One of the highlights of the school year for many in the Southridge community are the annual on-stage productions in both the Junior and Senior School. Each February, the Senior School Drama Department presents a play, and each March, the Junior School students share their musical production. This year’s productions were one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Mr. Glen Pope and creatively reimagined by the Senior School students as a pantomime—and a relatively unknown musical, Dear Edwina, enthusiastically brought to life on stage by the MYP students. While these productions are seemingly very different, they share something very similar: the transformative nature of the arts for those involved.
In my 2009 doctoral dissertation, “The elementary school musical as an authentic, integrated performing arts experience,” (available for your reading pleasure in the MacDougall Library!) I had the opportunity to examine performing arts experiences that integrate the various arts through a meaningful process. My research concluded that there are many benefits to students involved in arts productions such as musicals. As one might expect, these include the growth of students in their skills as performing artists and their appreciation for the arts, both of which are wonderful achievements in their own right. But my research found that other benefits of being involved with an integrated arts production were a growth in self-confidence by those involved, as well as the building of a caring community. This is the true magic of being a part of a stage production and the power of arts education—the power to transform the individual and the community. Indeed, it is the transformative nature of the arts that makes them so empowering for students and so important for us human beings.
Perhaps it is not surprising that students who have the chance to perform on stage also have the potential to grow, not only as performing artists, but also as confident beings. Learning lines, songs, choreography, and blocking takes time and commitment—but the end result of that focused energy during the process is a pride in the finished product. This is particularly true if self-reflection is encouraged throughout the process, as it is at Southridge. Grade 10 student Dilly, who has been involved with productions in both the Junior and Senior School, explains that being involved in the performing arts has helped her learn not only about performing, but also about herself. This self-awareness and a recognition of personal growth is echoed by Grade 7 student, Maddy, who explains that "with each practice, my confidence in myself and my skill grew.” Grade 6 student, Camille, recognizes that a big part of this growth in confidence comes from the enjoyable nature of the rehearsals themselves. She writes: "It is really fun that you get to act and sing with your friends as you learn how to build up confidence to perform on stage.” As students come to see the importance of their individual roles in making the show come to life, and have fun doing so, it is not surprising that their confidence grows. They begin to understand that the old adage “there are no small parts…” is more than just cliché; they realize that every part matters, including their own.
For more than 15 years at Southridge, my colleague Mrs. Donna Winterburn and I have been involved with many productions, and we have seen time and again how working collaboratively through the creative process with their peers has allowed those involved to truly see others in a different light. Indeed, it is as if the teamwork and appreciation for the talents of one another has facilitated what Philosopher Maxine Greene, in her 2001 book Variations on a Blue Guitar, so beautifully describes as “becoming a friend to someone else’s mind, with the wonderful power to return to that person a sense of wholeness”. It is the long hours of working together through the creative process as a cast and crew that builds this shared sense of understanding. Grade 11 student, Molly, a lead actor in this year’s Senior School production and a regular performer in Southridge productions, eloquently explains, “Drama requires a lot of trust between actors, to pick up their cues, not to forget lines, or if lines are forgotten for the other people in the scene to improvise their way back to the original script without letting the audience know. We are one big family, and that is all thanks to the rehearsal process.” Grade 7 student, Megan, participating in her first musical, already understands this building of community. She writes: “…I have enjoyed my time as a part of the [Dear Edwina] ‘team.’ Throughout rehearsals, we have learned so many things and made so many memories. It's been an experience I'll never forget.”
When we consider that our MYP musical includes all students in Grades 5 through 7 in some capacity, this transformation of community becomes even more significant—and when we consider the potential for our audiences to also be transformed, the potential for community growth is exponential. This was evident as this year’s Grade 6 and 7 students were invited to attend the Senior School production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In doing so, they were inspired by what Grade 10 student, Amadea, a member of the tech team for this year’s Senior School production, identifies as “a magical experience for the audience,” and they were also invited into the community of actors. These students then had the chance to take the magic that they witnessed onstage and ‘pay it forward’ to their audiences—which included family members, other members of our school community, and our senior citizen friends from Sunnyside Manor. Many of these individuals will have been transformed by the passion, energy, and enthusiasm of the students’ performance, and they will take that joy out with them to the broader community.
And so work the transformative ripples of a school play or musical. Students grow as performing artists and as confident young people—and communities grow, both within the walls of schools and beyond. As Grade 8 student, Keith, an actor in both Junior and Senior School productions, so powerfully summarizes: "Being in a play really gets you out of your shell. Not only do you meet lots of new friends, but you can really gain lots of self-confidence too. I would recommend being in a play to everyone!"
We are fortunate that Southridge includes the Arts as one of our four pillars, and we are equally fortunate that our community values not only high-quality productions, but perhaps more importantly, the meaningful creative process that transforms our students’ lives.
Dr. Kevin Bespflug
MYP Music and English Teacher