Grades 7 & 8 Play: All I really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

ROBERT FULGHUM’S

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN

Comedy/Drama Conceived & Adapted by

Ernest Julia

Directed by

Jill Bolstridge

Grades 7 & 8 Play | Friday, January 29, 2021 | 7:00 PM

POLYARTS Robert Fulgham’s

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Comedy/Drama Conceived & Adapted by

Ernest Julia Directed by

Jill Bolstridge

Cast Griffin Allen Annakaecia Clarke Maggie Cochrane Stavi Gabriel Ryan Geisler Izzy Gerling Lucy Lavagnino-Sisk Carolina Lisk Juliet Michaelis Zoe Panzo Dillon Rapp Sadie Schoenberger Drew Waldman *Each cast member plays multiple roles.

Special Guest Appearance by Lara Pollock As the Candy Thief and the Temper Tantrum Thrower

Production Staff Jill Bolstridge................................................................................................................ Director Andrew Murdock................................................ Scenic Designer/Videographer/Editor Hannah Chalman.....................................................................................Costume Designer David Higham........................................................ Lighting Designer/Technical Director

Director’s Note All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten is a 1986 book of short stories and essays by American minister and author, Robert Fulghum. In 1992, the collection was adapted into a musical production for the stage, and later into a straight play version. I saw this play for the first time as part of a summer play festival in which I was directing at the Drama Training Institute in Newton, Massachusetts, in 2005. A colleague of mine had directed it, and I always thought it was such a sweet, simple, memorable little play. When I started my work at Poly back in 2009, I put it on my list of “plays to consider.” For over a decade now, at play selection time, Kindergarten has always made it into about the top five, each year not quite making it as the top choice due to its massive amount of monologues, always just falling short to another title that had a little less text and a lot more physicality and creative movement. But I always kept the play on my list, each year telling myself that one day, I was going to find the right time and place to direct it. That day finally came when the quarantine struck, as these monologues were the perfect material to help my students develop their craft via Zoom! Additionally, this play delivers a perfect message to our audience during these difficult times. Indeed, if we could each one of us just slow down and remember the lessons we learned in kindergarten—such as sharing, kindness, empathy, pitching in and cleaning up—we’d all be a little bit better off.

But perhaps most importantly, in these ever-changing and unprecedented times, the kindergarten lesson we need to remind ourselves most of is that of balance; indeed, simple though it may sound, each of us needs to work a little harder to strike a better balance in our lives. May these scenes, stories, monologues, and vignettes you are about to see tonight serve as a reminder to each one of us to take a breath and a step back once in a while, and remember to approach our lives with just the right balance of work, play, and learning.

Jill Bolstridge Director

Meet the Production Staff Jill Bolstridge (Director) is in her twelfth year as the Director of Theatre for the Middle Division here at Poly Prep. She has directed more than twenty-two Poly productions, and has spent the past eight summers teaching acting and directing main stage shows at Ohana Arts in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Before she came to Poly, Jill taught at dozens of theatre companies, schools, and summer camps all over the country where she directed hundreds of shows and taught tens of thousands of students from all around the world. She also served for seven years as the co-Artistic Director of The Children’s Theatre Company, and directed more than 100 shows at the organization’s flagship chapter in Manhattan, as well as at its regional chapters in Los Angeles, Boston, Peekskill, and Valley Stream. Jill has been performing since she was six years old. Most recent acting credits include Deb in Elf, Mother in After Magritte and April Green in The Hot L Baltimore. Ms. Bolstridge holds a BA in Theatre and English Literature from Roger Williams University and a MA in Theatre from Long Island University, C.W. Post. 2021 marks Jill’s twentieth year in the field of theatre education.

David Higham (Lighting Designer & Technical Director) is in his twenty-ninth year at Poly, where he has been responsible for designing the lighting, sound, and scenery for over 170 productions. In addition to his work at Poly, Mr. Higham has designed lighting for productions at The Public Theatre, Lincoln Center, he Irish Arts Center, The Women’s Project, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, and The National Shakespeare Company, among others. Mr. Higham also has worked as a lighting designer for several New York City architectural and landscape design firms.

Andrew Murdock (Scenic Designer & Videographer) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. He has worked at Puppetry in Practice and Marquis Studios teaching classes in video, puppetry and stop motion animation (K-12 in NYC public schools). His personal work often bridges the tangible and digital by utilizing techniques in video, physical theatre and puppetry. He holds a customized BFA dual major in Sculpture and Film, Animation, Video (FAV) from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College focusing on collaborative theatre making and the integration of technology. Recent credits include: Video Designer and Livestream Technician for 36.5 / PROCESS by Sarah Cameron Sunde (Socrates Sculpture Park/Hallett’s Cove, NYC) and commissioned video project AMASS (ArtYard, Frenchtown, NJ).

He is a current resident artist at Object Movement (Center for Park West, NYC) in collaboration with Gabrielle Schutz on a new multimedia puppet piece titled BE(INGS). This is Mr. Murdock’s first year at PolyPrep and he is very excited to help showcase the student’s work in video form.

Meet the Production Staff (Cont.)

Hannah Chalman (Costume Designer) is a costume designer, costume technician, and makeup artist from Tennessee. Ms. Chalman received her MFA in Costume Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and her BA in Theatre from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Before joining Poly Prep, Ms. Chalman worked as the Costume Design Assistant for Long Wharf Theatre’s 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 season. Other credits include working as Assistant Costume Designer for Othello (The Public Theatre - Shakespeare in the Park), Assistant Costume Designer for Admissions (Lincoln Center Theatre) and as a Personal Assistant to Toni-Leslie James for Come From Away (Broadway).

A Note from the Performing Arts Department While in-person rehearsals and live performances were not an option this fall, our talented Grades 7 and 8 actors, and their dedicated director, Jill Bolstridge, knew that the show must go on! With the exception of one day of outdoor filming, the cast and production team of the Grades 7 and 8 play rehearsed and filmed tonight’s performance virtually. We applaud them for their creativity, tenacity, and dedication to Poly Arts. Congratulations!

Daniel Doughty Performing Arts Department Chair

Our Production Would Not Be Possible without the Generous Support of: Audrius Barzdukas P’20 Head of School Michal Hershkovitz P’16, ’18 Assistant Head of School, Academics André Del Valle P’29, ’33 Head of Middle School Michael Robinson Head of Arts Daniel Doughty Performing Arts Department Chair The members of the Performing Arts faculty, the Engagement & Communications Department, the Poly Prep IT Staff, Helen Vislocka, the Facilities and Maintenance Department, Vinny Rutuelo and the Security Staff, Chef Lou and the Commons Staff, and the Middle School Deans: Amie Bui, Adam Bisceglia, and Peter Soto.

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Join Us for These Upcoming Performing Arts Events Stay tuned for more information about our Upper School and Middle School Spring Musicals!