Arts

Radium Girls

Congratulations to the 8th Grade Performance Ensemble for their amazing rendition of Radium Girls! Under the direction of Lisa Gunn-Becker, students put on three amazing performances in Logan Auditorium. Radium Girls is based on the events that transpired in the early 1920s at the Radium Dial Corporation in Orange, NJ. It documents the young women who came to work at the factory painting watches using the “lick, dip, paint” technique until it made them very sick. These young women stood up to the large corporation, looking for accountability, and fighting for what they believed was right.

The Play That Goes Wrong

Deetjen Theatre was once again filled with four sold-out audiences and uproarious laughter at this year’s fall comedy, The Play That Goes Wrong. The play is a hilarious farce about a small amateur theatre company doing their absolute best to put on a murder mystery play where, much to their embarrassment, a lot goes wrong.

Between the cast and crew, this production involved almost 20 students in grades nine to twelve who came together to take on what is typically a very difficult production to stage. Due to their talent and hard work, everyone left feeling that they hit the nail on the head. One student commented during rehearsals, “It’s so hard to make things go so wrong, in the right way, at the right time!” Congratulations to all students involved on making this year’s fall play a great success.

The Mka Community Mural

The Upper School community came together to celebrate a new gallery opening in the arts wing featuring student artwork, several performances, and a mural. The photographs were done by Photo 2 students, and linoleum prints, drawings, and paintings were created by Studio Art Honors and AP Studio Art students.

The MKA Community Mural was started by Sanaa Williams ’21 as her May Term project. In her words, "Each painting is meant to bring together four MKA students to show that despite our different features, we are all part of the same family." It was completed under F&PA teacher Sarah Mueller's guidance by Studio Arts Honors and DP2 students.

PRE-K STUDENTS PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN

As part of their Reggio study of performance and storytelling, students in Pre-K Green visited F&PA Department Co-Chair Nicole Hoppe at the Upper School. She treated them to tours of the main and black box theaters and let them explore the costume closet and even try on some real pieces from actual MKA productions! They loved moving in the dance studio, watching the workings of the curtains and light board, and meeting actual teenage performers! As a souvenir, they returned to Brookside with prop money.

HONORING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Dr. King said, "Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." It doesn't happen by itself but rather through the actions of pioneers who are willing to go against the tide of tyranny. The MKA Middle School Dance Program, directed by Dr. Monica Elmore, held its annual performance to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Lunar New Year. Both the in-school assembly and evening performances began with a heartfelt introduction by Paris McLean, MKA Assistant Head of School for Diversity, Inclusion, and Antiracism. The program included many outstanding performances at all grade levels that incorporated a variety of dance genres, including tap, modern, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, and Bollywood. A particular highlight of the evening was the fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade Chinese class performances that were choreographed under the direction of Fangzhou Zhang in honor of the Year of the Rabbit. Students incorporated umbrellas, dragon dance, lion masks, flowing fans, and the powerful sound of a live Chinese drumming performance into their celebration of Chinese culture. Congratulations to all on a beautiful and moving performance!

Sounds Of The Season

It was another extraordinary month of performances for our singers and musicians. Kyle Blackburn led the choir students in his first concert at the Middle School, and at the Upper School, the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Jazz Choir, and Remix performed their annual winter concert led by Maria Gilmartin. At the Middle School, Paul Murphy helmed his first band concert in Logan Auditorium, and at the Upper School, John Leister and the Concert and Jazz Bands filled Weiss Auditorium with a wide-ranging and exciting program.