March 6-8, the Fine & Performing Arts Department hosted Arts Expo Week: MAKE ROOM FOR THE ARTS to celebrate Youth Art Month and Music in the Schools Month. Student artwork was displayed in a Pop-up Art Gallery outside of the cafeteria. During all lunches, students in the Fine & Performing Arts program demonstrated a taste of the arts through live music, drawing, painting, and wheel throwing demonstrations.
Youth Art Month is a national celebration endorsed by Council for Art Education, the National Art Education Association, and the Massachusetts Art Education Association. Artwork from 326 MA students in grades K-12 will be on display at the Worcester Art Museum from March 1st – March 31st.
This annual celebration, which typically takes place in March, emphasizes the value of art education for all children and encourages support for quality art programs in public and private schools. Admission for the YAM exhibit hall is always free.
The artwork of Algonquin students Leah Grinblatas, Josephine Wyble, Anna MacDonald (brain), and Jayne Antino (landscape) are all featured in the Youth Art Month Exhibit.
This year’s winter show, PROOF by David Auburn, proved to be a valuable experience for the cast, crew and directors. The Tony and Pulitzer Award winning script provided a challenge due to its mature themes and the amount of dialogue. The entire show was performed Feb 28 and March 2 for receptive audiences who then had the chance to ask the cast questions regarding the script, the characters and the experience both nights. The third performance, of Act One only, was entered in the Mass. High School Drama Festival, which Algonquin hosted in the black box on March 1st.
Festival gave the cast and crew the opportunity to meet students from both Dennis-Yarmouth and Ayer-Shirley and to view their 40 minutes shows. Our crew was responsible for helping to tech these other shows, and Algonquin won the prestigious ‘ensemble award’ where the 4 senior class cast members were celebrated with individual acting awards. More importantly, we hosted a dynamic afternoon and evening of theater where students were given verbal feedback from veteran theater professionals who both supported choices and offered suggestions to improve each show. We had our last performance after this event and we were able to utilize the judge’s comments to further improve our show and to recognize the hard work we invested in rehearsals was recognized.
This show was co-directed by drama teacher Maura Morrison and bio teacher Brian Kelly. The set was designed by art teacher George Hancin and applied arts teacher Dan Strickland. Art students worked on construction and painting. The crew of 10 students worked backstage.
To celebrate Arts Week, our National Art Honor Society held a paint Night on March 7. Our students guided nearly 40 painters in creating a beautiful sunset landscape, working on easels, tables, and computer desks. Positive energy filled the room, fueled by a relaxing playlist, positive painting affirmations, and cookies, all provided by our NAHS members. Attendees included artists of all levels, parents and grandparents, young children, high school students, and teachers, giving our art students a chance to mentor their their mentors, guiding them outside their comfort zone, to the place where our young artists feel most at home. Participants were ecstatic to share their paintings, and the fun they had creating them!
