Theatre

TEENS ON BROADWAY, 2014

The Dr. Susan S. McKinney Department of Theatre provides students with a diverse, holistic theatre education. Participants partake in a rigorous four-year program that provides opportunities to explore the numerous facets of
the medium— resulting in well-rounded graduates that are ready to pursue professional or continuing academic endeavors.

Our unique series of courses allow students to experiment with acting, directing, design, and construction through academic analysis and practical application. With topics ranging from acting and career strategies to theatre history and literary interpretation, students graduate with skills that will enable them to find success in the classroom, audition hall, or boardroom.

A participant in the Arts Achieve Grant, a prestigious four-year study of arts education practice, our department strives to continually improve the experiences that we provide our dedicated student body through innovation, collaboration, and ingenuity--both in the classroom and on the stage.

Department Highlights

In 2014, our Theatre Department represented Dr. Susan S. McKinney SSA in the prestigious TEENS ON BROADWAY showcase at the Circle in the Square Theater on Broadway (50th St. and 8th Ave.) Six performing arts-focused high schools participated in the second year of this event, and our students were able to bond with students from other schools while attending informational panels and working with professional theatre technicians to better hone their skills.

Our Theatre Department is a member of the "TDF Open Doors Program" which selects eight worthy 11th and 12th grade students to partake in a unique Broadway experience: seeing six shows under the guidance of a professional mentor all free of charge! It's an experience unlike any other for the aspiring theatre practitioner.

Our department regularly partners with the Theatre Department from the High School of Leadership and Public Service to create historically-based immersive theatre projects in and around the Trinity Church Graveyard in lower Manhattan. Our students are able to research, write about, and perform various historical figures each year at the annual Halloween celebration.

Our Curriculum

Mr. Smith’s curriculum has received several commendations including the Glenn Hoffman Award for Outstanding Fine Arts Programming and the Penwomen of Americas’ Outstanding Theatre Teacher Award, South Bay Area. The approach is based in several areas of study:

Acting and Directing
Adapted from the Method Acting technique, students perform and stage numerous classroom scene studies focusing on character, objective, and motivated blocking. As participants’ skill sets expand, they extend their realism-based training to classical and stylized productions.

Design
Students read and analyze prominent works of theatrical literature and complete design portfolios including costume, set, lighting and publicity designs each
year.

Theatre History and Criticism
By using a“Play-of-the-Day” approach, students study major works of traditional and musical theatre while connecting theatre practice to social and political events in different eras.

Audition

Prospective students for the high school program memorize and perform two contrasting (one comic, one dramatic) 1-2 minute monologues from published plays.

All auditionees are assessed based on memorization, physical and vocal choices, and emotional commitment. The audition will be accompanied by a short one-on-one interview.

AUDITION DATES for Fall 2017 (FRESHMEN IN FALL 2018):

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Wednesday 11/1--3:30pm
Friday 11/3--3:30pm
Saturday 11/11 (Also OPEN HOUSE)--10:00am
Wednesday 11/15--3:30pm
Friday 11/17--3:30pm

No student will be admitted 45 minutes into the audition.

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