Upper School Play

In early April, the Upper School Play Production and Stagecraft classes presented The Bully Plays. This collection of eight one-act plays was performed by a cast of actors new to the craft of acting. They performed roles ranging from mime to tragic to comic in plays that are intended to create a dialogue centered on the bullying confronted by today’s young people. The Stagecraft students undertook scenic design, set construction, and running crews for performances of each play with great creativity, efficiency, and excellent enthusiasm.

Upper School Visual Arts Showcase and Musical Performance

On May 6, students from Visual Art I, Visual Art II, Visual Art III/IV, Art of Craft, Graphic Design, and Photography I and II shared work from a wide variety of projects and artistic media that they had created during the spring semester. With more than 70 students displaying their favorite pieces, the showcase was our first opportunity to have an end-of-year show since 2019. The Vocal Ensemble opened the concert with a beautiful candlelit processional singing “Long Time Traveller” in three-part harmony. They also performed “Rumor Has It/Someone Like You” by Adele and Ryan Tedder, “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys, and “Safe and Sound” by Taylor Swift. The Chamber Orchestra performed Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony, “Masquerade Waltz” by A. Khachaturian, theme from Howl’s Moving Castle by Joe Hisaishi, Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in D minor, and “Sicilienne” by Carl Maria von Weber, arr. Dushkin. Solo performances were given by Quinlan Drabek, 11th grade; Griffon Ou, 9th grade; and Tuesday Sohn, 11th grade. The Varsity Jazz Ensemble played compositions by Sonny Rollins, Ray Charles, Ray Bryant, Joe Zawinul, Youngblood Brass Band, and Roy Hargrove, with solos by all.

Middle School Musical

During spring semester, 30 Middle School students and three faculty memorized, sang, danced, acted, designed, built, and learned complex technical systems to create our production of Matilda, the Musical, JR. Costumes were designed, magical disappearing cakes and self-writing chalk were figured out, harmonies were refined, quick costume changes were mastered, and choreography for dances and scene changes was perfected. On May 12, the application of this talent and hard work brought two exciting and entertaining performances to UPrep audiences. Vivid characterizations, beautiful singing, and seamless technical support made for hilarious and invigorating performances for actors, stagehands, and our audience.

Middle School Visual Arts Showcase and Musical Performance

On May 18, Middle School students from World Art, the 6th grade Fine Arts rotation, and Photography selected their favorite works from their spring semester portfolio for exhibition. The Visual Arts Showcase presented an eclectic array of student artwork illustrating the talent of our students. The concert was a creative display of the students’ recent musical efforts with performances by the Traditional Jazz Combo, Jazz 1, Orchestra Band B1, Orchestra Band Chamber Ensemble, Orchestra Band II, the Middle School Orchestra, and the Intermediate Jazz Ensemble.