RECREATE

Art Six Feet Apart

Collaborations Create Connection

Keeping out community connected during a pandemic takes creativity. So who better to take on the challenge than Barstow’s exceptional arts faculty? With their guidance, students continue to produce innovative theatre, perform ovation-worthy concerts, create inspirational art, debate on a national stage and document a historic year.

THE PERFORMING ARTS

Director of Theatre Bob Kohler learned to teach acting via Zoom, with some surprising results. “After the initial adjustment, the students became quickly adept,”he said. “They enjoyed recording themselves, editing creatively and showing off their work.”

One of the challenges for Middle & Upper School Choral Music Director Dr. Josh Markely was combining many voices from multiple locations into a singular choir. Upper school singers especially wanted to perform “Dirait On,” a complicated arrangement for accomplished choirs, from the spring concert program. Dr. Markley created vocal and piano practice tracks for each part and recorded himself conducting the piece so students could continue practicing at home. After some technical trial and error, he gathered individual recordings and used sophisticated software to edit the performance together. The result was a high quality concert piece that blends many singers into one voice.

“Most of the students were like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is so great!’ They were excited and proud about what they accomplished,” Markley said. Using those techniques, students recorded additional songs and faculty and staff even performed “Lean on Me” as a summer sendoff for students.

“My main goal in April and May was to keep students connected,” Lower School Music Teacher Kristi Mitchell said. She directed Zoom sing-alongs, created music videos starring her students, and scheduled talent shares so they could sing and play instruments for their classmates. Early Childhood Music Teacher Jen Carr kept Barstow’s youngest students engaged with activities like kitchen compositions and musical egg hunts that were fun and easy for parents assisting from home.

THE SHOW GOES ON(LINE)

Barstow became the first school in the region to stage a completely remote musical in July. Kohler, Carr and Dr. Markley collaborated on “The Big One OH!” with students in all three divisions acting together, while apart, via Zoom.

“It was an experiment to see not only if we could do it, but more importantly how to do it. We knew if this was going to be the only way to present shows this year, we should try it out over the summer. We learned a lot,” Kohler said.

They applied those lessons to the upper school musical. This time, the cast rehearsed both at school and from home. “Zombie Prom” incorporated all the elements of a live production: makeup, costumes, big song-and-dance numbers, plus green screen sets and campus locations to create the look of the ’50s-era high school. After editing and post-production, the show was available for streaming Oct. 30–Nov. 1. The middle school musical will stream in January, followed by the lower school musical next spring.

“It’s important to come up with new solutions to performance obstacles,” Carr said. Trying to replace an in-person performance with the same thing online doesn’t work. “It needs to be a new experience, but just as meaningful.” Traditional music programs continue in a non-traditional way. Students perform at a safe social distance and recordings are shared with the school community.

“We performed ‘Standards High’ featuring every lower school student for Grandparent Day and we’ll continue with the beloved Barstow tradition of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ in December, ” Mitchell said.

THE ART OF COMMUNICATION

Barstow’s signature broadcast and debate programs adjusted to online and hybrid models with success because students were able to apply skills that are already part of curriculum: collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving.

BTVN students produced two shows a week in April and May, without access to their equipment, control room or studio. They improvised. They learned new techniques. And they made it work.

“We have creative, passionate students in BTVN. They didn’t let online challenges overwhelm them. When they learned that we were going to have to adapt to an online platform, they were ready with ideas on the first day of class,” Director of Broadcasting & Media Studies Sean Holmes said. This fall, BTVN shows are seamlessly produced by students in two different learning environments. “Students learning from home are just as much a part of our show as the students who are in person. They host, write scripts, design graphics and produce pieces. We hold class discussions and class critiques as if everyone were in the classroom.”

The debate team adapted to a radically different competition season with resilience. Instead of traveling to tournaments around the country, the squad wears masks while practicing at school and attends virtual tournaments from home. During the first experience with the new format April, Amanda Munsell ’20 and senior Jacqueline Tingle represented Barstow at the national Tournament of Champions.

“That experience let us know, ‘Oh, we can do this,’” Varsity Debate Coach Cook said. “Debate can actually thrive in an online environment.” Missouri State High School Athletic Association travel restrictions don’t apply to online tournaments, so this season the squad can attend prestigious tournaments that used to be out of reach. This fall, students have compiled winning records at the Chicago-area Trevian International, Iowa Caucus and University of Michigan tournaments. “That’s the best part of online debate,” senior Noah Waldman said.

CREATING ART DURING QUARANTINE

Visual art became an avenue for students to express themselves and share perspectives of the world around them while shelter-in-place orders were in effect. Teachers asked students to look at their surroundings for inspiration. Facebook and Instagram became Barstow’s art galleries.

Lower school students used household props to participate in the Getty Museum challenge. Their playful photos interpreted masterworks including “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and “The Scream.” Lilli Lackey’s middle and uppers school classes made Andy Goldsworthy-inspired sculptures from natural elements and whimsical “Fobots” from found objects. Art Department Chair Mallory Hilvitz sent students to their pantries for paint supplies, explaining how to use coffee, tea, cumin and turmeric to make watercolor paints. In May, senior artists staged a virtual art show on Instagram to display and sell their artwork.

Art classrooms function differently with social distancing and hybrid learning in place. Middle and upper school students work behind plexiglass dividers and Lackey and Hilvitz use adjustable “arms” to hold iPads so students at home can see demonstrations clearly. In lower school, Kukuk visits 15 classrooms each week, instead of students coming to her.

The arts are thriving at Barstow in reimagined ways. What remains consistent during a continually changing year is how teachers respond in a way that prioritizes the student experience.