Behind the scenes of the Rashi Theater Program

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The Rashi Theater Program is off to a great start for the 2023-24 season. Along with grade level plays that happen throughout the school year, we have a very busy elective program.  In the Middle School, the students are working hard both in-school and after-school on the production of "he Trumpet of  the Swan.  After-school there are 27 students, in Grades 5-8, that are working on both the staging of the show as well as the technical production. 

Twelve Dancing Princess Cast

The After School Drama elective for Lower School will present, Twelve Dancing Princesses in December. There are already 24 students, in Grades 3-5, on Mondays, busy working on staging. The Middle School students, in Grades 6-8, support the show during their electives programs. 



MS Afterschool Technical Elective

The Tuesday Middle School elective is working on props and costumes for The Trumpet of the Swan.  They use the Design Thinking Protocol to understand the needs of the show. Students researched the fashion of the 1970s and applied their findings to various parts in the show like working class and school children.  The Friday Design elective chose to focus on scenic painting for the production. Students consult the director and the technical director to design scenic shots for the set and then take their designs and bring them to life on stage. The in-school electives are supported by the After School technical students that design the lights, sound and scenery for the current production. The After School students will become many of the crew heads for each of the technical areas of production.  Both the in-school and after-school students contribute to the construction of the set. 

Our Middle School Grade 8 Theater Officers are hard at work planning out the season.  They hope to have a few theater trips this year, including a show in Boston, as well as some of the Local High School productions.  They started to discuss the process for the Middle School Theater Festival in May---for which Rashi will be one of the host sites this year---as well as some potential theater advocacy opportunities.

Kabbalat Shabbat Grade 8 Tech Team
Our Middle School students are also part of the technical team which runs the weekly Lower School Kabbalat Shabbat. These students set up the stage for the service. They also run the lights and sound from the tech booth and support Rabbi Clevenger, Rabbi Emily, and Rabbi Plumb as needed. The Grade 8 team worked hard through the month of September to adapt to changes in the Kabbalat Shabbat programing this year, including a change in location for the Middle School, and they set the tone for the Grade 7 and Grade 6 students to join them in the booth and understand how important the "unseen" work is to successfully run services, programs, or theatrical performances in the theater space. 

Submitted by Bonny Parlee and Abbie Sockett




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