From Waterwell: As City Council debates the 2022-2023 budget for our city, we must ensure that all students have access to an equitable arts education. We are asking for NYC to guarantee $100 per student for arts education in the budget. Please use this social media toolkit to help spread the word — and get more information on the campaign.
Come support some of our seniors at their final production with us!We are particularly proud this year to have two members of the Waterwell faculty as the writer and director for this year’s production, including long-time Head of Voice and Speech, Cherie Corinne Rice, and Acting III teacher Ricardo Vázquez. Rice and Vázquez are working deeply with the Drama 4 class to generate this new play together.
Motel Andromeda
Written by Cherie Corinne Rice
Directed by Ricardo Vázquez
On Halloween night, a group of teens unexpectedly disembark at a celestial egress located on the edge of everywhere and nowhere. Inspired by the myth of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda, these young adventurers mount a mission to escape this paranormal portal and the threat of sacrifice for the sins of their forefathers.
Show Dates:
Wednesday, March 30th @ 7 pm
Thursday, March 31st @ 7 pm
Friday, April 1st @ 4 pm and 7 pm
Saturday, April 2nd @ 7 pm
Thank you to all the PTA parents who answered the call for donated treats for our first monthly bake sale. We were overwhelmed by the abundance of goodies, and the kids were so excited! Thanks to you, we were able to raise just under $400 for the PTA.
We’ll be having these sales on the first Friday of each month through June, so please keep the goodies coming!
And if you’re available to help with the sales, please contact dramadelegate@ppaspta.org.
Here are some pics from recent Drama productions.
Students currently living and attending high school in New York City, grades 9-12, are eligible to audition for the Hear Me! Monologue Showcase. There is no cost to apply or participate.
Students will submit a video audition performing a monologue of 2.5 minutes or longer written by an American playwright (or Shakespeare). Students may select any monologue they prefer, regardless of gender.
The application deadline is Friday, March 11th. Get more info about the showcase and apply.
Keen Teens is a free production and performance opportunity for high school students interested in theater! Working with professional playwrights, directors, designers and technicians, students will perform in the world premiere production of three new short plays written exclusively for Keen Teens by C. Quintana (AZUL at Diversionary Theatre & SCISSORING at INTAR Theatre), Bleu Beckford-Burell (2021 Page 73 Playwriting Fellow), and Stephanie Swirsky. The plays are then published by Concord Theatricals and made available to be performed in high schools across the country.
Students who are cast will rehearse once a week, after school, beginning February 14th, plus three weekend rehearsals in late April/early May. The plays will be performed at The Lion Theatre at Theatre Row for five performances in mid-May.
You can find out more info about the program and create your audition. For anyone who’s not an actor and is interested in directing, tech (lights/sound), design (scenic/costume), stage management, or producing, students have the opportunity to assist members of Keen Teens’ production team — please email keenteens@keencompany.org to set up an interview.
Applications are now open for the spring session of CreateHER, a free program for girl-identifying and non-binary high school students interested in writing and producing for theatre.
Through this program, students are given the technical and creative tools to take their ideas from page to reality. CreateHER provides high-level playwriting and producing courses and features guest speakers who are leaders in the theatre industry: from producers and general managers, to groundbreaking playwrights, dramaturgs, and marketing directors. By the end of the semester, all students write, produce, and present a short play of their own, which will be presented on May 22nd.
Classes are held on Sundays from 9:30am-12:00 PM, beginning February 6th. Applications are open through January 22nd. To apply, visit the CreateHER Web site.
Winter Break – 8th Grade
Written by Joe Calarco
Directed by Lillian Meredith
Time: Now. Place: A town in the United States of America where Winter is cold. Winter Break has just begun. Alternately hilarious and touching, the play follows nineteen teenagers, some who know each other, some who don’t, as they wrestle with friendships, breakups, loss, graduation, and their place in the world.
Show Dates:
Thursday, December 16th @ 7 pm
Friday, December 17th @ 7 pm
Saturday, December 18th @ 7 pm
The Greatest 6th Grade Show – 6th Grade Devised Plays
Devised by the Ensemble
Directed by Monique Moses
Devised through collaborative artistic processes and group learning, sixteen sixth graders explore what it means to be in middle school and separated by computer screens. Through short plays and movement pieces created by them and for them, they search for ways to connect, grow, and break free despite the difficulties of adapting to a pandemic.
Show Dates:
Thursday, December 9th @ 7:15 pm
Friday, December 10th @ 6:45 pm
Reserve tickets for The Greatest 6th Grade Show!
Come watch our DR3’s perform!
Indecent – 11th Grade
Written by Paula Vogel
Directed by Heather Lanza
Indecent by Paula Vogel is a play with music inspired by the controversial Broadway debut of Sholem Asch’s Yiddish play, God of Vengeance. In the original, a brothel owner tries to protect his daughter’s purity, but he doesn’t realize she’s already fallen in love with one of his prostitutes. When an English translation of it was brought to Broadway, the performers were arrested and charged with obscenity for performing in a play that featured the first kiss between women on a Broadway stage. Indecent asks what artists are willing to risk for the stories that need to be told.
Show Dates:
Wednesday, December 8th @ 7pm
Thursday, December 9th@ 7 pm
Friday, December 10th @ 4 pm & 7 pm
Saturday, December 11th @ 7 pm
Reserve tickets for Indecent
