by martin Charnin and Charles Strouse (Grades 3-High School)