The performing arts curriculum is designed to encourage all students to participate in music or theater performance.
In the Middle School and Upper School, performance-based programs such as chorus, instrumental ensembles, and theatre productions are complemented by course offerings in theory, history, and methodology, which promote active engagement and incorporate performance wherever possible.
This emphasis on performance is based on the growing consensus among educators that hands-on engagement, whether through playing an instrument or acting on stage, is the most effective form of arts education.
Students in the Lower School and Middle School participate in several special Assemblies and programs which incorporate theater, singing, and performance.
I am continually amazed and humbled by the talent, creativity, and courage that our students bring to the stage each year. Given little more than a venue and some guidance, it is the students who drive our programs, inspire our community, and breathe new life and vitality into the arts at every opportunity.
Performing Arts Faculty
Recent Theater Productions:
- I Never Saw Another Butterfly
- Into the Woods
- Schoolhouse Rock
- The Bald Soprano
- The Lion King, Jr.
- Our Town
- Why Do We Laugh?
In February 2020, Dexter Southfield students participated in the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG) High School Theater Festival. For their performance in "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," four students were awarded Best Actor Awards. The student-produced lighting also received an Excellence in Lighting Award.
After School Lessons
Learning an instrument improves memory, math, and listening skills; teaches perseverance and discipline; boosts reading and comprehension skills; enhances coordination; and encourages self-expression. Private instruction for piano, strings, woodwinds, brass, and other instruments is offered, as well as group violin and group piano lessons, beginning after the end of the academic day. Families can choose between 30, 45, and 60-minute lessons, which are open to students of all ages.