 | Arts Theater, Speech & Dance
The Department of Theater, Speech, and Dance strives to stimulate an enduring interest in the performing arts through knowledge and practical experience. In facing the challenges of oral communication, performance, and theatrical design, students become more perceptive, spur their creativity, and develop sensitivity to the interpersonal relationships inherent in the collaborative process. Whether they are beginning public speakers or more advanced actors, students who enroll in the department's various speech and acting courses gain valuable interpretation and communication skills. To help build confidence, each class stages dramatic readings and small productions for an audience several times each semester. Exposing students to the facets of theatrical design and management, the Elements of Stagecraft course enables students to think critically and imaginatively about theater as a complex art form. If a student is interested in an area of production that falls outside of the regular courses offered by the department, there are opportunities for independent study. Recent independent studies have included advanced lighting design and studying the roles of leading ladies in American musicals of the twentieth century.
Students are encouraged to participate in the extra-curricular activities that the department sponsors, such as the Fall Play, the Winter Musical, the Spring Dance Concert, and "Love Literature Live." Students enrolled in department courses have the opportunity to see productions at Trinity Rep in Providence.
Fall Play – The play is a large-scale production involving specifically designed lighting, sets, and costumes. Students must audition for a role in the cast or interview for a position on the stage crew. Students who are selected must commit to drama as their afternoon activity. A wide range of productions have been staged, including All in the Timing, Twelfth Night, and The House of Blue Leaves. In preparation for the rehearsal process, all performers participate in several workshops designed to teach basic principles in acting, voice work, and movement.
Winter Musical – Much like the play, the SGS musical is a large-scale production involving specially designed lighting, sets, costumes, and a student orchestra. Students must audition for a role in the cast or band and interview for a position on the stage crew. Students who are selected must commit to drama as their afternoon activity. Recent productions have included The Pajama Game, Cabaret, and Hello Dolly! Students who perform in the musical receive appropriate training in dance, voice, and acting.
Stage Crew – Students who are accepted on the stage crew for the play or the musical commit to drama as their afternoon activity and work with the tech faculty to design, build, and operate the technical components of theatrical production. Madeira Hall, the school’s mainstage venue, is equipped with 96 dimmers controlled by a Strand computerized light board. Students on the stage crews learn the basics of carpentry, painting, sewing, and how to work with light and sound equipment.
Dance – The dance program at SGS concentrates on developing the ability of each student as a creator of dances and as a performer with an understanding of dance as an art form. While most of the training is in modern dance, classes in jazz, ballet, and improvisation technique round out the curriculum. All of the students in the program perform in a large-scale dance concert at the end of the season. The dance concert features student choreography and the choreography of the dance instructor and several guest artists.
Facilities – In the fall of 1999 St. George’s inaugurated a new home for the arts. Named for two of St. George’s prominent and beloved art teachers, the William H. Drury and Richard Grosvenor Center for the Arts holds the school’s creative, visual, and performing arts programs. This facility includes Madeira Hall, a 400-seat auditorium equipped with 17 linesets and a stage extension over the orchestra pit, a “black box” drama classroom on the lower level, a dance studio adjacent to the stage, a full scene shop, a costume shop, and expanded dressing rooms. |
| | These productions have graced the boards of the Durham Stage in Madeira Hall since the opening of the Drury Grosvenor Center for the Arts.
Grease
March 2009
Great Expectations
May 2008
Oklahoma!
March 2008
Pippin
March 2007
Fiddler on the Roof
March 2006
Fall Dance Concert
November 2005
The Marriage of Bette and Boo
May 2005
Guys & Dolls
March 2005
Fall Dance Concert
November 2004
All in the Timing
May 2004
The Pajama Game
March 2004
Fall Dance Concert
November 2003
House of Blue Leaves
May 2003
Evening of One Acts
April 2003
Cabaret
March 2003
Fall Dance Concert
November 2003
Twelfth Night
May 2002
Hello, Dolly!
March 2002
Fall Dance Concert
November 2001
An Ideal Husband
May 2001
Bye Bye Birdie
March 2001
Fall Dance Concert
November 2000
Picnic
May 2000
Show Boat
March 2000
Fall Dance Concert
November 1999
A Masque of Creation
October 1999
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