Arts

Drama

For the Love of Drama

In drama classes, the Viola Spolin method is used as a basis for theater training for comedy and straight drama. Students learn improvisation and present various scenes to classmates for discussion and critiques. The Upper School productions generally include Shakespeare in the fall and a musical in the spring that brings Broadway a little closer to home.
MPCDS presents William Shakespeare's silly romantic comedyLOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST!
 
The King of Navarre and three of his lords make a pact to swear off women for three years and devote themselves to study. What happens, then, when the Princess of France and her entourage of ladies arrive with urgent business for the King? Will the men keep their sworn oaths to be pure in mind and body, or will the women force them to break their vows and embrace romance? With colorful characters, misdirected love letters, secret affairs, and ridiculous disguises, LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST is a giddy and sweet celebration of falling in love.  
 
Shakespeare's play, believed to have been written about 1597 for a commissioned court performance, satirizes different historical figures of the day and features the Bard at perhaps his most word-playful. As the play has aged, it's lost the connection to the period personalities upon which it's based; and it is embraced now as more of a curiosity. Although the plot is wafer-thin, the characters are fun and the language rich. For our production, we've made some edits and "improvements," as some of the jokes and wordplay have not stood the test of time; but in its original format, the play includes Shakespeare's longest single speech, his longest scene, and the longest word in the canon: "honorificabilitudinitatibus," spoken beautifully in our production by junior Abby Myers.
 
LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST features the talents of Colleen Daly, Katie Davidson, Elizabeth Downs, Bryce Elmore, Ruffin Henry, Julianna Holley, Shinwoo Kim, Joanna Moody, Jacob Mushatt, Abby Myers, Grayson Myers, Alexandra O'Sullivan, Ethan Taylor, Isabella Torres, Steven Wagner, and Emily Weinmann. Production stage managers are Maya Cvitanovich and Caroline Fiore, with technical support from Barbie Cassavetes, Scott Freeman, Tai Suarez, Jane Fantaci, Destiny Laugand, and Miles Bellaire.
 
The poster for our production is the work of senior Emily Weinmann. You may remember her fabulous design for last year's Hamlet, which brought some familiar elements of her work together in a beautiful trompe l'oeil image that perfectly captured the theatricality of our production.  This year, Emily is experimenting with digital design, which connects nicely with our concept of setting the production in the 1980s. Emily's use of geometric shapes, intersecting lines, repeated figures, and juxtapositions of color underscores the romantic couplings of the plot and the whimsical chaos that arises from the lovers' misunderstandings. A jpg of Emily's bold, engaging design is attached. Posters will be going up tomorrow. Please let me know if you'd like one to display.
 
Performances are:
Thursday, November 8 @ 7:00
Friday, November 9 @ 7:00
Saturday, November 10 @ 3:00
Sunday, November 11 @ 3:00

All shows are in Weinmann Auditorium. All seats are $10. Tickets are available at mpcdsloves.bpt.me.  To order tickets:
2. Choose the performance you wish to attend.
3. Choose the number of General Admission tickets you want
4. After you choose the number of tickets you want, choose your delivery method.
5. Click the Add to Cart button.
6. Complete your checkout process.
7. COME SEE THE SHOW!
 
As in the past, if you prefer to avoid the online process, we will have paper tickets available at the door. 
 
Thank you for your continued support of Drama at Country Day!
 

Contact

List of 11 members.

  • Mrs. Katherine Antis 

    Arts Department Chair, Band & Orchestra Teacher (Band Room)
    (504) 849-3126
    James Madison University - BM

  • Mr. Steven Donnelly 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    Art Department, Metals

  • Ms. Laurie Gardner 85

    MPCDS
    MS & US Music Teacher (Choral Room)
    (504) 849-3127
    Loyola University, New Orleans - BMT, BME
    University of New Orleans - MM

  • Ms. Lauren Lemmler 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    Lower School Music Teacher
    Loyola University New Orleans - Bachelor
    Mannes College of Music, NYC - Masters

  • Mr. Sean Patterson 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    Drama Teacher
    (504) 840-3989
    New York University - Master of Fine Arts
    University of New Orleans - Master of Fine Arts
    University of New Orleans - Bachelor of Arts

  • Ms. Christine Petz 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    Upper and Middle School Art Teacher
    (504) 840-3987

  • Mrs. Jennifer Waller 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    Visual Arts Teacher

  • Mrs.  Michelle Haysley 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    MS & US School Art Teacher

  • Mr. Barry Kaiser 

    MS & US Photography
    Southern Illinois University - BSA

  • Mrs. Lisette Overby 

    Metairie Park Country Day School
    LS Art Teacher
    (504) 849-3125
    Tulane University - BS

  • Mr. Paul Troyano 

    Woodworking Teacher
    Millersville State College - Teacher Certification
    Seton Hall University - BA
300 Park Road, Metairie, LA 70005 (504) 837-5204
Established in 1929, Metairie Park Country Day School is a coed private school for New Orleans area students in early childhood through Grade 12. From the elementary grades through upper school, the care and cultivation of each child comes to life in our exciting academic program, creative arts, and competitive athletic offerings.