Set Builds

Productions

Upper School Theatre 

Ms. Brooke Fulton, Teacher and Director
The Upper School program offers beginning to advanced theatre classes for 9th-12th graders. Students have the opportunity to explore acting, theatrical design, the production process, and theatre in other countries. There is also a course that addresses theatre from a global social justice perspective. One course each semester carries a .5 Global Credit for students working on a Global Studies Diploma.

Upper School Tech Theatre

Mr. Jordan Ellis, Technical Theatre Director
In the Technical Theatre course of study, students accumulate skills to demonstrate the  practice creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving which are integral in helping theatre come to life. Through the art of technical theatre, students will actively be participating in the area of scenic construction, scenic design, lighting for the stage, lighting design, sound for the stage, sound design, prop construction, prop design, costume construction and costume design. Students are exposed to and discover universal connections, especially in the areas of Art, Mathematics, the Humanities, and Engineering.

Current course offerings:

• Theatre I: Introduction to Performance
• Theatre II: Advanced Acting
• PDS Players
• Theatre Around the World
• Re(Act): Theatre and Social Change
• Theatrical Production and Design
• Upper School Technical Theatre

Productions

The PD Theatre team is excited to announce  our 2024-2025 Upper School productions!

• Fall One Act
  Psycho Beach Party (PG 13 rating)
  Performance Dates
  October 17–18 at 7 p.m. and October 19 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  Audition Dates
  TBA
   
• Spring Musical
  Peter Pan
  Performance Dates
  April 10–11, 2025 at 7 p.m. and April 12, 2025 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  Audition Dates
  December 3–5 (more info to come!)

The Upper School theatre department produces at least two mainstage shows per year; a fall play and a spring musical.

Recent productions include: Once Upon a Mattress (2023), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and The Yellow Boat (2022), Xanadu (2022), If You Knew My Story: Musical Revue (2021), Much Ado About Nothing (2020), Far Away (2019), Grease (2019), Our Town (2018), Pippin (2018), Peter and the Starcatcher (2017), and Eurydice (2015)

Additional Opportunities:
Upper School acting and tech students have the opportunity to participate in the North Carolina Theatre Conference One Act Festival each fall.

In addition to group performances, advanced students often have the opportunity to mount and perform a one-act play for adjudication at the festival.

Guest Artists:
Each year students have the opportunity to attend workshops in class and outside of class with theatre and performance professionals. Past guest artists include: Opera Carolina, actors from the Broadway National tour of Beautiful the Musical, Sean McManus from the national tour of Beetlejuice, Actors Equity Actors, professional theatre designers, and stage managers.

AWARDS and NOMINATIONS

26 "BLUMEY" Awards from N.C. Blumenthal Performing Arts:

• Once Upon a Mattress 2023: Best Actor (Carson Sacco), Best Actress (Avery Thalberg), Best Supporting Actor (Astrid James), Best Supporting Actress (Cassie Miller), Best Featured Performer (John Carter Krell), Best Student Set Designer (Caroline Grubbs)
• Xanadu 2022: Best Overall Direction; Best Musical (Tier 2); Best Supporting Actor Max Odom (Winner)
• 2021 Best Actress Finalist (Katie Beason)
• Pippin 2018: Choreography Execution, Ensemble/Chorus, Supporting Actress (Isabella Patterson), Best Actor (Chris Melton)
• Sideshow 2017: Set Construction, Ensemble/Chorus, Overall Direction, Supporting Actor (David Conlin), Supporting Actress (Katlyn Gonzalez)
• Anything Goes 2016: Set Construction, Choreography Execution, Ensemble/Chorus, Overall Direction, Featured Performer (David Conlin), Supporting Actor (Aidan Clements), Supporting Actress (Katlyn Gonzalez), Best Musical
• Into the Woods 2015: Set Construction, Costume Creation, Choreography Execution, Supporting Actress (Katlyn Gonzalez), Best Actor (Thomas Laub)

North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) accolades:

• The Yellow Boat 2022: Superior Rating, Overall Regional Site Winner (Adjudicators' Choice) Excellence in Run Crew, Mhakai White won Excellence in Acting for his portrayal of Benjamin
• You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown 2022: Excellent Rating, Excellence in a Musical, Astrid James was recognized for Outstanding Acting for her portrayal of Snoopy
• Far Away 2019: Superior Rating, Isabella Patterson won Best Actress
• Poe's Midnight Dreary 2014: Superior Rating, won Best Ensemble

Student-artists learn how to communicate visually by making effective use of elements and principles of aesthetic design. Introductory courses emphasize art-making skills, materials, and processes. Advanced visual arts courses provide opportunities to explore and develop skills using various techniques in both conventional and non-traditional media.

Visual arts teachers design assignments that build confidence and encourage students to relate to their own personal and cultural experiences. To promote creativity, originality, and problem-solving skills, teachers expect visual art students to consider all possible solutions to challenging assignments.

Successful visual arts students celebrate multiple perspectives and contribute constructive commentary during class critiques. Both of which enhance valuable self-assessment skills. Art historical references made throughout the curriculum teach a lifelong appreciation of the meanings and purposes of art, artists, and cultural differences.

FIELD TRIPS:
Four-day trips planned specifically for upper school students to view art and architecture in Chicago and New York City take place every other year. Art teachers schedule and lead groups to view art at local galleries, including the Mint Museum, Bechtler Museum, NODA galleries, and McColl Center for Art at various times of the school year.

VISITING ARTISTS PROGRAMS:
Usually once or twice a year, visiting artists contribute to the visual arts curriculum with demonstrations, assignments, and critical assessment.

ARTS EVENTS & PROGRAMS:
Alumni-Faculty Exhibit
January - March
This annual event is usually held in late January until early March. Recent works created by alumni and faculty artists are displayed in the Fine Arts foyer and the Dining Hall.

Youth Art Month Regional Show (March):
Held at different school locations, works by selected lower school artists are displayed in this annual event.

End-of-the-Year/Best-of-the-Year Exhibit (May):
This annual exhibit showcases the best Middle School and Upper School artworks are gleaned from class assignments throughout the year and displayed throughout the Fine Arts building.

Spotlight on the Arts (every month):
Upper School student artists participate in performances, held on campus during upper school lunch periods.

FACULTY:

• Gabe Devereux, Lower School Visual Arts Teacher
• Richard Dewey, Upper School Visual Arts Teacher, Visual Arts Department Chair
• Herman Nicholson, Upper School Visual Arts Teacher
• Sydney Sheaffer, Upper School Visual Arts Teacher
• Lindsay Woog, Middle School Visual Arts Teacher

(Top row, left to right) Lucy Dyer, colored pencil, Art II; Imogen Santo, pen and ink, colored pencil, and  watercolor, Adv MS Art; Elizabeth Pritchard, mixed media, Art I; Sasha Levine, marker and ink, Art II; (Bottom row, left to right) Pearce Phillips, wire, 3D Design; Rose Williams, digital photograph, Photo II; Mia Danford-Klein, painted bas-relief ceramic sculpture, Art III; Roxy Grice, acrylic paint, Studio Art