Artists Work #TogetherApart

Challenges are the catalyst for creativity as artists find new forms of expression and collaboration

The show must go on— with smaller audiences and hand sanitizer

The cast and crew of Oliver! were grateful to perform before COVID-19 health risks completely shut down school campuses.

Students at schools and colleges across the country were lamenting cancelled productions and the shows they’d never get to share with an audience. But Head of School Kate Morin was adamant that the student artists in Mayfield’s spring production of Oliver! would still take the stage in March. “As long as we could have performances in a safe, controlled environment, we decided these girls absolutely deserved a chance to see the fruits of their labor,” said Mrs. Morin.

By capping ticket sales and creating physically-distanced seating plans, three of the four scheduled performances went ahead. “Safety was our number one priority as we did everything in our power to let our students shine,” said Mrs Morin. Director Maryanne Householder was proud of her students for bouncing back after a stressful week of uncertainty, not knowing if they’d be able to perform at all.

“I’m even more impressed with how we went from a rocky tech week to an unbelievably amazing opening night,” said Ms. Householder.

And Mayfield’s theatre, vocal and instrumental Conservatory students certainly didn’t take a moment of their time on the Pike Auditorium stage for granted. “Our entire cast and crew were thrilled and very appreciative,” said Audrey Bland ’20, who played Fagin. “We hope the musical brought some joy to our Mayfield community during these difficult times.”

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Mayfield musicians keep the beat at home

The Instrumental Conservatory’s recording of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” helped kick off the summer vacation.

Mayfield’s award-winning Women’s Ensemble has always embraced creative challenges, but making music remotely was a new feather in their choral caps. To build their virtual choir, students had to record solo tracks from their bedrooms, without the conducting cues they’re used to getting in the music studio. “Not having our conductor or accompanist made us focus on our counting a lot more,” said Sophia Paz ’20, and on “the musicality of each piece.”

Alyssa Atienza ’22, a self-taught editor who worked behind the scenes to blend the individual recordings into a finished video, said she learned more than new software skills—the project also improved her grasp of rhythm, meter and tempo. And, watching the final version of the group’s heartfelt rendition of Randy Newman’s “When She Loved Me,” she said, felt “almost like we were in a performance.”

Our instrumentalists conquered similar challenges to create their onscreen musical mash-ups. Playing solo made it difficult to stay in tune but, after weeks of COVID quarantine, students were excited to make music together any way they could. “It’s definitely a privilege to work with my peers, even if we’re apart,” said guitarist Karissa Ho ’21. The group decided to record the high-energy Journey anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” because, Karissa said, it had “the kind of optimistic and bold energy that we felt the Mayfield community could use.”

And they were right—these virtual video concerts were a much-needed morale boost for Mayfield musicians and audiences alike. As singer Agueda Berlot ’20 put it, “Despite being miles and screens apart from my friends and classmates, it’s doing things like this that make me grateful for being a part of this community.”

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Together Apart

Part of the joy of being an artist at Mayfield is the communal creative experience that students get when they work with their friends in the studio and on the stage. This year, teachers found new ways to inspire their students as solo creators, using technology to bring them together to collaborate and to showcase their work. Visual arts teacher Cassandra Gonzales built an interactive gallery walk-through experience at bit.ly/TogetherApart-Exhibition, where visitors can “stroll” past a variety of artwork including painting, embroidery, contour drawings, collage, watercolors and photojournalism. This foray into online art was capped by the end-of-year Virtual Fine Arts Festival, an entirely online springtime extravaganza that featured work from every Mayfield visual and performing artist and creative writer. Dive into this immersive arts experience at bit.ly/artsfest-2020.

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Reframing Art

Mayfield dancers brought famous canvas characters to life at the Dance Conservatory’s “A Night at the Museum” concert, as they transformed into live Degas ballerinas and real-life Rosie the Riveters on stage.