ARTS ARE THE ANTIDOTE
This is a version of a letter I sent to our school district’s superintendent and school board.
Max & I want to extend our sincerest gratitude for the opportunity to be involved in the Drama & Music Departments as parent volunteers. It has been an enormously fulfilling experience to work with the most dedicated, passionate teachers who guide our students through the journey of growth that comes from attempting difficult things, practicing them, and becoming part of a community. Students long to not just “fit in,” but to truly belong. The arts have long provided those places, especially when and if academics or athletics do not come easily, and the confidence students build through performing are carried through to doing even better in the classroom.
In the fall of 2023, the Drama cast grew by almost double from the year before. From 26 cast members in Shrek Jr., we became 51 in Beauty & the Beast Jr. The musical also draws many students to the crew, where they can be involved in integral ways without having to be in the spotlight. This year, we set a record by selling out our first two nights. We had to scramble and borrow chairs from the teacher’s lounge! It was very exciting!
I truly believe the growth of the program is because with each show, the students put on an even more impressive performance, drawing in audiences to go along with them into a compelling story, in which they can work through the many problems and themes that the characters face–loss, disappointment, bewilderment, and conflict. During each show, people are asked to consider the deep questions that are very applicable to real life: Who will care for me? How do we treat people we don’t understand? What do I do when I am tested? What is my purpose?
For each show, the teachers, students, & parents take a beige cafetorium and transform it into a far away place of the imagination–a castle, a swamp, or under the sea. We turn out the lights, and for 90 minutes a show, the students captivate the young and old with words, music, and dance–and find a way for everyone to share a common experience.
If you look at the photos from the shows, what you will see is the expressions of our students, rapt with emotion–with joy, with fear, with suspense, with love. They are really acting, and what is great acting but being truly present in the moment? And when the audience is likewise present–we have magic and connection and a transformative hour and half. We feel with each other, we are entertained, and we walk away back into our normal lives better for it, with that bubbly feeling that Mrs. Potts points out is hope.
We believe that arts–and athletics–are the true antidote for the tech-filled lives that our students live. It’s interesting to look at etymology and find the connection in how actors perform in a play, and athletes play their sports. Often, the element of play decreases in the older grades, especially in academics, as a means of learning. But most importantly, play engages the whole person. To perform well–on stage or on the field–students must be deeply engaged–with their teammates, in that Zone that so many exceptional performers describe. There are no devices, no daydreaming, no distraction when you’re on stage, on the court, or on the field. Students must be in communication with each other, listening, speaking, reading each other’s body language and facial expressions. And they must interact, make choices, take risks, receive and give feedback in real time. And they must do so in constructive, compassionate ways. These are the skills that will build the strongest relationships–at home, at school, and at work. Furthermore, they must deal with the unexpected with grace and calm, by drawing on their experience and practice. If you fall or forget your lines, or if, like this year, the sound cut out in the first two minutes of the performance, the show must go on!
I want to take the opportunity to celebrate something that our schools do very well, and that is, in addition to academics, we have the arts readily available and accessible to any student who wants to participate, especially in programs like at the intermediate school where Ms. O and Mrs. Palmer do not turn away a single student from the drama productions. The first year Mr. Farrell came to PVIS, he said that his goal was to have “something for everyone,” and I know that the arts have helped to make that true. At the high school, Ms. Thompson and Mr. Miller passionately produce shows that elevate school theater to professional levels of quality, and in doing so give a place of belonging and status to the cast and crew.
Thank you so much for supporting the arts in our school district. As a parent who has taught high school, who has three kids in our district, and who loves volunteering, I encourage the district, the School Board, and the administrations of all our schools, to continue to support these activities at the grandest level you can, so that students will continue to have extraordinary opportunities to find themselves–and others–in meaningful connection and discovery. The more teachers and schools have in resources–be they time and inspiration, as well as money, the more they can do with the students!
