Upper School Drama
The Philosophy
The Creative Arts Department faculty is committed to promoting artistic excellence through self-discovery, creative expression, and collaboration. Through creative risk-taking and the application of technical skills, our program builds confidence and discipline in students. The Creative Arts program promotes empathy and an appreciation for the artistic contributions of others.
Public Speaking
Fall, Winter, Spring
Open to: Grades 9-12
At some point or another, we are all called upon to speak in public, be it a commencement speech, speaking at an assembly, a business presentation, or a toast at a wedding. This course is designed to help those students seeking to improve their skill at speaking before a live audience by focusing on the techniques of voice and body control (breathing, intonation, volume, articulation, gesture, posture) that will give them the self confidence to deliver a successful speech. Students will learn the various forms of public speaking: informative, demonstrative, persuasive, and extemporaneous speeches, as well as learning the necessary skills for one-on-one and team debating. They will examine famous historical speeches and TED talks to decipher what makes a speech successful. Students will experience writing original speeches and presenting them in a public forum. This course fulfills one third of the Creative Arts departmental requirement. This course may be applied to English departmental graduation requirements in grade 12.
The Composition of Film
Fall, Winter, Spring
Open to: Grades 9-12
Open to: Grades 9-12 Storytelling has been the lifeblood of civilization. The rules for telling those stories, however, changed forever with the advent of moving pictures. Students will look at the advancement in American filmmaking by viewing, analyzing, and critiquing some of the most important films that changed the techniques of how movies are made from such esteemed directors as Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese to the present day directors such as Kathryn Bigelow, Greta Gerwig, Spike Lee, and Jordan Peele. They will analyze how film narratives have changed as people of color and women have become major voices in Hollywood. This course fulfills one third of the Creative Arts departmental requirement. This course may be applied to English departmental graduation requirements in grade 12.
Filmmaking
Fall
Open to: Grades 9-12
In this course, students will have the opportunity to be their own directors, cinematographers, and producers, creating original works and telling myriad stories via the camera. They explore such genres as documentaries, commercials, music videos, and short films and learn the basic principles of how composition, camera angles, lighting, and sound create mood and tone. By using Adobe Premiere Pro, students will be able to edit their assignments into the final product that they envisioned. They will learn about scheduling a film shoot and all of the requirements that go along with that such as gathering talent, scouting locations, etc. At the end of the term, each student will have created their own five-minute film. This course is open to students with all levels of experience.
War in Film
Winter
Open To: Grades 9-12
Open to: Grades 9-12 How is war depicted in movies? Is it glamorized, criticized, or satirized? When are movies used as propaganda and when are they used as a tool for soul searching. Do the films influence the decision makers in Washington D.C.? Each generation tackles these and many other pertinent questions of what it means for their country to go to war. In the course “War in Film”, students will study Hollywood’s depiction of war by viewing essential and groundbreaking films from Hollywood’s greatest directors including Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and Kathryn Bigelow. This course fulfills one third of the Creative Arts departmental requirement. This course may be applied to English departmental graduation requirements in grade 12.
American Comedy: A History in Film, Radio and Television
Spring
Open to: Grades 9-12
Ever wonder why The Office makes you laugh? Will it still be funny to you in twenty years? Is comedy universal or is it generational? Are the Marx Brothers still funny? Would Stephen Colbert make people laugh in the 1950s? In this course, we will examine and analyze the progression of comedy in American entertainment for the last 100 years from vaudeville to Tik Tok. Students will explore in detail how and why certain comedy was considered funny to their audiences by putting them into their historical contexts. We will examine the politically and socially groundbreaking work of Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, George Carlin, and Richard Pryor and how comedy challenged censorship and our First Amendment rights, going all the way to the Supreme Court. At the end of the term, students will be able to clearly understand the role comedy has played in shaping American culture. This course fulfills one third of the Creative Arts departmental requirement. This course may be applied to English departmental graduation requirements in grade 12.
