“Appropriate environments are carefully crafted to accommodate [students’] respective artistic needs and interests so that they can develop and grow as creators and consumers of the arts.” These words are taken straight from Stone Ridge’s website, under the Arts Mission and Philosophy, but some students may beg to differ. While most visual arts divisions have appropriate classrooms and studios, performing arts have been arguably overlooked at Stone Ridge. The school lacks a basic necessity for students to succeed and grow to their full potential in the performing arts–a theater.
For years, students have been rehearsing in a small, compact environment with limited room to adequately spread out. The stage on which they perform is not nearly as large as it should be, and the entire facility, the Sophie Center, does not have a proper backstage area or dressing room. To get from the stage to the “dressing room,” which is a music room covered in instruments and lacks enough seats to fit all actresses at a table, the actresses must exit the building and travel outside.
For Mrs. Blakeslee, the Head of the Drama Department at Stone Ridge, the lack of performing arts facilities has been difficult to work with, to say the least. “The most important thing in a drama department is to have students involved in every aspect of the production, and because we don’t have the facilities, and until recently, a technical director, we’ve had to hire adults to do the work that the students should be doing. It’s been okay, but the department hasn’t been where it really belongs–totally in [the students’] hands. Getting a building will allow us to have the department we should have,” says Mrs. Blakeslee.
Most recently, a new tech shop called the Applied Creativity Center (AC^2) has taken over half of the “dressing room,” limiting the already insufficient amount of space the actresses have to move around, change, and do their hair and makeup. When asked about this change, Ms. Shah, the Director of Educational Technology and Innovation at Stone Ridge, was not aware that this space was previously designated for theater students during performance seasons. However, the cooperation and support shown by the Tech Department has been comforting; as Ms. Shah notes, it “has offered for the play students to use [the AC^2] during rehearsal if there are no other activities in there.”
When told about this change to the dressing room, Claire Biffl, ’16, was not surprised. “Obviously there is a theater [included] in the ten-year plan,” she states hopefully, “but the performing arts in general are the lowest of priorities here. That’s definitely not something I’m comfortable with, but it’s something I’m used to.”
Most students are thrilled and thankful that once they leave, future generations of students will have access to a performing arts center that adequately fits their needs to grow and learn. But Biffl is not the only one who feels discouraged, as several students have expressed frustration and passion surrounding this important issue in the school community.
Even from a non-biased standpoint, Julia Harrington, ’16, is dissatisfied. “As an audience member, there is not enough space in the Sophie Center for everyone to sit in an actual chair, and I don’t think there’s enough space on the actual stage either,” she comments. “I think that we need to take it more seriously because there are so many people in the Drama Department who deserve better. We spent millions of dollars on the turf field, and here we have this small, illegitimate performing arts center.” It seems as though every other department has been prioritized before the performing arts. The Athletic Department seemingly had everything it needed before the turf field was built, whereas the performing arts lack a legitimate physical space, a basic necessity.
Stone Ridge often features and celebrates alumni in the dramatic and performing arts world on its website, but according to students like Harrington, they “aren’t doing enough for the students who currently attend the school.” Until the Drama Department receives the space it deserves, students will continue pushing for necessary changes to be made in order to reach their full potential in the performing arts.
Leave a Reply