Theater
Theater at Windward 2019-20
Over the past year, the Theater Area has grown exponentially, and we are thrilled to roll out a new season of performances with more opportunities for our students both on and off stage. Next year, we are ramping up our program even more with spectacular productions involving students from all over campus, in all grades.
In the document linked below, we announce our 2019-20 season, as well as these new performance opportunities for students.
"It was only in the theater that I lived." - Oscar Wilde
Extracurricular Activities
- Upper School Play
- Upper School Musical
- One-Act Play Festival
- Middle School Musical
- Advanced Theater Performance
- Windward Improv Troupe (WIT)
Upper School Play
Upper School Musical
The Performing Arts department produces one full musical theater production with extensive technical elements: set, lighting, sound, and costumes. Students rehearse rigorously and focus on character development, voice, and movement. Guest Artists join our production to give the students a professional view on a specific genre or discipline.
One-Act Play Festival
Members of our International Thespian Society produce a one-act play festival. The festival is open to 7-12 grade students and includes both previously published plays and student written pieces. Thespians assign student directors and designers to the material and coordinate rehearsals . The festival culminates in an evening of performances that showcases our student performers and their developing vision, both as directors, designers, writers, and actors.
Middle School Musical
The Performing Arts department will produce a Junior Middle School musical production with a focus on performance elements, such as character development, voice, and movement. Additional focus will be placed on technical elements—set, lighting, sound, and costumes. Students rehearse after school for 10 weeks, plus one weekend date for technical rehearsal.
Advanced Theater Performance
Windward Improv Troupe (WIT)
Middle School ComedySportz
Students have the opportunity to learn short-form improvisation games and skills. The class will focus on the basics of improvisation rules and playful games, and will help prepare students interested in auditioning for the Windward’s Upper School ComedySportz high school team.
Intro to Improvisational Theater
This improvisation workshop is designed for beginner and intermediate performers and offers techniques in, but not limited to, creating narrative, acting out scenarios, mastering playful games, discovering characters, and learning how to think on the spot. Introduction to Improvisational Theater is a perfect starting place for students who want to hone improv skills and eventually be on Windward's WIT HSL team or want to learn the skills without the pressure of performance.
Guest Artists
- James Cowan (Movement Workshop)
- Fernando Belo (Movement Workshop, ACT)
- Maggie Kiley (Monologue Workshop)
- Model 05 (film production company)
James Cowan (Movement Workshop)
James Michael Cowan, a Los Angeles based artist, graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in Acting ('13). Immediately following graduation he taught Voice and Speech with the Institute's summer program (CAPSA), before spending two months in Berlin filming the independent feature film, "Fallen Blossoms." After filming finished, James joined Source Material for their tour of "I Should Have A Party..." in Iceland, Portland, and Los Angeles. Also with Source Material, James performed "Into the Fog" in the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival, which won "Best Physical Theater Piece," the "Duende Award," and the "Producer's Encore! Award." At the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival, he remounted his role as Gregor in "Metamorphosis," based on Franz Kaftka's Novella of the same title, for which he won his second "Duende Award." Most recently, James won the "Best Short Horror Film" award at the American Grindhouse Film Festival for his role as Christopher in "Burlap." James is excited to with Windward in expanding their already stunning Arts program, and to help develop the creative minds of our students.
Fernando Belo (Movement Workshop, ACT)
Fernando Belo is a Brazilian director, choreographer, and actor based in Los Angeles, and the founder and Artistic Director of The Moving Art Collective. He's been an artist in residency at UCLA, as well as the Center for New Performance at CalArts, and he received grants from the Ministry of Culture of Brazil and The American Embassy in Brussels. His work ahead of The Moving Art Collective has been performed in Belarus, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Brazil and, most recently, at RedCat in Los Angeles. He has worked alongside prestigious directors from around the world, including Travis Preston (US), Stan Lai (CHN), Zé Renato (BRA), Oleg Glushkov (RUS) and Martin Acosta (MEX). Belo graduated with an MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts as a CalArts Scholarship recipient.
Maggie Kiley (Monologue Workshop)
A founding member of The Atlantic Theatre Company in New York City, Maggie Kiley’s specialty is teaching the Meisner Technique. She has been an actor in many films, including playing opposite Mark Wahlberg in “We Own the Night.” Maggie now is a top sought after female film and television director.
Chosen as one of eight directors for the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, and one of 20 accomplished filmmakers in the Inaugural Global Directors Initiative at FOX, Maggie made the transition from acting to directing with her award winning short film, "some boys don’t leave." The film stars Jesse Eisenberg and Eloise Mumford and played over 50 festivals, garnering top honors at Tribeca and Palm Springs.
Maggie received the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant for her debut feature, "Brightest Star." The film stars Chris Lowell, Rose McIver, and Alison Janney, and premiered at the 2013 Austin Film Festival. Gravitas Ventures released the film theatrically in 15 cities and on all VOD/ streaming platforms in early 2014. The film has gone on to play in 50 international territories and has been subtitled in 18 languages.
Maggie’s second film as writer/director, "Dial a Prayer," stars Brittany Snow and William H Macy. Dial a Prayer released theatrically and on all VOD/streaming platforms in the Spring of 2015 and continues to expand internationally. Most recently, Maggie completed the thriller "Caught," starring Anna Camp, for Mar Vista Entertainment, marking an impressive three features in just three years. "Caught" premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival as one of eight films in competition in the genre section: Nightfall, and was later acquired by Lifetime.
Maggie is an ensemble member of Off-Broadway's critically acclaimed Atlantic Theater Company, and part of the filmmaking collective Film Fatales. Up next, she is attached to direct two features: Eyal Alony’s "Skin Deep" (for which she was selected as a Film Independent Directing Lab Fellow) as well as Alissa Dean’s "Cricket," with producers Lynn Hendee and Bill Chartoff.
Model 05 (film production company)
Model 05 is a Los Angeles-based production company specializing in helping filmmakers and brand managers bring their visions to reality. Model 05 was started by a group of six artists, each specialized in a different field, who started a collective in order to establish a body of work that reflected their desire to communicate the human experience in an elevated and slightly fantastic setting. Since its inception Model 05 has grown to include documentation, interview, commercial, real estate, photography, and narrative work.
Fall Musical
The Performing Arts department produces one full musical theater production with extensive technical elements: set, lighting, sound, and costumes. Students rehearse rigorously and focus on character development, voice, and movement. Guest Artists join our production to give the students a professional view on a specific genre or discipline.
Upper School Play
Spring Musical
The Performing Arts department will produce a Junior Middle School musical production with focus on performance elements; character development, voice, and movement, along with a focus on technical elements; set, lighting, sound, and costumes. Students rehearse after school for 10 weeks, plus one weekend date for technical rehearsal.
One Act Festival
Members of our International Thespian Society produce a one-act play festival. The festival is open to Seventh-12th Grade students and includes both previously published plays and student written pieces. Thespians assign student directors and designers to the material and coordinate rehearsals. The festival culminates in an evening of performances that showcases our student performers and their developing vision, be it as directors, designers, writers, or actors.
