Onstage

XXXX NEWSMAKERS ONSTAGE

UPPER SCHOOL FALL PRODUCTION

Almost, Maine

“It is good for the soul to see a full theater,” Upper School Theater Director Lee Kasper declared as he opened the sold-out second performance of Almost, Maine in mid-December. After nearly two years of virtual productions, Calhoun’s Upper School Theater welcomed audiences to the Mary Lea Johnson Performing Arts Center with limited seating capacity but boundless enthusiasm. Returning to live theater was “an incredibly rewarding and emotional experience for the entire cast and crew,” writes Lee. “We really had to remind ourselves what it takes to create a production like this . . . but in the end we had built an amazing family of artists.”

Almost, Maine, a play about “searching for, finding and losing connection,” as Lee describes it, was a natural choice following the challenges and isolation of the pandemic. The show features nine loosely connected stories set in Almost, Maine, a town that almost doesn’t exist, and follows the characters as they experience love and heartbreak on one cold winter night. Rehearsals for the play began in late September, with two to three cast members working on their scenes at a time. As the weeks passed and the scenes fit together, the magic of the play came alive on the snow-covered set.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

Dating back to its founding, Calhoun, then The Jacobi School, has taken a holistic approach to education, valuing activities “beyond purely scholastic training.” From the 1920s to today, music classes have helped students of all ages deepen learning across disciplines.

1. UPPER SCHOOL WINTER WORKSHOP: ONE-ACT FESTIVAL

As part of its fast-paced Winter Workshop in late January, Upper School Theater presented five short plays written and directed by our very own Cougar playwrights. From “Elevator” to “Quiet Sunday Morning,” the plays in the One-Act Festival put our students’ talent and creativity on full display.

2. SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADE AND UPPER SCHOOL STRINGS CONCERT

Our strings ensembles returned to the Mary Lea Johnson Performing Arts Center in mid-December for a festive performance of pop, classical and jazz favorites. The concert included works by Adele, Mozart and Mussorgsky, in addition to a film-score arrangement by Katrina L. ’23.

3. UPPER SCHOOL JAZZ CONCERT

Our Upper School jazz ensembles returned to the stage for a live-streamed performance during the school day. The concert was a culmination of their hard work during Mod 2 and a demonstration of creative ways to play wind instruments while still wearing masks. (Photographed by Daniel S. ’23)

4. FIFTH–GRADE PLAY

Lower School–Elementary Theater presented On the Other Hand, a play collaboratively created by LS–E theater teacher Jonathan Matthews-Guzman with fifth graders’ imaginative input. Their performance explored what it is to be a finger—a citizen on a set of hands, connected to a larger body.