The Foundation for a Meaningful Life
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA
Arts

Drama

Play your part.

Whether you dream of a starring role, love being in the chorus, or are an enthusiastic backstage helper, there is something for everyone in drama at Fay. With opportunities in every division, students are able to stretch themselves creatively while also developing confidence, poise, and public speaking skills.

In the Primary School, our first and second graders work on a musical show with their classroom teachers and the Music Department. In addition they have the opportunity to participate in drama during Extended Fay.

In Lower School, Drama is a year-long course that meets once during each six-day rotation. Students in grades three and four are engaged in a variety of creative games and dramatic exercises throughout the year that expand their theatrical vocabulary and increase their physical, vocal, and imaginative skills as they learn how to collaborate together. Curricular content and texts for grades three and four fluctuate from year to year, but typically draws from youth literature and the wide variety of cultures found in Fay's own student population. 
Students in grade five hone their playwriting skills by working together in small groups to create short plays through their participation in an annual writing festival, which culminates in a showcase of original work presented to the community. In sixth grade, students learn about the life and times of a particular American playwright and explore the characters, style, and themes of their work by performing in a fully realized theatrical production.
In Upper School, all seventh graders have Drama as part of their schedule for their entire year, and they participate in a Shakespeare showcase. Students learn how to read, understand, analyze, speak, and perform Shakespeare's language through a close study of one of his plays, which is then performed for the Fay community. Eighth and ninth graders have the option of taking an intensive drama elective in which they scaffold their performance abilities to higher levels through scene studies.

Finally, all students in the Upper School have the opportunity to participate in a spring musical, which is always a highlight of the year. Recent shows have included Oliver, Seussical, High School Musical, The Pirates of Penzance, Once Upon a Mattress, Once on This Island, Annie, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. Students can audition for roles, and they can also get involved in other aspects of the production, such as stage managing, designing and creating costumes, and building props and sets.

Meet our Drama Teacher

Adam Crescenzi is a director, educator, and playwright who holds a Master of Arts in Educational Theatre from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Vassar College. For twenty years, he facilitated theater programs at New York City’s most influential arts-education organizations, including Theatre Development Fund, Theatre for a New Audience, New York City Center, The American Place Theatre, and historic Flushing Town Hall. He was also an Elementary Theatre Educator for the NYC Department of Education and an Artist-in-Residence at Manhattan’s Public School 3, where he produced over dozens of original plays for children, including It’s All Greek to Me!?, which continues to be performed at schools and theaters across the United States.

In addition, Adam has collaborated with the immersive theater company Woodshed Collective, studied with the world-renowned Shakespearean vocal coach Cicely Berry, and worked with the late Nobel Peace Prize nominee Augusto Boal at The Centre for the Theatre of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His recent directing credits in New England include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (The Center for Arts in Natick), Into the Woods (Walpole Footlighters), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Stadium Theatre). His work has been honored by Broadway World Rhode Island and the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres. When not making theater, Adam enjoys brunch, gardening, and spending time with his wily Maine Coon cats, Rex and Roy.
48 MAIN STREET
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA 01772
main number 508-490-8250
admission 508-490-8201