Students O to ISAS

On April 13-15, many Upper School Fine Arts students will attend the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Arts Festival at All Saints’ Episcopal School in Fort Worth. e festival, o en referred to as ISAS, is a popular artistic showcase. is year’s event marks the rst full-scale version since 2019.

In the spring of 2020 and 2021, ISAS was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. Last year, a smaller, one-day version of the festival was held at Greenhill and Parish Episcopal School for private schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Despite the size of the 2022 event, students were still able to see the creativity and talent of their peers.

“It was still just cool, even as an orchestra player, seeing all the other arts and stu that people are a part of whether it was lm, visual arts, or design,” said senior Aaron Johnson. “It’s just really interesting seeing all the talent that’s here at Greenhill and other schools in the area.”

Before going to ISAS, all Fine Arts students who will attend the festival must prepare to showcase their talents.

According to senior Lexie Stone, most visual art students don’t do much preparation as they take pieces they have created throughout the year. However, performing arts such as orchestra, band and choir students perform both new and old pieces.

“ ere’s some people [in orchestra] that are doing solo pieces,” Johnson said. “ ere’s some chamber groups that are going to be performing and then of course, the entire orchestra has a piece or two together.”

Freshman Rachel Jiang describes a similar plan for band students.

“We’re probably going to work on a couple of band pieces and play [those] there,” Jiang said. “We also have the option to perform solo or with a smaller ensemble group.” e hardest part about getting ready for ISAS is that students have limited time a er nishing “She Kills Monsters” performances to revisit “Big Fish” musical numbers, according to Upper School eater teacher Valerie Hauss-Smith.

In addition to their performance, Greenhill Singers will be collaborating with other schools.

“We’re working on a song that we’ll be singing with all the other choirs that go to ISAS,” said freshman Ruby Garza.

For students involved in theater productions, the cast and crew will perform scenes from the Fall Musical, “Big Fish,” as well as the Spring Play, “She Kills Monsters,” within a one-hour time frame.

Hauss-Smith says it is important for students to maintain their full e ort.

“Don’t drop the energy,” said HaussSmith. “Gear up for ISAS, go to ISAS, come back from ISAS, and then we can nally breathe.”

For Advanced Video Production, e preparation process for all Greenhill students attending ISAS culminates with a preview performance for Lower and Middle School students. e performance has a meaningful impact on young students, Doyle said.

Upper School Fine Arts Chair and Video Production instructor Corbin Doyle creates a 45-minute reel of student lms. Doyle says that many AVP students won’t have their lms screened as they are given a very limited amount of time.

“People are like, ‘ at was part of why I wanted, by the time I got to seventh grade, to sign up for Video Production,’” Doyle said.

Students are unsure what to expect at the festival because none of them have attended a full-scale ISAS due to COVID-19, but the excitement is palpable.

“We are excited,” said freshman Quaid Oza, who is a member of Greenhill Singers. “We kind of like a little bit of a mystery. Even though I am kind of nervous about how it’s going to be because there’s no one to really ask what the experience is going to be like.”

Analytical discussions of one’s artwork are a unique aspect of the festival. Students across visual art disciplines attend critiques and are given feedback by other instructors, and sometimes by professionals.

“ is approach has fostered creativity and experimentation and has proven to be an exceptional opportunity for schools to come together to understand and to appreciate qualities in one another’s programs,” according to the ISAS website.

Students also typically have large chunks of free time at the festival when they are not performing, participating in critiques, or being featured in showcases. is time allows them to further immerse themselves in the arts.

“I really like art so I’m looking forward to seeing all the art around me,” said junior Honors Photography student Eliana Campbell.

Free time also allows students to build “artistic tribes” with students from other schools, according to Doyle and Head of Fine Arts Terry Martin.

“I always joke about this kid from San Antonio [that Greenhill students] met at ISAS, then they see them at South by Southwest weeks later,” said Doyle. “ at turned into two years of this group of people from Greenhill working on her lms … and vice versa.”

Many seniors can’t wait to experience this for their rst and only time. is is a good way of ending senior year, being able to go to a full ISAS,” Johnson said. “Everybody, at least in the past, said that it’s a very unique experience, so it’s de nitely extremely exciting.”