At Dwight, theater students work through IB units of inquiry to step into the shoes of others and express their own unique experiences. There is also no shortage of extracurricular theater opportunities at Dwight. Students can participate in productions after school as performers, directors, designers, and technicians guided by working professionals in Dwight’s Black Box Theater and off-Broadway theaters.

The full range of theater learning and activities at Dwight includes:

• Acting, directing, playwriting
• Musical theater, devised theater, collaborative theater, commedia dell’arte
• On-camera acting skills, play analysis, multi-media performance
• Design and technical skills in lighting, sound, projection, and scenic art
• Technology use including ETC Ion lighting console and QLab

Theater Across Grade Levels:

For students from Pre-K to grade 5, learning through dramatic play is an integral part of the curriculum. They enact stories, role play, and let their imaginations soar.

Beginning in Middle School, students create theatrical worlds by acting, designing, directing, and playwriting. In the role of audience members, students consider how enacted stories shape their worldview. They become comfortable with taking risks, practice storytelling through performance, receive peer feedback, and collaborate on a shared vision.

In Upper School, students expand their understanding, skills, and experience by studying, creating, and attending performances. In grades 9 and 10, they explore a range of theatrical forms and create original works. Students are also encouraged to perform curricular work in Scene Nights to practice communicating with an audience. 
In grades 11 and 12, students become theater artists in their own right. They study performance practice across cultures, through the lenses of theater theorists, and create unique works inspired by their studies. Theater practice at this level emphasizes not only the “how,” but also the “why” of communicating. The culmination of student work is performing pieces they build from the ground up, including staging and design.

Visual arts

Visual arts are organized around the creative cycle: planning, creating, and evaluating art. Students gain confidence and ability through a thorough immersion in traditional drawing and painting. They are encouraged to explore their individual creative abilities and master techniques appropriate to their chosen area of expression. Students are exposed to artistic and aesthetic expressions of other cultures and are offered many opportunities to explore the galleries, museums, and international art world centered in New York City. Dwight's studio art courses are designed help students become developing artists with a critical eye, an inquiring mind, and an individual approach. 

Visual Arts Across Grade Levels

The foundation for the Dwight visual arts journey is built in Preschool and Kindergarten. Our young students are encouraged to express themselves through hands-on learning activities that help them acquire skills in sensory observation, which they will expand during their years at Dwight.

In Kindergarten, students learn about color and line, working with their own sketchbooks and various mediums. With inquiry as a guiding principle of the IB, the visual arts curriculum connects with and extends the transdisciplinary themes and topics that students continue exploring in grades 1-5.

Students are encouraged to be curious and ask questions about art and its power of personal and cultural expression. They explore works by significant artists across different times and cultures, hone their observation skills, and learn to understand and interpret the language of art through different forms of analysis.

In both Middle and Upper Schools, students are encouraged to question how they can better understand the complexities of the world as consumers and makers of art. Through deeper critical and historical studies of the art world, students investigate the relationships among artists, their artworks, and audiences from multiple cultural, political, historical, and social perspectives.

Digital Media

In Dwight's photography studies, students learn how to operate a digital SLR by adjusting aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. They learn rules of composition, light, color, and framing; and then they break those rules when necessary. Assignments include a self-portrait, a photo essay, sports photography, nature, and urban subjects. While reviewing their work, students are constantly challenged to ask, "What makes a photograph great?"

Film

Film is both a powerful communication medium and an art form. Building on the structured and unstructured film-making experiences of students, Dwight’s program emphasizes the creative and academic sides of film. Students work individually and collaboratively to develop the professional and technical skills needed to express themselves creatively through film. The IB Film course focuses on clarity of understanding, critical thinking, reflective analysis, effective involvement, and imaginative synthesis achieved through practical engagement in the art and craft of film.

Dwight’s Master Theater Program connects students who have a strong interest in theater with members of the New York professional theater community. This in-depth theater learning experience is designed specifically for high school students, but mirrors those at the college level. The program provides participants with direct contact with artists working on Broadway and Off-Broadway stages. It also offers the opportunity to build public speaking skills and the ability to think and act creatively on the spot.

The most unique and exciting feature of our program is our working relationships with the Manhattan Theater Club, Atlantic Theater Company, and the Movement Theater Studio, as well as with several independent artists and casting directors. Professionals from these organizations have taught acting workshops and attended performances at their theaters with Dwight students. During one annual session, a professional/creative from the film world teaches students an essential on-camera workshop modeled after industry film acting classes. Mentoring is another integral part of the Master Theater Program. Our expert program director, Terry Christgau, personally provides guidance to help students pursue their spark of genius in theater or music, on and off campus, connecting them to resources and additional programs to nurture their further development and success.

Every student who enrolls for a full year may receive personalized, one-on-one professional coaching sessions. These can include acting strategies, audition preparation, and consultation about the application process for performing arts colleges, as well as professional tracks available in New York and the wider industry. Individualized in-depth training and coaching for auditions are also available by special arrangement for an additional fee.

For questions about the Master Theater Program, please contact Terry Christgau, Director of Master Theater and Upper School Theater.

The Dwight Conservatory, an integral part of our Music Department, offers students in grades 1-12 individual lessons in a wide range of musical instruments and a breadth of musical styles. After-school lessons are conveniently located on campus, Monday through Friday, from 3-6 pm.

Students of any and all experience levels are taught by a dedicated team of creative, experienced music professionals, many of whom are graduates of prestigious institutions such as Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Conservatory faculty continue to maintain active careers as orchestra members, chamber musicians, and recitalists in the New York metropolitan area and abroad.

Students study consistently with their private teacher throughout the school year, and have the opportunity to perform at annual Conservatory recitals in the winter and spring.

For questions regarding the Dwight Conservatory Program, please contact Emma Mooradian, Head of Conservatory.