10/30/2008

The Upper School’s Conservatory of Theater recently traveled to the Pasadena Public Library to perform an adaptation of The Spoon River Anthology for Middle School students from St. Andrew’s School. Each fall through the Pasadena Cultural Passport Program, the Conservatory’s advanced theater students share their dramatic skills and knowledge of theater with Pasadena’s school children. Earlier this fall the Conservatory presented two performances of The Spoon River Anthology in the School’s Ahmanson Black Box Theater with original music by noted composer for film and television, Bill Brendle.

The Spoon River Anthology, written by Edgar Lee Masters in 1915, is a collection of 244 short, free-form poems that collectively describe life in the fictional small town of Spoon River. Each poem is a personal epitaph delivered by a deceased citizen. Some recite their histories; others make observations of life, while a few tell how they really died. Speaking without fear of consequences, they construct a picture of life in their town that is stripped of any pretense. The interplay of various villagers forms a gripping, though not pretty, whole.

“After the closing night of The Spoon River Anthology, we were so excited to have the opportunity to perform in Pasadena as part of the Cultural Passport Program,” said sophomore Carly G. “It was a small theater, so we were able to look at members of the audience during our monologues and observe their reactions. It was so interesting to see how brilliantly some of the students responded to this very dark, intense play. Many of them rarely get the chance to see live theater. It was an honor to perform for the students and introduce them to this very interesting and different type of play.”

“After the performance, the students were divided into three groups and we discussed the play with them,” said senior Juliet B. “What I enjoyed most was not only hearing their responses and ideas, but seeing the excitement they brought to our conversation and sharing my enthusiasm for theater and poetry with them.”

Dr. Julianne De Sal, director of the production and Chair of the Department of Theater and Dance, explains this project as a service learning opportunity. “It differs from standard community outreach in that our work with the Pasadena Cultural Passport Program is directly connected to our curriculum in theater. As a class, we decide what it is that we want the students in the audience to learn from our work. Then through our performance and group discussions, we strive to bring them that level of literary and artistic experience. This reinforces the community outreach aspect of the production with the first lesson of acting, which is to focus one’s attention on the other person.”

Pamela Gaggiolo, Librarian of the Pasadena Public Library, described the Pasadena Cultural Passport Program as “a celebration of literature through the art of theater. It introduces the students to different art forms highlighting the ties between the written word and performance, while exposing the students to the library’s resources.”

This is the ninth year that Dr. Julianne De Sal and her Conservatory students have participated in the Pasadena Cultural Passport Program.