PERFORMING ARTS UPDATE

2022 Spring Term

March 2022 was a busy month that featured three big events for the performing arts. Middle and Upper School dancers in PE Dance, Dance Technique & Composition, and Enrichment Choreography Workshop presented new dances at the Winter Danceflete Concert. The fifth Waynflete Invitational Chamber Music Festival brought together students from several schools and studios for workshops and a festival concert that included Waynflete’s Middle and Upper School Chamber Ensembles. Finally, the third annual Coffeehouse–A Celebration of Original Works was the first fully in-person version of the event. An intimate venue was created with a small performance space on the Franklin Theater stage surrounded by small cafe tables. Brave new works of poetry, spoken word, comedy, and music were greeted with enthusiasm.

The spring play was She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. An homage to pop culture and growing up in the nineties, the play also addressed identity and spoke to the geek inside all of us. The play followed Agnes, an average teen from Athens, Ohio, on a journey through her recently deceased sister’s Dungeons and Dragons journal. The play resonated deeply within our community as we came to love an unforgettable group of outsiders, each with their own story.

The spring concert season started with a special collaboration between Middle School and Upper School Chamber Ensembles and members of the Upper School Band. The combined ensembles explored selections from Dan Brown’s “A Wild Symphony,” a suite of music and poetry written to introduce young audiences to the orchestra. In addition to their formal evening concert, the combined ensembles presented a special performance for the entire Lower School community.

The eighth graders’ yearlong journey in Theater 8 culminated with a full-grade performance of The Saga of King Arthur. Middle and Upper School Danceflete Collective offered its second concert of new works by student and faculty choreographers in May. All Middle and Upper School ensembles were featured in spring concerts, and the Jazz Combo and Chorus performed for the crowds at Spring Fling. The annual Lower and Upper School Choral Concert (with the Waynflete Intergenerational Chorus) took place prior to the annual Upper School Performing Arts Celebration and Senior Recognition.

The Maine Music Educators Association was finally able to hold all student events in person. Seven students represented Waynflete at the All State Festival in May: Jacob Curtis ’22, Jack Hagan ’22, Jasmijn Janse ’24, Cece Marshall ’22, Simon Sidney ’23, and Cat Sullivan ’22 (chorus); and Sara Levenson ’24 (band).

2022 Fall Term

The entire school community came together in Waynhenge in September for Convocation, where the Waynflete Intergenerational Chorus, Upper School Chorus, and Jazz Combo performances helped celebrate the theme of “Possibility.” Maine All State auditions were held in the fall. Eleven musicians were selected to represent Waynflete at the All State Festivals in January and May 2023: Max Polsky ’23 (jazz combo); Sara Levenson ’24 (band); Alec Benton ’24, and Lucinda Hirschkorn ’25 (orchestra); Will Barmby ’24, Oliver Eames ’23, Embley Fuchs ’26, Tipton Heminway ’24, Ava Jenkins ’25, Anna Rawlins ’24, and Simon Sidney ’23 (chorus).

Waynflete’s third Performing Arts Preseason, held in August, included workshops and auditions that launched the rehearsal and building process for the fall play. A dedicated cast and crew brought Thornton Wilder’s beloved Our Town to life on the Franklin Theater stage in November. These students were treated to a special workshop with Waynflete parent Jenny Wilder, grandniece of Thornton Wilder.

Our Town was followed by A Wrinkle in Time. 30 Middle School students courageously tackled the play based on Madeleine L’Engle’s novel. In early December, Waynflete welcomed guests from other schools for the annual 24-Hour Theater Festival. Several short plays were written by students on Friday evening and then read, staged, and performed the following afternoon.

2022–23 Winter Term

Lower and Middle School Enrichment Dance Program students delighted families and friends with a short concert showcasing the work of the first semester. All Middle School students (in two bands, two choruses, and two string ensembles) and the Grades 4-5 Chorus were featured in winter concerts in December.

Franklin Theater was filled to the brim with families and fans of all ages for four performances of the Upper School winter show, The SpongeBob Musical. An incredible crew transformed the theater into the colorful underwater world of Bikini Bottom and the cast sang and danced through a comical and joyful tale of friendship, courage, teamwork, and caring for our world and one another. A band of pirates (volunteers from the Middle School Chorus) brought down the house as they opened the second act at each show.

Max Polsky ’23 spent two days improvising and performing with the Maine All State Jazz Combo, the most prestigious of the jazz ensembles. Concluding the busy winter season, 70 musicians were featured in February’s Upper School Winter Concert. The concert opened with the newest ensemble, Acoustic Roots, followed by the Chamber Ensemble, Chorus, and Jazz Combo. The Band, which has grown to fill the entire Franklin stage, closed the triumphant musical celebration.