Theatre

The Winchendon School’s production of Our Town: A Play in Three Acts runs from November 2nd – November 3rd.

“No curtain. No scenery. The audience, arriving, sees an empty stage in half-light…… As the house lights go down he has finished setting the stage and leaning against the right proscenium pillar ‘watches the late arrivals in the audience. When the auditorium is in complete darkness he speaks:” – Thorton Wilder

Our Town: A Play in Three Acts, first produced in 1938 and written by Thorton Wilder, is set just up the road from The Winchendon School in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. Written while Wilder was at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, it is often believed that Peterborough (or Dublin, NH according to some sources) is the setting for fictional Grover’s Corners. What we do know for sure, is this classic, outwardly simple metatheatrical play, could possibly be the most performed play in American high schools. We’re excited everytime our students perform on stage, but we might be especially excited about this production of Our Town (November 2 – 3) as we can see Mount Monadnock from our campus and our students arrive here every day from the towns of Jaffrey, Peterborough, and Dublin (all real towns mentioned in the play).

Deceptively simple in set and design, the Stage Manager plays the role of the audience’s guide throughout the play. It is the Stage Manager who narrates the story of the small New Hampshire town, ordinary in every way. The play itself however, and the role of theater in education are not ordinary.

We found significant benefits in the form of knowledge, future cultural consumption, tolerance, historical empathy, and critical thinking for students assigned by lottery to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (see “The Educational Value of Field Trips,” research, Winter 2014). In the current study, we examine the impact of assigning student groups by lottery to see high-quality theater productions of Hamlet or A Christmas Carol. This is the first randomized experiment to discover what students get out of seeing live theater. Our results are generally similar to those found in the previous study. Culturally enriching field trips have significant educational benefits for students whether they are to see an art museum or live theater. Among students assigned by lottery to see live theater, we find enhanced knowledge of the plot and vocabulary in those plays, greater tolerance, and improved ability to read the emotions of others. – Jay P. Greene, Collin Hitt, Anne Kraybill and Cari A. Bogulski

Come join us as we settle into discovering an ordinary life. And we’re pretty sure if you squint from the top of the Ford parking lot, you can see Grover’s Corners.

A Killer Comedy

A New York theater critic, his two spinster aunts, a Boris Karloff look-a-like, murder, a bevy of police, and a madcap romance were all on stage at The Winchendon School’s spring production of Arsenic and Old Lace.

Set in 1940s Brooklyn, the School’s production saw students performing in both their first and last (and at the same time) performances.  Joseph Kesselring’s farce on plays involving murder is joyful escapist entertainment with plenty to like, including the incredibly detailed living room set, where all of the action takes place.

At The Winchendon School, we know students learn and retain knowledge from live theater.  We know watching live theater enhances plot understanding, vocabulary, tolerance, and the ability to read emotions. (Greene, Hitt, Kraybill, and Bogulski, 2014.)

Directed by Elizabeth Peterson, Arsenic and Old Lace contains a history lesson of sorts for younger audience members. The audience was treated to big band swing music playing before, after, and during intermission, references to San Juan Hill, digging the Panama Canal, Teddy Roosevelt, and Boris Karloff!! In the play, New York drama critic, Mortimer Brewster (Blake W. ’18) is engaged to the girl next door (played by Abby L.’19) who happens to be a Reverend’s daughter. Upon going home to share the news with his two sweet but misguided aunts, Martha and Abby (Sydney C. ’21 and Teagan M. ’20), Mortimer discovers a dead body in the living room window seat.  From there, Mortimer’s happy engagement news takes a backseat to all of the family skeletons parading through the living room.  Mortimer’s brother thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt (wonderfully played by Harrison W. ’20) and his other brother is

“For a gallon of elderberry wine, I take a teaspoon full of arsenic, and add a half teaspoon of strychnine and then just a pinch of cyanide.”

a serial murderer (Mike M.’19 ) traveling with his personal plastic surgeon (Isabella W. ’18), Dr. Einstein. Are you keeping up? As Arsenic and Old Lace winds its way through to the end, the audience is treated to performances from A.J. S.’18, a squadron of police, and a brief, but powerful performance from newcomer Khalyl M. ’19.

Behind the scenes, students designed costumes, collected props, made stairs, worked as production associate, stage manager, and designed the poster for the play, truly a collaborative effort!

 

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Curious about live theater and student learning?

Learn more by reading up on the research conducted by Jay P. Greene here and here.

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