King School was swept up in the Roaring Twenties last week when upper school students brought “The Drowsy Chaperone” to the stage in the annual musical. The show was a resounding success, not only for its fabulous performances but for the collaboration and grit students demonstrated in producing it.
Arts
The Power of Creativity
At King School, our students are exposed to many forms of creative expression and encouraged to pursue an artistic passion or discover a new one.
King’s Performing Arts program, which includes theater, music, and dance, offers students the opportunity to make personal and cultural discoveries by participating in a creative, disciplined, and inquiry-based process. Through a collaborative experience, students develop self-confidence, perseverance, imagination, reflective thinking, and intuition.
The Art and Design program at King School is a comprehensive curriculum including a wide variety of visual art classes, digital media, photography, animation, fashion design, filmmaking, and more. The program emphasizes the importance of original creative thinking and personal artistic expression. Students learn to use a wide range of art media, techniques, and design concepts through assignments that are engaging and challenging.
Performing Arts Center and Art Studios
King’s stunning state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center (PAC), plus multiple art studios across campus, offers tremendous support for students' creative pursuits. The lobby of the (PAC) doubles as an extraordinary exhibition space for students, professional artists, and alumni.
Arts in Action
King’s middle school choir brought harmony to Providence! Thirteen talented students journeyed to Providence, Rhode Island, for the ACDA Eastern Regional Honor Choir. Selected from over 1,800 auditions, they showcased their a cappella skills, made new friends, and wowed the audience. Thanks to Ms. Bach's guidance, our students hit all the right notes. It was a celebration of dedication, friendship, and the power of music!
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers has selected Cece Campbell ’26, Sydney Hauben ’25, Olivia Rodrigues ’25, and Charlotte Janney ’24 for Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition for creative teens and boast a long list of notable alumni, including Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Tracy Reese, and Lena Dunham.
Students took a journey into the heart of American history through the lens of the nation's beloved pastime in the upper school History course "Stars, Stripes, Seams, & Stitches: Baseball & American Culture.” The semester-long study, designed and taught by History Department Chair Patrick O’Neill, uses baseball as a lens to investigate and assess complex historical and societal issues while examining the origins and expansion of the game from the late 19th to the late 20th century. The course, now in its second year, was conceived out of a desire to explore American history in a unique way.
King’s Performing Arts Center comes alive with music during the annual Winter Holiday Concerts, celebrating the school’s diverse cultures with family and friends. The Middle and Upper Schools collaborated for an instrumental performance on Tuesday, December 12, featuring a pre-concert by all 100 Project Music students at King. The Lower School Winter Concert followed on Friday, December 15.
The audience in the Performing Arts Center was transported to Charles Dicken’s England in the 1800s for delightful performances of “A Pickwick Christmas” on Friday, December 8, and Saturday, December 9. The performance was the first-ever on-stage production of the holiday play by playwright Brian Lohmann.
Upper and middle school students explored the art of cyanotype printing from Monday, December 4, to Friday, December 8, with visiting artist Leah Caroline, culminating in a large-scale installation in the Performing Arts Center. Cyanotype is a nineteenth-century photographic printing technique originally used for recording natural elements. In this process, plant materials, found objects or film negatives are placed on chemically treated paper or fabric, exposed to sunlight, and then developed in water. This development process transforms the paper from a bright yellow-green to a brilliant Prussian blue, leaving the unexposed areas white.
King School’s Art and Design program provides students across divisions with a strong technical foundation to express their ideas and identities in visual form. As students explore different techniques and ideas, they bring their artistic visions to life. Whether it's sketching en plein air, sculpting in our studios, or harnessing the power of digital illustration, artists thrive throughout King, refining their skills and enhancing their capacity to communicate through the language of art.
The Performing Arts Department is offering two new classes in its new recording studio. Audio Engineering I is being offered for the first time this semester, and Audio Engineering II will be offered next. The classes allow students to dive into audio production techniques and use their new skills to shape their artistic style, which are already emerging in the students’ new music mixes.