The Upper School theater program at Baldwin allows our girls to continue their growth as artists, and challenges them creatively and intellectually. Each theater class is given at least two opportunities for outside performance, and all Upper School students are invited to audition for the fall and spring productions. There are no prerequisites for upper school theater courses.
Introduction to Theater focuses on basic acting skills and various acting techniques including Stanislavski’s Method, Viewpoints, and Uta Hagen’s theory from Respect for Acting. Students work on character development in monologues, scene study and improvisation. Basic stage direction and blocking are taught and students present work in both the first and second semester.
In Musical Theater, girls compose their own musical and perform for the Lower school, create their ultimate musical in their Best Musical Ever project, and adapt a book of their choice into a musical using a combination of student-composed work and popular songs.
Educational Theater is an introduction to this exciting form of theater that uses interactive drama practices to support the classroom curriculum in any discipline. Throughout the year, students create lesson plans that use theater activities to teach classes in the Lower and Middle school; write and perform plays for the Lower School; write and produce a Theater of the Oppressed drama about conflict resolution to be presented to the Middle School.
Directing students work with one another, as well as with students from Introduction to Acting and Musical Theater, to direct both published and student-devised work. They also direct and perform several site-specific performances throughout Baldwin’s sprawling campus.
Maskers, the upper school drama club, meets during the school day and is the production team for Baldwin’s fall and spring productions. Girls may choose from Public Relations, Fundraising, Crew, or Construction. Maskers host two events for the Inter-Act Theater Education Roundtable such as Improvisation Nights, Movie Nights and Playwriting Workshops.