Class Plays and Theater at RSSAA

10th Grade Cast of The Birds by Aristophanes

"There is a deep social element to the entire curriculum in a Waldorf school. Everything includes an element of social balance and the gathering of any class into a harmonious working organism. Plays work magic in getting to this goal."...from Why Waldorf Schools do Plays Every Year in Lower, Middle, and High School in Library Lady's Corner [April 05 2016] Waldorf Publications Blog

Grade 12: Shakespeare Play

Every year the Senior Class at Rudolf Steiner High School presents a play by Shakespeare in their final days before graduation, under the direction of Ms. Mary Emery. This year the Class of 2016 will be performing As You Like It on Thursday 6/16 and Friday 6/17 evenings at the High School.

12 Graders rehearsing As You Like It in the Great Hall

Grade 11: Shakespeare Night

On the evening of February 10, 2016, the 11th Graders finished work for their Shakespeare block by presenting select scenes from the plays they have studied with their High School English teacher, Ms. Emery.

Grade 10: Greek Play

At the end of March, the Sophomore Class performed their Greek Comedy, The Birds by Aristophanes, under the direction of High School teacher Ms. Denise McCauley, along with movement coaching from visiting eurythmist Sylvie Richard.

10th Graders performed with bird masks and humor on 3/31/2016

Letter from an Oakland Steiner School teacher at the play:

Dear Tenth Grade Class and Mrs. McCauley, 

From the first appearance of a beaked hand puppet to the last lightning bolt, the Rudolf Steiner High School tenth grade production of “The Birds,” by Aristophanes, was hilarious. The premise, that three Athenians were fleeing from the excesses and bureaucratic intrusions of their state government felt as immediate and spot-on as the best Saturday Night Live routine. 

The audience was elevated to the kingdom of the birds via many individual performances, such as the first “hoot” of Epops (Chloe C.) and borne aloft by the twittering and fluttering of the colorful avian Greek chorus. The boisterous efforts of the humans learning to fly and the distribution of feathers to the audience built on the effect, including the audience in the on-going joke. Many small moments, like the appearance of the goddess Iris (Deborah F.) as if straight out of Brooklyn, brought robust laughter to the room. 

In our own struggling democracy of the 21st century, the tenth grade thespians remind us of the essential nature of the arts now as in classical Greece. Although Aristophanes took only a second place prize when his play was first performed in the Dionysia Festival of 414 B.C., this small play earned a first prize last night!

Thank you and congratulations!

Maureen Shaughnessy 4/1/2016

Grade 8: Class Play - Musical

On June 3, 2016, the 8th Graders in Ms. Honor's class presented a wonderful musical production of The Wizard of Oz at the Lower School.

[Thanks to David Borneman, 8th Grade Parent, for recording the play!]

Grade 6: Puppet Play

On February 8-10, 2016, the 6th Graders in Ms. Tucker's Class put on a great shadow puppet performance of Scheherezade and the Arabian Nights, raising money to fund their 8th Grade trip as well as for donation to the Flint, MI, community to help with the water crisis there. The class worked very hard on this puppet play --- they wrote the script, designed the costumes, and also made the stage and puppets themselves!

Class Plays at the Lower School

All of the Grades 1-8 students experienced the magic of performing for their schoolmates and the community during daytime and evening performances of their 2016 Class Plays including 1st Grade (3/31), 2nd Grade (2/4), 3rd Grade (4/21), 4th Grade (3/30), 5th Grade (2/5), and the traditional 7th Grade (5/10) Canterbury Tales. 

Of special note was the magical gathering at our Annual Michaelmas Festival at the Lower School on Friday, September 25, 2015 when students in Grades 1-4 started off the year with a wonderful performance (1st Grade gnomes, 2nd Grade comets, 3rd Grade dragon, 4th grade St. Michael with villagers and musicians) followed by singing from their older schoolmates in Grades 5-12.

Other Theatrical Events from RSSAA This Year:

RSHS Drama Club presented The Inexplicable Return of Ruben Beckman, under the direction of Ms. Mary Emery, on evenings of Thu November 20 through Sat November 22, 2015 at the HS Campus. Every other year the Drama Club has presented a musical with choral director Cheryl VanDuzen, such as last year's production of Les Miserables.

RSHS Drama Club Performance for Grades 1-5 of The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs, A Grimm's Fairy Tale was a free event specially given for the Lower School audience on a Sunday afternoon, January 31, 2016 at the HS Campus.

Early Childhood Puppet Play at Local Assisted-Living Facility on Saturday, April 2, 2016, was a lovely event in Ann Arbor. The Early Childhood teachers put on a Puppet Play at University Living, encouraging young children to attend this event as inter-generational activities are so precious for both our seniors and our little ones. 

The Improv Show on Friday evening of May 20, 2016, at the HS Campus was "a night of unscripted, unplanned, and guaranteed un­boring improvisational acting!"