Don’t worry, if you’ll be attending a performance of the seventh and eighth grade play either tonight or tomorrow, there are no spoilers in this column. Only an appreciation. So read on, dear friends.
This play, or musical in alternating years, is really the “Capstone” of the Belmont Day theater program. This hit me squarely in the funny bone when I stopped by the Palandjian Arts Center this week and caught our oldest students on stage putting the final touches on the performances you will soon enjoy. The play, Thirty Minutes Till Boarding, is set at Boston Logan International Airport, where flight delays are piling up due to a snowstorm, and travelers are dealing with the accompanying stresses and emotions.
The revolving and evolving scene in the boarding area surely features some big moments and big laughs. However, what caught me during my brief preview were the supporting moments from the cast that give the play its texture and really bring this shared moment in the airport to life. While the actors in the foreground pushed the plot forward, their fellow actors sat behind them in the waiting area, and they looked bored, yawned, laughed, stretched, fell uncomfortably asleep, tried to read the newspaper, flipped through a magazine, yammered on their phones, fiddled with their headphones, annoyed their siblings, rolled their eyes, and stared off into space. Yes, I know, as a parent and teacher, that these are all things middle schoolers do so well IRL, but I have never seen them deployed so well in a dramatic setting. And that speaks to the intentional work our theater arts teaching team does to build up not only skilled and expressive actors, but also responsible, collaborative, and patient actors.
Our students debut on the BDS stage as first graders, singing a few songs in the annual first- and second-grade play. It’s always a fun and very cute moment that, frankly, is a miracle of coordination by our theater, music, and classroom teachers. For the students, it is their introduction to BDS theater education and performance. Each year after first grade, the songs get a bit more complex, more lines must be learned, new characters must be brought to life, and new stage movements must be rehearsed and mastered. Through each stage, pun intended, of this education, Susan Dempsey and Chris Parsons are there, encouraging each student to challenge themselves until they are confident to stand fully facing the audience, are loud enough to be heard at the back of the PAC, and understand their responsibility to their fellow castmates and crew, the audience, and the story itself.
It’s our students’ development that is the biggest star of every Belmont Day School play. So, be sure to take a moment while watching Thirty Minutes Till Boarding to appreciate those subtle acts in the background of each scene. And know and enjoy the fact that each one of those middle schoolers’ yawns, eye rolls, annoyed looks, and blank stares from the stage is just some great acting this time.
I hope to see you at the play! Bravo to our seventh and eighth grade actors, the crew, and their directors.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
