Performing Arts

From Middle School on, our students study improvisation, employ the methodologies of Stanislavski and Viola Spolin, and emulate the moves of great Broadway choreographers and directors like Bob Fosse. They analyze plays, learn to direct full-length productions for different types of theaters and, in the case of one student schooled in stage lighting, become master electrician for an all-Ohio play of Dead Man Walking. Our campus is home to a black box theater and The Bettcher Convocation Center, which houses a proscenium stage and a state-of-the-art sound system.

The Middle School puts on a production every year and the Upper School puts on two. David and Lisa, the first Lake Ridge Academy theatre production to be adjudicated for the State Thespian Conference, was selected for a full performance at the 2008 event, and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten was selected to perform at the 2009 state conference.

We have a troupe of the International Thespian Society, an organization that honors student excellence in theater arts. Our troupe has 21 members – a significant number for a school of our size.

Lake Ridge Academy's drama students also have opportunities to see real life applications of the art of theater. For example, Wendall Hinkle, the location scout for “My Name is Earl” visited campus to speak with students about his career in film and television location scouting and lighting. Dan Knechtges, Tony Award nominated Broadway choreographer, held a Q&A with students about dance, the creative life, and how one forges a career in the arts. (www.danknechtges.com) And after attending the National Broadway Touring Company’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 20 Upper Schoolers engaged in a master class with Katie Boren, the dance captain of that show.

Below you will find a list of recent theatrical productions at Lake Ridge Academy's Bettcher Convocation Center. Click on the performance title to see photos of the production.