Class I Play

The Class I play is an annual and anticipated Winsor tradition. For Winsor’s students, the months of collaboration, and anticipation of delivering their first performance for the entire school, helps bring the class together in a meaningful and memorable way.  This year, “As with every performing arts project over the past year, the Class I play began with a meeting of the teachers saying ‘OK, how are we gonna do THIS one?’” said Performing Arts faculty Jeremy Johnson. When Performing Arts faculty Carey McKinley suggested a children’s book based on the Maya Angelou poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” alongside paintings by artist Jean Michel Basquiat, Mr. Johnson says, “we knew we’d found a way in.” 
 
Over the past four months, Class I students created dances, wrote lyrics, improvised scenes, and reflected on their ideas about fear and bravery. Using Basquiat’s bright and childlike artwork, they created their own costumes and images in his style. Using Angelou’s verse, they created poems that echoed her rhymes. The final result is an exploration of sounds, words, movements, and ideas—including some creative flashlight maneuvering and colorful globes for good measure.
 
The Class I play “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” was unveiled to the entire student body, plus faculty, and staff in Assembly. Winsor families can log on to WILD to view a recording of the Class I play under Resources.
 
Many thanks to the Performing Arts faculty who made this production come to life—Mr. Johnson, Ms. Pribble, Mr. Puigbo, Ms. Brady, Mr. Marshall, and especially Ms. McKinley, who took all the video material and created a cohesive whole.
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