DRAMA STUDENTS TAKE MEMORABLE TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY
Each year, BMHS students embark on fun and educational trips all over the globe. Over the 2019 Christmas holidays a group of students, along with faculty chaperones Megan Ashby-Moreau ’01, Melissa Rhoades-Rudder ’01 and Sierra Evans ’10 traveled to New York City for an unforgettable time. The trip was organized by the theater department and included 21 students, many of whom are involved in Drama Lab. 

One of the purposes of the trip was to provide the students with a professional theater experience. The trip’s tour guide was a working actress who has lived in the city for over 20 years. Her knowledge of the city and the theater industry was invaluable, as the students experienced parts of the city not necessarily known by tourists. In all, the group saw three shows and each was its own educational experience.

After seeing Come From Away, Bishop’s students were able to talk with one of the cast members. The play is based on a true story about planes that were forced to land in a remote Canadian town on 9/11. The cast member explained to the students that she and her castmates were able to meet many of the people their characters were based on and spoke about her experiences meeting her real life counterpart. Their viewing of Little Shop of Horrors was particularly special as almost half of the students on the trip performed in Bishop’s production of the show. The students even got to meet the star, Jonathan Groff, who many recognized as the voice of Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen films.

The student’s viewing of To Kill a Mockingbird was perhaps the most impactful experience. In addition to meeting the star of the show, Golden Globe winner Ed Harris, senior Svetlana Altshuler ’20, the president of Bishop’s American Sign Language (ASL) Club was able to have a wonderful conversation in ASL with a deaf cast member of the show.

The students also received a private workshop, which focused on improv, with a working actress. “[The actress] said our students were more advanced than most she works with,” said Moreau. “Every student participated, even those who don’t normally act or do improv at school, and they were all amazing.”

Ice skating in Central Park and touring The Met museum, 30 Rock Plaza, and 5th Avenue were just a few of the other activities enjoyed by the Bishop contingent. The students were also able to meet Tim Fitzsimons ’09, a working actor in New York and a Drama Lab alumnus, who spoke about his experiences working in the theater industry.

“What made the trip so successful was the students,” said Moreau. “They were such a wonderful group to travel with. They made our school so proud… and I had many comments from random strangers about how great they were. They were so mature and they had the best attitude in every situation.”

NEWS & NOTES

This Spring, BMHS hosted several virtual events focusing on the arts as a way to provide some peace during the pandemic and the height of the quarantine. The first Virtual Visual Arts Show, the Mother’s Day Virtual Concert, and the Virtual Talent Show for students provided a respite for the community.

The Virtual Visual Arts Show replaced the Annual Arts Fest Week activities that historically take place on campus in the Spring. Students and faculty displayed their talents in drawing, painting, graphic design, and photography. Thank you to all the participants and special thanks to our art department for their tireless work: department chair Jennifer Kallok ’88, Brian Haynes ’89, Alica Muldrow, and Catherine Wilson. View the Arts Show at the link below.

https://www.emaze.com/@AOZZZCWIO/bishop-montgomery-art-show-2020

On May 10, BMHS presented a Virtual Mother’s Day Concert across its social media platforms. Alumni and faculty musicians performed uplifting songs to help lift the spirits of everyone during a difficult time in the world. Just days after the concert, Bishop hosted its first student Virtual Talent Show. Students performed songs and dramatic monologues and showed off other special talents, including extreme hula-hooping. Thank you to all the students who performed and to our faculty judges. Watch the concert and talent show below.