Theater

Expressing one’s ideas in the form of theater begins in our PreK classroom, when children regularly act out favorite books at circle time. In Kindergarten through second grade, classes pick a favorite story to bring to life in the form of a classroom play. Script writing, set design and prop making are all part of the experience. Our third and fourth graders engage in an extensive story telling unit while studying the Wampanoag people of New England. This project culminates with a performance, where children proudly share their family stories with the rest of the community. In the fifth and sixth grades our students delve into the Biographies Project, an in-depth six-week study in which students choose a noteworthy person to research and embody. In addition to writing their “autobiography”, as a culminating event, students come to school, dressed in character and share their story at our All-School Meeting. This is followed by a Living Wax Museum, where they answer questions from the Fayerweather audience. The Unit Play, which begins with December tryouts and ends with three performances in March, is the culminating theater experience for our oldest students. 
 

Performed by our seventh and eighth grade students, the Unit Play is an annual tradition that spans over twenty years. The play is typically linked to the Unit’s social justice curriculum. It alternates between Shakespeare, modern playwrights, and original scripts devised by the students. The selected play is performed for three nights for the Fayerweather community. In addition to learning how to act, students help design and build the set, run the lights and sound, and design costumes. Many graduates continue to act in high school and credit their Fayerweather experience as igniting their passion for theater.