PERFORMING ARTS
PERFORMING
Arts
FWCD Budding Playwrights Five Fort Worth County Day students “wordsmithed” their way to a win at the 2012 High School Playwriting Project, sponsored by Circle Theatre and Fort Worth Theatre. Stephen Hwang ’12, Arden Terry ’14 and Peter Bowden ’12 were contest finalists and Coleman Walker ’15 and Haley Pigman ’13 were named semifinalists.
Tiffini Crum
The students were honored in April at an awards ceremony and special reception in Circle Theatre’s Sundance Square space, along with their teacher, Melodee Halbach, director of theatre. Friends and family were treated to staged readings of the finalists’ plays, which included Hwang’s “The Best Friend,” “Terry’s “Where Is Waldo” and Bowden’s “Cornered.” Awards were presented following the performance.
Fifth-grade choir members (top row): Rachel Patton, Catherine Harris, Alauna Pete, Lauren Hughes, Julia Hayes Middle row: Alexander D’Souza, Joe Atkinson, Ellie Horton, Jessica Schaffer, Isabella Coslik Front row: David Buis, Boyd Bailey, Julia Atkinson
Arden Terry ’14, Haley Pigman ’13, Coleman Walker ’15, Peter Bowden ’12 and Stephen Hwang ’12
Kashmira Nana ’12 performed with the Upper School orchestra.
Pigman’s play is titled “The Adventures of Zeon Zow!” and Walker’s is “The Cat’s in the Cradle. The Theatre Department’s program promotes playwriting early, Halbach said. Students write a group play in seventh grade and then write individual plays from eighth grade through their senior year. “We have been entering the Playwriting Project as long as I can remember,” Halbach said, “and have won finalist or semifinalist each year. Our students are great writers: witty and really quite talented. I’m so proud of them.”
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FALCONER
Lisa Koger
Six schools participated in this year’s contest, including FWCD, Nolan Catholic High School, Haltom High School, Southwest Christian School, Aledo High School and Trinity Valley School. In total, 66 scripts were submitted for review. The only other school to boast winners was Haltom High School.
John Wittman ’16, Michael Chan ’18 and Reagan Smith ’17
Every year, the Freshman Theater Arts class performs original scripts to the International Thespian Society and Drama Club. This year’s scripts, voted on by their peers, were “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Coleman Walker, a semifinalist in the High School Playwriting Project sponsored by Fort Worth Theatre and Circle Theatre and “Hopes of Spring” by Katherine Haley. The students directed their own pieces. From left: Freshmen Mary Geren, Eleni Michaelides and Connor Reese in “Hopes of Spring” written and directed by Katherine Haley.
fwcd.org
Samuel DeRobertis ’18 and DJ WIlliams ’16 Photos by Glen E. Ellman
Ben Phillips ’13, Phillip Diffley ’12, Lauren Haley ’12, John Kouris ’12 and Stephen Hwang ’12 perform in Swan Lake
SPrinG/SUMMER 2012
FALCONER
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